Unfinished business
<p>A year ago, longtime motivational speaker and Coeur d'Alene native Terry Gurno fell short of completing Ironman Coeur d'Alene. He's looking for redemption on Sunday.</p>
<p>Terry Gurno, left, embraces his son, Levi, during the run portion of the 2015 Ironman Coeur d’Alene. The father and son’s dream of both finishing the triathlon ended when Terry missed the 90-mile cutoff of the cycling portion by 15 minutes.</p>
Levi Gurno was halfway through the arduous, 26.2-mile running portion of Ironman Coeur d’Alene when he came to a heart-rending realization.
Wincing through the 2015 triathlon’s final leg, Gurno saw his 54-year-old father, Terry Gurno, streetside, doling out the brand of encouragement that comes from a 30-year career of motivational speaking.
Physically drained, Levi softened with emotion as he fell into Terry’s arms, a brief stop before gutting out his second consecutive finish.
This was supposed to be the one-time Ironman’s time to motivate Dad, though. The two Coeur d’Alene natives made the months-long commitment to jointly participate. Early in the race, Levi figured Terry was a couple hours behind him.
Seven hours and 45 minutes into Terry’s cycling portion of the triathlon, however, he learned he had missed the 90-mile cutoff by 15 minutes. His race was over.
“It was just a real emotional thing when I saw him not be able to finish,” said Levi, now a 26-year-old youth director at Anthem Church in Hayden. “The reason I did it last year was so we could do it together, it wasn’t just about me.”
Levi won’t be competing in the 2016 edition of Ironman Coeur d’Alene, which begins Sunday morning. Terry, however, has made the necessary training adjustments for a redemptive redo. He has hired a trainer, started his training regimen months earlier and is dialed into a stricter diet.
But completing an Ironman — a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run — would go beyond a personal laurel for the founder and CEO of Influence, Speaking & Coaching, a business which touts commitment of helping others win.
This is about living out everything Terry believes and teaches.
“As a speaker and coach, I really help people identify what they want to do in life,” said Terry, a married father of three. “This is what I encourage people to do all the time.”
Levi still takes in the guidance and motivation of his father. Once overweight and stricken with asthma, he is now in primo physical shape.
When he first presented the thought of training for his first Ironman in 2014, he felt supported, but with a sense of skepticism.
“I had a lot of people believe who supported me, but not many who believed in me,” said Levi, who is now 40 pounds lighter than he was three years ago.
After Levi flourished and finished the daunting task, he conversely motivated the motivator.
“He really inspired me,” Terry said. “He challenged my excuses and took them off the table. His help has been amazing.”
Even when Terry didn’t finish, he was already eyeing 2016.
“I knew that this race had just begun,” Terry said. “I was disappointed with my results, but not with my effort. I gave it everything I had. I wasn’t going to stop.”
He has improved his biking, swimming and running, he said, and has prepped, competing in July’s Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene and last weekend’s Cd’A Crossing.
Working with triathlon coach Corey McKenna has also been a boon in his progress. The Coeur d’Alene-based trainer and 12-time Ironman has put Terry through an extensive regimen.
“It’s been an amazing journey, really building his confidence and doing it successfully,” McKenna said. “Just in the last seven weeks to see him able to hit milestones. It’s exciting to watch that transition. He’s never done a long training run before and he felt ill-prepared for last year.”
Terry has been preparing since February and believes he’ll be one of the hundreds hearing his name blasted through the speakers affirming his Ironman status when he crosses the finish line on Sherman Avenue on Sunday.
“This year is the time to get it done,” he said.