Tuesday, January 15, 2002, updated at 6:52AM

Simpkins' running bug bites brother

Jonny realizes benefits of sport in which his sibling Tim excelled

Jonny Simpkins used to hear a lot about the benefits of running from brother. He didn't listen. He was too busy racing motorcycles in his spare time.

He's still racing motorcycles, but not as much. After his brother, Tim, died last spring, Simpkins developed a passion for running. It almost seems he wants to let his brother know that he finally understands.

“I think about him a lot, but when I do the races I think about him even more,” Simpkins said. “When I'm out there struggling, I call on him for help.”

In a tribute to his brother, who left a legacy as Tallahassee's premier masters runner, Simpkins will run in the Tallahassee Marathon on Sunday. He'll run the half-marathon distance instead of the full 26.2-mile race.

“I don't want to fall flat on my face and embarrass him,” joked Simpkins, an Orlando businessman.

Organizers of the marathon also will keep memories of Tim alive by giving each participant a T-shirt that features him and Craig Hasty running up a hill. Hasty, who was a fixture in the marathon, died of a heart attack in April 2000, almost a year before Tim succumbed to liver cancer last year.

“It's special for us to have Jonny in town for any race, especially the marathon,” director Gary Griffin said. “It's really neat that this is the race he is coming back to town for.”

Considering that he's been running for just one year, Simpkins, 39, is coming to town with an astonishing number of races under his belt. He has completed 40 races at the 5K distance, four 10Ks and three sprint triathlons.

Simpkins ran his first race, the Springtime Tallahassee 10K, a day after his brother's funeral.

“I couldn't walk for three days,” he said. “I was sore all over. I never thought I would ever enjoy running, but I had a good time.”

Simpkins is so addicted to the sport that had his brother hooked for more than 20 years that he's marked off a 5K course in his neighborhood for training. It has paid off, because he's running the distance in a time (22:38) comparable to that of runners with many more years of experience.

Most of the races Simpkins runs are on courses close to Orlando, where he owns an irrigation company.

He might never be as passionate about running as his brother was, though. Tim used to run every day, taking different courses around town in costumes that depicted comic book characters.

Simpkins admitted that he was like many who didn't understand why his brother ran as much as he did.

Now he does, he said, because he feels healthier.

“If you feel better, you can take care of your problems better. They don't bother you as much,” he said. “If you feel good about yourself, you can do anything. I think that's what he was trying to tell us the whole time, but I never understood what he was saying.”