Upstate New York’s notoriously unpredictable Ironman race was a day of firsts for many. In the small Adirondack town where Olympic history was made in 1980, a record number of athletes gathered to race a much-loved course. 985 of them set out to hear Mike Reilly declare them an Ironman for the first time. For a number non competitors—including this rookie triathlon reporter—it was a first-time experience of a different kind.

Watching my first full day of not one, but thousands of feats of human endurance brought on some unexpected emotions. At the awards banquet on Friday night, the speeches were far from your typical  bureaucratic jumble. Robi Politi, supervisor of the town of North Elba, delivered a welcome speech made up of equal parts inspiration and sardonic playfulness. His speech resembled a stand-up comic’s routine more than a typical politician’s. Mike Reilly followed him, highlighting stories of heroic weight loss and changed lives. This year’s Ford Everyday Heros story—three Canadian triathletes who lost three of their training partners in a bike accident last spring—left everyone, whether athletic or not, with a clearer sense of the meaning of perseverance.

And then race day arrived. At 5:30 am, heavy gray clouds weighed over Mirror Lake. The water was playfully choppy, and the crowds amassed more quickly than the paper coffee cups in the trash bins. The only rain to fall the whole day came during the swim, as if playing off the water theme. It passed after about half an hour, however, and the rest of the day continued on in mild temperatures, and under cloudy skies.

Race Re-cap

A lot of people had their money on kiwi Bryan Rhodes as he sprinted out of the water at 50:02 with an incredible lead. Amy Marsh was the first woman out of the water, passing local favorite and past winner Caitlin Snow.

On the bike course, an early disappointment hit for Australian Jason Shortis, who broke a spoke early on and opted out of the race. Rhodes stayed in the lead for a considerable distance, until Colorado’s Ben Hoffman passed him at the 3:15 mark, followed closely by Germany’s Maik Twelsiek. The men stayed within minutes of each other for most of the rest of the bike course, with Czech Petr Vabrousek joining them near the 50-mile mark. Amy Marsh held her Switzerland-trained lead on Aussies Kate Bevilaqua and Lisa Marangon throughout the women’s bike, with Caitlin Snow and Canadian Tara Norton in third and fourth for much of the duration. Twelsiek finished the bike in 5:36:26, with Hoffman only four seconds behind. Vabroucek, coming in at 5:51:25 had quite the project ahead of him in the marathon.

After an exciting men’s marathon, Ben Hoffman took his first place Ironman finish in 8:39:34, and quickly disappeared into the medical tent after a brief, adrenaline-fueled victory march. Petr Vabroucek finished seven minutes behind him in 8:46:33—an impressive win for last year’s sixth-place winner, and an athlete who races almost every weekend. Twelsiek came in two minutes behind the Czech to take third.

Finishing the bike in 6:07:27, Amy Marsh held her impressive lead over the Aussies, 19 and 20 minutes ahead of Marangon and Bevilaqua respectively. She sailed through the run, finishing just three minutes behind the course record. Snow and Marangon finished 16 and 20 minutes behind her, respectively.

One of the true surprises of the day came as the first of the women’s age groupers started encroaching on top-ten space during the marathon. Kristin Andrews, a Bethesda, MD-based policy analyst, wasn’t even one of the first 10 women off the bike. But during the marathon, talk began to mount as the 29 year old inched into 6^th place overall. Not only that, she broke the age-group record for the course by 10 minutes.

Winners in the Hot Seat

In the finish area booming with upbeat music, I caught up with some of the first athletes to cross the finish line—save for a recouperating Ben Hoffman. Through exhausted smiles and sometimes short breaths, the superstars of triathlon introduced me to the vitality of Ironman, and to yet another side of a sport I love.

First up was Twelsiek, with his pro-triathlete girlfriend Hilary Biscay close by his side. After declaring that after a neck-and-neck race with Hoffman, he felt “not so good, but glad to be finished,” the soft-spoken German let his gregarious partner do most of the talking. “His bike was good, but not as good as usual,” Biscay said with a smile.

The pair met while training together in Australia and hit it off. “I get to spend a lot more time with him than I would if I had a ‘regular’ boyfriend,” said Biscay. “It is a little hard to coordinate our travel schedules, but in the end it’s a small sacrifice.”

Second-place winner Petr Vabrousek said that he only hoped it would be enough to catch one of the leaders on the bike leg. “Miek was so nice, he waited for me,” the blonde-haired second-place winner said jokingly. “I’m definitely satisfied with the result,” he added. “And I have my family here—it always helps to have them around.” 

Summarizing the specifics of the bike, the Czech athlete said that the field spread early. “Everybody was riding on his own, and that helps,” he said. By the time he started the run, Vabrousek had a 15-minute gap to close. He said he started running like it was just a half marathon, waiting to see what happened at the halfway point. Six minutes into closing in on the German, Vabrousek said he just went for another 10, “full power.”

The athlete spoke highly of the course, calling it one of the best races on the circuit. He said that out of the four times he’s been here, three times have been with his family. Besides being a family man, Vabrousek is known for his manic racing schedule. The 92-time Ironman races a full or half ironman almost every weekend, a choice that goes right back to family. “Going for more than two or three hours for a bike ride, well, it kind of feels like I’m taking too much time from my family. I’d rather train a little bit and then race a lot,” he said. Vabrousek also does weights twice a week. “I’m trying to keep my body strong, and it works,” he said.

On whether he plans to continue, the lean father said simply, “At the time it stops working, I’ll just do something else.”

After hammering the women’s race in true Brett Sutton-trained fashion, Amy Marsh looked like she’d gone on a pleasant Saturday ride. She spoke easily about her win, alluding to stress only with the statement “it’s a long race so you never know what can happen.”

One of Marsh’s favorite things about Lake Placid is the crowd. “If it wasn’t for them, I think it’d be a lot more challenging. They even knew my name, it was great,” she said. Six months of training with team TBB (The Bike Boutique) also contributed to Marsh’s success. She said training with so many hard-working athletes helps in all aspects. As for the notoriously hilly course, her training in the Alps made the Adirondack landscape a much more manageable feat.

Regarding her post-race cravings, Marsh had one thing on her mind: “I’ll probably eat a whole pizza by myself.”

Returning champion Caitlin Snow knew she was up against something fierce when she saw Marsh on the roster. “Anytime a TBB girl is on the start list, you know they’re going to be strong.  But I did my best and had a great race,” she said. Rounding out her day was the fact that her husband Tim, who came in 5^th, could very likely be in the top 5% for a Kona spot. “I’m so unbelievably psyched for him. He usually holds back a bit on the bike, and I’m elated that he was able to run so well.”

Snow’s post-ironman ritual includes ice cream sundaes and pizza. For a woman who can’t remember the last time she had pizza, it should be a special night.

As previously mentioned, 6th-place women’s finisher and record-breaking age grouper Kristin Andrews was one of the biggest surprises of the day. As a competitive runner at Dartmouth college, Andrews decided to try “something fun and different” after graduating from college. A few years of injuries kept Andrews off the triathlon scene, but last year she finally felt able to start training fully and joined the Fast-Forward triathlon team—one she calls “sort of a new pro development team” in D.C.

Not only was this Andrews’ first Ironman, it was her first marathon as well. “I didn’t know if I’d be able to do an Ironman,” she said. But today, in front of her friends and family, Andrews made many people—including herself—very proud.

Outside, the music is still pounding away as the last finishers hear their names announced alongside the words “You are an Ironman.” As the mountain temperature dips into the 50s, the town beyond the Olympic oval is quieting down.

Everywhere except for the pizza joints.

Ford Lake Placid Ironman, July 25, 2010

Pro Men’s Results

1. 8:39:34 Hoffman, Ben (USA) 55:06 3:22 4:38:03 1:41 3:01:24
2. 8:46:33 Vabrousek, Petr (CZE) 58:25 3:37 4:49:23 1:49 2:53:21
3. 8:48:33 Twelsiek, Maik (GER) 55:08 3:20 4:37:58 1:49 3:10:19
4. 9:05:09 Daerr, Justin (USA) 57:16 3:43 4:56:25 1:57 3:05:49
5. 9:10:48 Snow, Tim (USA) 58:15 4:20 5:12:17 2:12 2:53:46
6. 9:15:19 Seng, Brad (USA) 58:27 3:52 5:13:05 1:50 2:58:07
7. 9:15:58 Mikelson, Ian (USA) 57:28 3:30 5:02:04 1:42 3:11:16
8. 9:17:57 Sheeks, Matthew (USA) 1:13:04 4:48 5:05:40 1:29 2:52:57
9. 9:18:10 Vondracek, Jesse (USA) 57:33 3:45 5:08:33 1:21 3:07:00
10. 9:18:22 Allaire, Patrick (CAN) 55:23 5:32 5:04:41 1:28 3:11:19

Pro Women’s Results

1. 9:27:30 Marsh, Amy (USA) 55:43 4:01 5:07:44 1:37 3:18:27
2. 9:44:18 Snow, Caitlin (USA) 57:22 4:03 5:37:30 1:48 3:03:37
3. 9:51:31 Marangon, Lisa (AUS) 57:35 3:29 5:25:45 1:57 3:22:46
4. 9:53:39 Bevilaqua, Kate (AUS) 57:27 3:30 5:27:02 2:30 3:23:12
5. 9:59:54 Liljeblad, Kelly (USA) 1:06:20 4:11 5:31:14 1:38 3:16:33
6. 10:01:42 Andrews, Kristin (USA) 1:05:27 5:04 5:25:40 2:57 3:22:36
7. 10:11:08 Norton, Tara (CAN) 1:02:21 5:49 5:26:11 2:11 3:34:38
8. 10:11:32 Ferreira, Amber (USA) 55:21 4:08 5:39:45 2:43 3:29:36
9. 10:13:07 Wernick, Charisa (USA) 1:06:51 3:53 5:38:42 1:41 3:22:01
10. 10:19:19 Sullivan, Danielle (USA) 1:02:21 4:05 5:40:15 2:06 3:30:34