Forsyth County man with stage 4 cancer trains for Ironman, writes memoir

Jim Logan has spent the past two years building his days around treatment tables, training plans and the stubborn choice to keep moving. The Forsyth County resident was diagnosed with terminal stage 4 colorectal cancer in April 2024 at age 59, and has continued racing and training through chemotherapy, radiation and major surgeries, including removal of portions of his colon and liver.

Logan’s response to the diagnosis has been as practical as it is personal. He said the news devastated him when he told his wife, son and family, but his thinking shifted from preparing to die to fully living. That change now shapes both his racing and his writing: Logan is the author of Just Keep TRI-ING: The Faith-Fueled Formula to Push Through Pain, Face Your Fears, and Finish Your Race, a memoir he says is meant to encourage people facing illness, aging or self-doubt.

The book and the racing are tied to the same mission. Logan has also been raising money for the IRONMAN Foundation as he pursues the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. A fundraising page for him says he has competed in about 300 races over four decades and has been chasing IRONMAN since 2018, a stretch that reflects years of endurance training rather than a sudden pivot after his diagnosis.

That long runway matters in a sport as demanding as the one he is trying to finish. The IRONMAN Kona Legacy Program, launched in 2012, gives loyal athletes a route to the world championship, but only if they have at least 12 full-distance IRONMAN finishes and 12 years of IRONMAN-branded participation. The race itself remains one of endurance sport’s most exclusive stages: the 2025 Ironman World Championship in Kona drew 1,600 athletes to the 140.6-mile course.

Logan’s story sits inside that larger world of athletes who treat Kona as both a competitive prize and a test of resolve. USA Triathlon noted that 80-year-old Natalie Grabow became the oldest female finisher in Kona history in 2025, underscoring how the event keeps drawing competitors across generations. For Logan, the race and the memoir point to the same message: keep going, even when the finish line looks different than it once did.