Ironman features rich local flavor
LOREN BENOIT/Press Derek Garcia of Coeur d’Alene was the first local finisher with a time of 4 hours, 10 minutes and 42 seconds.
Matt Handwerk, of Coeur d’Alene, approaches Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene finish line. Handwerk finished 6th in the 35-39 men’s age group with a time of 4 hours, 35 minutes and 1 second. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
LOREN BENOIT/Press Chelsea Pearson, of Post Falls, makes her way around a turn at Northwest Boulevard and East Lakeside Avenue during Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene. Pearson finished with a time of 6 hours, 20 minutes and 2 seconds.
Bret Spencer, of Coeur d’Alene, competes in the bike portion of Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene on Sunday. Spencer crossed the finish line with a time of 5 hours, 55 minutes and 24 seconds. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
Shaun and Suzanne Endsley embrace after Sunday’s Ironman in Coeur d’Alene. The Hayden couple has raced together for more than 20 years. (CRAIG NORTHRUP/Press)
Todd Curtis, of Post Falls, crosses the Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene finish line. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
Derek Garcia was the first Kootenai County athlete to finish in Sunday’s Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene, but he ended up with plenty of company.
A total of 124 county residents entered this year’s race, as well as members of 14 relay teams.
“The hardest part was the run,” Nicole Montgomery of Post Falls said with a smile after posting a time of 5 hours, 42 minutess and 53 seconds. “I had to have a tough talk with my legs a couple times. I had to say, ‘Everybody else out there is doing this. You guys can keep going.’”
Her racing compatriot, Hope Brumbach of Coeur d’Alene, said her biggest challenge was the opening swim.
“I’m not a big fan of water,” she said. “I don’t really like the water, especially when I’m surrounded by stronger competition. So it took all of my strength of mind to finish ... I shrieked when I finally got out of the water; I was so happy.”
Both Brumback and Montgomery beat their personal goal times Sunday.
“Since the start of the Ironman race years ago,” Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer said, “the event has promoted physical activity in biking, running and swimming. We have become a much more active community because of it. It has also taught us that, through hard work and dedication, anyone can achieve great things.”
For Suzanne Endsley of Hayden, her hard work and dedication required extra effort. Sunday represented her first half-Ironman since enduring a hip injury.
“Today was a test,” she said after the race. “I was a little concerned going into it, but it actually feels really good.”
Endsley, who’s participated in Ironman events since 1996, won the previous Coeur d’Alene Ironman events in her age group. This year, with a time of 5:20:11, she came in fourth.
“The hip felt great,” she said. “It’s just one of those things. Some days you’re on, and some days you’re off. Today, I was just a little off.”
She added that the push to win is secondary, at best, to what the race can mean to others.
“I think this race is really about people who set goals for themselves,” she said. “It’s for people to get inspired and try something new, from all shapes and sizes.”
Endsley admitted she always has additional motivation to compete.
“We’ve been doing these races since the ‘90s,” said her husband, Shaun, who finished with a time of 4:50:27. “With every race, your dominance in the household is on the line.”
When Garcia crossed the finish line, coming in with a time of 4:10:42, he gave thanks to his family for its support.
“My family’s awesome,” he said. “I have three boys. They love to come out here and cheer me on. My dad is volunteering today. It makes the whole thing worthwhile for them to support me like this.”
Garcia said the biggest challenge this year had little to do with the course.
“The guys out here continue to get faster and faster,” he said. “The competition just better and better. The bike was a little more challenging for me this time around, but the toughest part was just the people around me. The very best come out to Coeur d’Alene every year, and this was no different.”