THE FRONT ROW WITH MARK NELKE: Sunday, July 19, 2015

I woke up early on Saturday - not an easy thing to do when you're a night owl by nature in the sports business.

Then I drove to Sanders Beach to watch some people try to swim a mile in Lake Coeur d'Alene - also not an easy thing to do.

It looked like a family gathering - family that hadn't seen each other since last year's swim.

The winner, they said, drove all the way from Wenatchee to compete.

A friend swam in honor of her friend, Starla, who passed away recently in Sandpoint. A lot of us from up there remember - and miss - Starla Staglund.

ANYWAY, AS I watched the young and the old, the fast and the ... not-so-fast, I thought of how many of these types of events there is to choose from around here.

While the Steve Omi Memorial open-water swim was going on at Sanders Beach on Saturday, there was the Muddy Miles - not Buddy Miles - event at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. That obstacle course-type event sounds like fun - if you like mud.

It might be fun to combine the Muddy Miles with the Omi swim - though the EPA might frown on that.

There was the Hayden Triathlon last week.

There's Leadman in the Silver Valley.

There's the Coeur d'Alene Crossing, a 2.4-mile open-water swim across Lake Coeur d'Alene coming up on Aug. 15, along with various other bike races, triathlons and duathlons ...

Ironman is apparently getting so popular around here that it's coming back not once, but twice, next year - a half-Ironman in June, added to the annual full Ironman, which will move from June to August.

SEEING ERIC Ridgway once again at the Omi swim was a reminder that he's responsible for one of the first open-water swims in this area - the 1.76-mile Long Bridge Swim in Sandpoint.

see NELKE, B2

People don't actually swim the Long Bridge - that would be a little rough on the body - but instead swim the length of the bridge in Lake Pend Oreille, which is still not all that easy. The 21st edition of the event is scheduled for Aug. 1.

(Speaking of the Long Bridge, I used to walk Muttley, my wiener dog, across the bridge when I lived up there. I used to wave at the cars as they drove by, and the people in the cars would wave back, looking a little bewildered - because all they could see was me and part of a leash.)

A duathlon is technically a run-bike-run event, but back in the day, I remember some friends used to do their own little duathlon in late spring - a morning of skiing at Schweitzer Mountain Resort, followed by 18 holes at Hidden Lakes in the afternoon.

There must be some other oddball-type "triathlons" we could put together, with outdoor activities we already do around here - think Muddy Miles meets mountain bike racing. Maybe something combining golfing, fishing and tennis. Or a long-drive contest, followed by a 3-point shooting contest, followed by a home run derby.

Imagine the possibilities.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.