Hertel to compete in 'Super Bowl' of Ironmans

SANDPOINT — Ironman triathlons are brutal by nature, physically and mentally demanding affairs where athletes push themselves to finish a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run as fast as they can.

There’s brutal, and then there’s the beast that is Ironman Hawaii, the granddaddy of all triathlons. Not only is it the sport’s World Championship every year, but it’s blistering hot and humid conditions ratchet things up a few degrees, both literally and figuratively.

Every year, tens of thousands of top-level triathletes compete around the world to garner one of the coveted 1,800 starting spots in the annual invitation-only event.

Sagle’s Keith Hertel, a 46 year-old electrical engineer at the Navy Base in Farragut, will be one of those 1,800 racing on Oct. 10, when he competes in his second Ironman Hawaii, having qualified in 2004 as well.

To earn a spot in the race he finished 124th out of more than 2,600 athletes at the recent Canadian Ironman, finishing in 10 hours and 21 minutes, good enough to earn one of the seven qualifying spots available from the 330 people in his age group.

Hertel has completed five Ironmans, with a personal best of 10:01, and believes a good race in Hawaii can place him in the top 10-15 in his age group, no small accomplishment considering he’s racing against the sport’s elite.

“I’d love to be able to get under 10 (hours) somewhere,” he said with a laugh, admitting 10:30 is his target time in Kona. “In Hawaii, with the wind and heat, not too many people get their personal bests.”

Biking is Hertel’s strongest discipline, and he’ll need all of the strength and savvy he can muster while pedaling across the windy desert lava fields. To get ready for the race, he’s been logging roughly six hours a week on a bike, four hours running and another two in the water, tapering off slightly as the race approaches to let his body rest up.

In his initial Ironman Hawaii, he took off too quickly in the run and paid a hefty price in the last 10 scorching miles, finishing in 10:55 but learning a valuable lesson about pacing himself. Alas, it’s not just the challenge that draws him to the sport, but the eventuality that he’ll learn something new each race, both physically and mentally.

“You’re emotionally up and down. You focus on working through the tough parts and hoping it gets better,” he explained. “It’s such a hard event on your body. It’s the Super Bowl of the sport, and it’s just neat to be out there competing on that course.”