This page is dedicated to my crazy brother Tim Simpkins.                                                         www.JonnyJpeg.com

Tallahassee interview with Jonny in 2002        About Tim         Superman's greatest battle

Another Democrat article     Proclaimed Super Hero of Tallahassee       A thousand acts of kindness

Tim's marathon times  Tim helping a friend               Friend's of Tim's

Tim was a runner for many many years, starting back in 1971 in Haines City Florida.  He held the record at Haines City High School running the fastest mile for a very long time.  He then moved to Tallahassee to enroll in FSU. He and Jeff Galloway were good friends when Jeff founded The Gulfwinds Track Club.  Tim won the Tallahassee marathon twice in the mid 70's, and I believe one of those had some off road miles.  Tim ran around  70 miles a week back then.  He seemed to get a little bored with running as he got older, so he had the notion to run in costume to get the excitement back into it.  He got this notion from someone else that showed up at a local race in costume and he noticed how much people laughed and smiled at this person.  So from that moment on, he built up his collection of running costumes which included Superman, Batman, Popeye, M&M guy... to name a few.  His favorite was Superman.

Tim used to always try to get me to run with him, but I would always say " if it doesn't have a motor on it, I'm not interested".  He always told me to run and I would be faster in other sports... which was motorcycle racing.  I have since found out that he was right.

My brother Tim never drank, smoked or indulged in any other thing that was considered bad for the body.  He was a health nut, one could say. 

Tim raced a Thanksgiving race in Tampa I believe in 2000 and did very well. I think he got top 20 out of 2000 or so people, at the age of 46.  I remember him being really excited about it.  Within 30 days later my brother was diagnosed with cancer.  When he found this out, 75% of his liver was gone.  The disease started in his lung, then spread to his liver.  Looking back on his running log, I could clearly see that he was making notes about "feeling heavy" "feeling tired" "feeling cramps".  I think he was doing the runner's denial that I see a lot of today, from serious runners.  If only he would have known.

At the hospital the doctored told him that he had only 2 months or so.  Tim accepted that news, but he was sure he could beat it.  He needed alternative care in Mexico, but his insurance would not cover care out of country, so we all started a drive to get him the money.  We were $35,000 dollars short.  Gulfwinds Track Club put together a 10 for Tim (10 hour relay) in Tallahassee that produced unbelievable support for my crazy brother.  I was there and I still get chill bumps from what I witnessed that day.  People just stopped in to give and run on the track for my brother.  I will never forget it.  The members of the Gulfwinds Track Club are truly special friends of Tim's.  The "Ten for Tim" relay received over 16,000. dollars in ten hours for my brother.  Unbelievable!!

I started a drive with my irrigation customers as well as The Florida Trail Riders, which is my Club that organizes all of my motorcycle races.  This was just as unreal as the "Ten for Tim "  relay.  We received around 20,000 dollars from these two groups of people.  What is amazing to me is that none of these people knew my brother Tim, but donated from their heart knowing that this person really needed it.  I have learned from these people that there are some great people on this planet, despite what you always read in the paper and see on TV.  I will always be in debt to these people that gave to my brother.  I could never show enough thanks.

My brother, The Superman, lost his fight on March 26, 2001.  My mother and I were on our way to see Tim and he left us one hour before we made it to Tallahassee.  I had spent the prior two weeks with him, before I had left to go home for a few days.  I got a call from Cora, Tim's wife, that we had better get back up soon, but we were a little too late.  I don't regret not being there when he left, because we had already said goodbye.  We had many talks about things and he was saying to me that no matter what "Live Live Live".  I will always miss him.

The day after we laid him to rest, the Springtime 10k in Tallahassee was going on.  It was Tim's favorite race.  My my brother Dan and I, decided to run the race.. even though we had not ran a single step in our lives.  My brother ran in one of Tim's costumes.. "Tootsie Roll Man".  I finished the race in 58:57.. I never walked.. there were a lot of hills.. it was tough.  I could hardly walk for three days, but I loved it.  At first I thought that this was a one time thing.... but I found out that after about five days I was yearning for more of this "pain".  I took on a notion to race every weekend of 2001.  I raced at least 45 races that year.  It drove me and it helped me to deal with everything a lot better.  It seemed that Tim was there with me at every race.

I am still racing and trying to get faster.  I raced the Tallahassee Half Marathon the past two years and I have been pretty surprised with the results.  This last Half in Tallahassee I wanted to get a 1:40 or so and I would have been happy as well as getting a PR in a half.  It seems that I had forgotten that I was in Tim's town for this race.  I swear that I saw his shadow in front of me out there along that lonely trail in Tallahassee...  I know he was right in front of me... he was talking to me telling me to keep the pace.. keep focused.. Joe Dexter is right behind you.  I ended up with a 1:35:46.. it was Tim that helped me on that race... this I am sure.

As I am running in Orlando and meeting different people, I am finding that a lot of people knew my brother Tim.  They all say he was a little "strange" but they also say he was fast... very fast, and that he was a good person.  These two traits is exactly what I want to be.  We may never be fast... but we all can be "good people"

I look forward to many many more races and meeting people and hearing stories about my crazy brother Tim.

Thanks Tim.. for inspiring me to be a better person.