Nick Irons Going the Distance.

Nick Irons never made an NBA cut or a PGA tour. Yet he earns his living as an athlete and, in this role, pursues more than points, a paycheck, or sweet promotion deals with major bottlers. He sweats instead for Going the Distance for MS Research, Inc. In this role he raises both awareness and research funding by performing high-profile, long-distance fitness exploits and speaking to groups along the way.

"I have found a way to do something I love for someone I love," explains the ultrafit, six-foot-two-inch, 200-pound 28-year-old. "My goal is to help find a cure for MS in my dad's lifetime."

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease of the central nervous system characterized by a variety of episodic symptoms including slurred speech, numbness in the limbs, vertigo, blindness, and, in extreme cases, paralysis. More than 350,000 Americans suffer from this disease.

MS symptoms first hit Irons' father John 15 years ago when walking became difficult. Three years ago, Mr. Irons, a 56-year-old allergist in Bethesda, Maryland, began taking new drug therapies that halted the disease's progress. But halt differs from cure. That's why Irons decided to go to such great lengths to spread his dream of finding a cure.

For instance, last April 3, he launched his Going the Distance cycling tour outside Washington, D.C. On this 10,000-mile tour, he looped around the country's perimeter before finishing on the Capitol steps in August. To date, Irons has raised more than $700,000.

Earlier, in September 1997, he generated approximately $200,000 while making history as the second man (after Fred Newton in 1930) to swim down the Mississippi River--1,600 miles of muddy water from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Irons says completing each of these two colossal national events, as well as participating in scores of National Multiple Sclerosis Society chapter events in the interim, involved training for success.

To prepare for the continental cycling loop, he started a serious cycling schedule 18 months in advance. This conditioning helped him speed along at 20 mph to finish his 75-mile average per day in short order.

Besides getting into great shape before mile one, he hooked up with a sports nutritionist for optimal performance.

"I ate so much more than I ever have or will be able to eat again," he jokes.

He also got more company than ever. For instance, while no one dove into Irons' swimming campaign down the Mississippi, plenty of folks peddled a leg of the cyling tour. One man even flew to Billings, Montana, to join him for 12 days before dropping out in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

All told, Irons led supporters about 75 percent of the time, which bolstered his enthusiasm. However, he knew that only rest restores tired muscles. So his strategy included taking every sixth or seventh day off and ending each workday on a high point.

"I have this rule that I stop before I'm absolutely miserable, or else the next day I'll just pick up where I left off," Irons explains. `I also cool down so that when I get off the bike, I'm still in a good mood about biking."

For more information, visit www.goingthedistance.net. Or phone 1-800-2-BEAT-MS.

Pam Mellskog is a writer living in Boulder, Colorado.