Battling Alzheimer's in race of his life

SOUTH VENICE — Being an Ironman triathlete may be part of the remedy that Scott Berkheiser needs as he battles an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Berkheiser, 57, and Kris, his wife of 20 years, moved to South Sarasota County from Colorado in 2019. Last July, Berkheiser was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment due to early onset Alzheimer’s disease.

He’s scheduled to compete in the annual Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas on Saturday in The Woodlands, near Houston.

He had already planned to train and compete in that race when he got the diagnosis. It did not change his mind. She was wary.

“I had huge concerns because I’ve seen him in a hospital bed after a triathlon,” Kris said. “I have my concerns with him overdoing it. I think anybody who does an Ironman is overdoing it already.”

Kris asked his neurologist and the staff at the center where he receives infusions whether Berkheiser training for an Ironman triathlon was a bad idea.

They said no.

“What he’s doing is actually improving his life,” she said, repeating their words.

Berkheiser, an aerospace engineer who grew up in the Philadelphia area, has worked remotely as a radar support lead for Resonant Sciences of Dayton, Ohio, for two years. His work involves stealth technology. Some of the stealth aircraft he works with cost more than $300 million.

Years ago, when Berkheiser raced small cars as a hobby, he decided he needed more exercise. He started running in the early 2000s to keep in shape. A friend who was an Ironman triathlete suggested he give competitive racing a try. He signed up for a short race.

“It was addictive,” Berkheiser said. “I can’t explain it.”

Berkheiser hung up his small racecar. (It literally hangs on a wall in his den.) He competed in about 10 half-Ironman triathlons and has now competed in two full Ironman. He was scheduled to compete in Texas last spring before a heart catheterization nixed that plan.

Both of his full Ironmans have been in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 2016 and 2019.

The conditions were dastardly in 2016.

“People were dropping like flies,” Berkheiser said.

The swim down river was OK. But it was 98 degrees out of the water and he was riding his bike on Tennessee hills.

Three years later, the temperature was 95 degrees in Chattanooga. His times for the two races were only 36 seconds apart.

‘A fantastic organization’

After the diagnosis in July, the first thing Berkheiser did that married his hobby and his health was to look online for other Ironman triathletes with similar diagnoses.

A man in Orlando with similar circumstances suggested he contact the Alzheimer’s Association. The Berkheisers met Association members at a fundraising walk in Sarasota and before long he was delivering a speech on its behalf.

“It’s a fantastic organization,” Berkheiser said. “They have welcomed us with open arms.”

“It renews your faith in life that you are not alone,” Kris said. “I cannot imagine going through this now without the Alzheimer’s Association and the people that we’ve met.”

His TRI to END Alzheimer’s fundraising page is part of The Longest Day, which raises funds and awareness for the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer’s Association.

‘Do your best’

The couple hope people will be so inspired by his story that they donate funds, with a goal that Alzheimer’s “be cured and no longer affect people,” he said.

The triathlon leads athletes along a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and 26.2-mile run throughout The Woodlands and its surrounding areas. The total of 140.6 miles must be completed in less than 17 hours.

Berkheiser began training in September, five to six days a week. The last three months have included three-to-five-hour bike rides and long runs. The end of practice sessions is brutal.

“I’m slow,” he said, noting he doesn’t to finish among the leaders.

But, in a race where finishing in under 17 hours is the goal, he says his advantage is “partially, stubbornness.”

As a child he played youth baseball with his father coaching. Berkheiser remembers his father telling him to “always do your best."

“He always told me as long as you do your best, give it everything you’ve got, it doesn’t matter," he recalled. "That mentality stuck with me with everything through life.

Triathlons are no different.

“Runners talk about hitting the wall. There’s multiple points where (I think) I’m not going to take another step or I am going to die. You’ve just got to keep going. That’s the main thing. Then if you get to the point where you have a little bit of confidence, you’ve done this before. Just keep moving forward.”

Berkheiser’s training for Texas is complete, he recently said. Now comes the final mental preparation. Competitors begin contemplating every potential disaster and work to overcome fears.

Weather in Texas has been similar to that of Southwest Florida. The bike ride is out and back on a tollway with nothing to block the wind. A 20-mph headwind is expected.

Nutrition and hydration are critical.

All Ironman triathletes have to keep up with their nutrition during a race. It’s important to take the nutrition at the right time and in the right order during the race.

“I’ve got to pay attention,” Berkheiser said. “The thing that stresses me out the most is the transitions.”

After the swim, competitors transition to the bike ride. They change from swim gear to bike gear. “Shoes, helmet, gloves, nutrition,” Berkheiser said.

As fast as you can.