Most people train for more than six weeks prior to a triathlon.  Jake Feiter didn’t have that luxury.

“I’m running this for my dad,” said Feiter, 15, a Plymouth native and competitor in the Lions Club triathlon in Mattapoisett on July 10.  With Jake’s father, Jack Feiter, at Massachusetts General Hospital fighting cancer, it was up to Jake to conquer the triathlon in his stead.

“If Jack wasn’t sick he’d be here running it too,” said Tony Feiter, Jack’s brother.  Tony also would have run the triathlon if he was not slated to provide a transplant to his brother the following Tuesday.

“They’re brothers and perfect matches, it’s very fortunate,” said Jake’s grandmother.

In the midst of the triathlon’s 300 competitors, Jake prepared himself.  The triathlon, a grueling quarter-mile swim followed by a 10-mile bike ride and capped with a 3-mile run, awaited.  Jake had only prepared for roughly six weeks, since his father was diagnosed.

“He made the decision to be here on his own,” said Jake’s mother, Bethany.  “We’re so proud of him.”

The first wave of swimmers, males under 40, began the race with a surge of raw force into the waters of Mattapoisett Harbor.    Coming onto shore at a run, the placid sky above belying the drama below, Jake seemed exhausted already.

Feiter struggled to mount his bike at the transition station after the punishing swim, stumbling over himself while family members shouted a blend of soft encouragement and hard exhortation to continue the race full tilt.

“He bought a transition mat that said Luekemia and Lymphoma Society,” said Bethany.  “He didn’t tell me he’d bought it. He just went online and got it.  You have no idea how great of a kid he is.”

Falling twice off his bike, Feiter got his bearings and took on the race’s 10-mile bike trek, a punishing ride through Mattapoisett.

“Go Jake, hurry up, it’s a race,” Tony screamed to Jake’s back as he flew off at a quick cadence.

By the time the run rolled around Feiter was back in top shape, rounding Ned’s point seemingly with ease, a Mattapoisett breeze to his back and the sun shining down upon him.

The last leg of the three mile run rose up as his final hurdle.  Like the two before it, the run proved surmountable.

Finishing in a time of one hour and 17 minutes, Jake Feiter took third place for his age group.