THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Top local finishers Voyles, Rings share tales of Ironman
From the top local finishers to the final entrants trying to finish ahead of the 17-hour deadline, the the finish of Ironman Coeur d'Alene is memorable to all.
"There isn't anything like running down Sherman Avenue," said Scott Voyles of Post Falls, who was the top local finisher at the recent Ironman Coeur d'Alene. "Those last few blocks contain a mix of feelings. You're relieved to finally be done. The sense of accomplishment is overwhelming. The adrenaline generated from all of the spectators silences the muscle pain and the burning skin. All of the struggles are finally behind you, and it's a great way to be welcomed home."
Jenna Rings, the top local female finisher at the June 27 race, agreed.
"Finishing down Sherman Avenue is the best," said Rings, of Post Falls. "I am probably biased because I live here but it truly is magical. In 2015 I got to run down the original course where the stretch down Sherman was much longer. In Arizona (where she competed in an Ironman) the finish line is a blind short corner so you don’t get to see it till you turn and then the carpet is right there. This year's course was about half the distance on Sherman and I loved it. It was just long enough to give you enough time to really soak in all that the day has taught you, dig a little bit more in order to get some adrenaline to run the last 400 feet, see and hear friends cheer you on, and see your family give you their love and support."
VOYLES, 37, played football, baseball, basketball, golf and wrestled growing up.
At Idaho Falls High, he played some football, "but mostly skateboarding," he said.
Since 2012, he's worked as a draftsman/designer at Rocky Mountain Construction in Hayden. The company is known worldwide for its roller coaster designs. One of the most recent ones is the Stunt Pilot ride which debuted at Silverwood this year.
Voyles got into Ironmans in 2013, when a fitness trainer who came to his place of business twice a week spoke glowingly of Ironman, and also ran a bike aid station during the event.
"After watching it in 2013, I signed up and have been racing ever since," Voyles said.
Last month's Ironman was Voyles' fifth, all in Coeur d'Alene.
"Racing has become a great excuse to get out of town and see places," he said. "My record is 18 races in one year — including marathons, half-marathons, triathlons of all distances, fondos, and a couple of long swimming events."
He enjoys racing in Canada — in Victoria and Whistler in British Columbia, as well as Calgary. He's raced all over the Pacific Northwest and has made a few ventures beyond the region, including one to Nice, France, for the Ironman 70.3 championships.
Voyles said the 70.3 is probably his strongest distance, and he plans to compete in this year's championship in September in St. George, Utah. He's hoping to qualify for next year's 70.3 championship in New Zealand.
Voyles completed Ironman Coeur d'Alene in 9 hours, 57 minutes, 43 seconds, and was the 49th overall finisher.
He finished the 2.4-mile swim in 1:11:27, the 112-mile bike leg in 5:20:53 and the 26.2-mile run in 3:19:56.
"I've made post-race medical tent visits in four out of my five full Ironman races, and Sunday was one of those," Voyles said. "Throughout the entire run I was thinking about a refreshing jump into the lake after the race. It was bittersweet, the water was cleansing and refreshing, but it also revealed every blister, rash, and sunburn acquired in the previous 10 hours."
RINGS GREW up in Olympia, Wash., and did some swimming and cheerleading in high school.
She moved to Post Falls in 2009, and in 2013 a friend talked her into them competing in the Coeur d'Alene Triathlon.
Rings said she "got hooked on the sport after that."
Last month, in her third full Ironman, and second in Coeur d'Alene, Rings was the top local female finisher in 11:34:46.
Her first Ironman Coeur d'Alene was in 2015, where temperatures topped 100 degrees, and were a few degrees above this year's brutal heat.
In 2016 she competed in Ironman Arizona some three months after giving birth to her son, Jackson.
"This year I never intended to do another full-distance Ironman race because it really takes a toll not only on your body but on your relationships with your loved ones," Rings said.
She said she originally signed up for Ironman 70.3 Coeur d'Alene in 2020, a half Ironman. But when COVID-19 canceled that race, her only options were to roll her entry to a different 70.3 somewhere else this year, or change to the full Ironman Coeur d'Alene this year.
"Since I didn’t want to travel I decided to do the full in my local town," she said. "We were never really sure the full Ironman would actually return to Coeur d'Alene (the last full Ironman here was in 2017) and when we found out it was I knew it would return like the old times with lots of excitement and support, so it was an easy choice to say yes once more."
As for this year's race ...
"I knew I would need to keep taking water from aid station, not to drink but to shower my body with in order to keep my core temp down," she said. "I had one mishap coming down the hill into Mica Bay when my front water bottle flew off after hitting several bumps on the bridge. I had to stop and go back for it. Luckily it was not too far away from me and I didn’t cause any other riders to get hurt, so off I went to climb up the back side of Mica.
"Once coming back to town you start to get excited again because you know you're about to see family and friends," she added. "Just before the left-hand turn from Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive onto Mullan is where I got to see my little boy (Jack) and husband Chad holding a big sign he had made for me saying “Go mommy.”
"Having my husband there with my kids was very special."
VOYLES AND RINGS have two other things in common.
Their finishes at Ironman Coeur d'Alene qualified them for the Ironman world championships in Kona in October.
Also, both Voyles and Rings were effusive in their praise for the volunteers, and all the other support, at Ironman Coeur d'Alene.
"To all of the supporters and volunteers that show up, year after year, to donate their resources and time to make this possible ... you are so very appreciated," Voyles said. "Thank you."
"I have to see that running through the neighborhood of my local town was one of the best parts of the race," Rings said. "Lots of friendly people were out in their yards cheering us on, cooling us off, dancing for us, and there were even unofficial aid stations between aid stations. There is a huge thank you that has to be said to the volunteers for their support out there, because without any of that we could not do this race."
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.
