THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: A lot to like about those final finishers

After a three-year hiatus, one of the most entertaining hours in local sports returned late Sunday night.

There's nothing like wandering down to the finish line of Ironman Coeur d'Alene to watch the last few folks still on the course, trying to finish ahead of the 17-hour deadline.

You see all types on Sherman Avenue at that hour — outside and inside the chute that feeds the runners to the finish line, music blaring, and Mike Reilly, the "Voice of Ironman," welcoming the finishers home with his signature "You ... are ... an Ironman!"

FOR THE dozens of people who finished to wild applause, all completing the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike leg and the 26.2-mile run, there sure were a wide range of emotions among the finishers.

Some ran at a fairly steady pace, right down the middle of the street, focused on the finish line.

Others seemed to have been reinvigorated by the cheering crowd at the finish, finishing almost at a dead sprint.

Some soaked up the finish line experience, raising their arms, weaving to the right to slap hands with the fans on that side of the barricade, then weaving to the left to do the same with fans on the other side of the barricade.

Some looked like they were fighting their bodies, doing all they could to maintain their running form and focusing solely on crossing that finish line.

They may have wanted to cut loose and celebrate those last 100 yards in front of the cheering fans, but they couldn't afford to give their bodies a chance to betray them, just steps from the finish.

The next two years will "only" feature an Ironman 70.3 — a half-Ironman — so the next episode of Ironman Sunday Night on Sherman will have to wait until 2024.

ASKED FOR his thoughts on how the Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen played at a tournament in Bozeman and Belgrade, Mont., last weekend, the voice on the other end of the phone replied:

"I was proud of the team this week. Their confidence was up those five days. Even though we were over there five days, I didn't see it affecting the team."

"I was happy with how we played," he added. "You can't find a funner group of guys."

That was the voice of Lums coach Darren Taylor, right?

Wrong.

Those were the thoughts of Lumberman player LJ Davey, riding home with Taylor from Montana.

"Sounds like a coach, doesn't he?" Taylor said when the phone was handed back to him.

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.