Tomorrow a man named James Lawrence will have successfully completed 50 ironman triathlons in all 50 states over 50 consecutive days to raise awareness for childhood obesity.

"Less than five minutes, guys."

The "Iron Cowboy" shouts the time limit to his fellow riders. The 10 bikers have dismounted and are grabbing food and drinks from picnic tables set up on the lawn. Some stretch and talk amongst themselves. The 59 miles they have just biked is a little more than half of their ride.

"One minute."

The riders return to their bikes and are off again, rallying around their leader in the bright green helmet.

James Lawrence, nicknamed the "Iron Cowboy", raced his 47th Ironman triathlon in the Gallatin Valley on Wednesday, making him well on his way to completing 50 races in 50 days in 50 states. The athlete is breaking endurance racing records while generating awareness for child obesity in the U.S. and raising money for the Jaime Oliver Food Foundation.

Each Ironman consists of about 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking and 26.2 miles of running. Lawrence already holds two Guinness World Records for the most half and full Ironmans in a year. His inspiration and motivation for continuing to push the limits of endurance racing is simple.

"My five kids," he said.

Lawrence said his daughters and son are traveling with his wife across the country following his progress.

"My wife has worked really hard to make sure they are happy and doing something fun every day in each state," Lawrence said.

Lawrence's journey began June 6 in Hawaii, and will conclude Saturday in Utah.

"I'm very excited to finish in my home state," he said. "It's quite a relief to get home having accomplished what we set out to do."

Tim Griffiths, Montana's ambassador for the event, said the main lessons Lawrence is trying to promote are activity and healthy eating, but there are other takeaways.

"It says something about Bozeman that it only took six days to put this together," Griffiths said. "The support in the Bozeman community is great."

Lawrence began his day here swimming at the Bogert Pool, then biked to Three Forks and back and finished the race with a marathon beginning in Bogert Park.

"I've been excited to get to Montana because it reminds me of home," Lawrence said. "I was pleasantly surprised because I thought it would be all hills, but the ride is beautiful. I consider this a recovery Ironman."

Every race has been open for people to join the "Iron Cowboy" in swimming, biking, running — or all three.

"The crowds are getting bigger, donations keep coming in," Lawrence said. "The support has been overwhelming and makes things a lot easier. It has far exceeded my expectations."

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