‘Toughest people in the world’: Omaha man trains for Ironman amid cancer treatments

Joel Staley is fighting cancer for the second time, and in between chemo treatments, he trains for his upcoming Ironman.

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Omaha man trains for Ironman amid cancer treatments

OMAHA, Neb. —

From barely being able to walk around the house to competing in an Ironman.

“Sometimes even going from the bed to the couch seems like its own marathon,” Joel Staley, an Ironman participant, said.

Staley was first diagnosed with late-stage testicular cancer in 2025. Once his doctors caught the disease, it had spread across his body, into his bones and up toward his brain. After a long fight, he was declared in remission in late 2025.

Then 2026 brought him face to face with cancer again.

“After getting some bumps on my head and getting some side effects, I went back into the ER and, unfortunately, it had come back around my skull and brain,” Staley said.

He works as a local fitness coach but never thought he would compete in an Ironman. It was only something he’d ever seen on TV.

“My dad said, ‘Those are the toughest people in the world,'” Staley said.

Taking part in one of these races himself never crossed his mind until he was juggling his family, his job and his health.

“In my opinion, people fighting cancer and trying to, you know, support their family and just keep everything normal while fighting their own fight are really the stronger ones,” Staley said. “I figure, why not combine the two? If I could do the former, why not try my hand at the latter?”

In 2025, Staley saw a decrease in business and worried about money, but Staley’s community helped provide so he could focus on healing. Now he’s using this race to help those going through the same experience.

“During the darkest periods of my life, it would have been maybe impossible to make it through the other side without people looking out for me, and I just want to make sure people know that’s a resource for them as well,” Staley said.

Throughout his training, Staley has partnered with Family Reach — an organization supporting the families of cancer patients.

“Helping families battling cancer be able to make the payments on their house and not have to, you know, choose between getting their own treatment and getting better or putting food on the table for their family,” Staley said.

Donate to Staley’s cause by clicking here. You can stay up to date with his Ironman journey by following Staley on Instagram.

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