Area residents shine at Ironman

SANDPOINT — A couple of first time competitors and a veteran of the grueling race helped lead a strong contingent of Sandpoint area residents at the 2010 Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene on Sunday.

Just finishing the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run Ironman is a most worthy accomplishment in its own right, but a few local competitors did one better, finishing very high in their respective age groups.

Sandpoint native and SHS grad Brian Hadley, whose parents own the Paint Bucket in Sandpoint, led the way by finishing a remarkable 18th out of more than 2,200 competitors, beating a host of professionals in the process.

“This was my best race,” said Hadley, who now has six Ironman competitions under his belt and finished in 9 hours, 24 minutes and 21 seconds. “It feels pretty good to be 35 and still get faster.”

Hadley, the top finisher in the amateur 35-39 year-old class, plans to take a year off before competing again and keeps it up because of the support from his family and the thrill of chasing a goal.

“I got choked up at the start of the swim,” he admitted. “I’ve never done that before.”

Sandpoint’s Jeff Smith was not far behind, clocking a 9:43.06 to finish 32nd overall and first in his age group of 25-29 year-olds. Smith, 28, was hoping to crack the top 50 in his first ever attempt at an Ironman, and called the race his No. 1 accomplishment in a career full of shorter triathlons.

Smith was the sixth amateur out of the water and had some cramping issues on the bike, before passing about 30 people on the run, typically his weakest of the three disciplines.

“Normally I hang on for the run,” said Smith, who qualified for the World Championships in Kona in October by placing in the top three in his age group. “I just started running and felt great.”

For Sandpoint’s Cody Helander, who had never even attempted a marathon before, let alone more than 140 miles of grueling endurance, her time of 12:48.12 far exceeded her pre-race expectations. The finish placed her fourth in her age group of 18-24 year-old women, one spot from qualifying for the World Championships.

Helander, 22, has been training with a triathlon club in Eugene and just one mile into the marathon portion of her first ever Ironman she began to question how she was going to finish. She plugged along, and at mile 19 drank a Coke, of all beverages, which gave her a burst of energy for the final push.

“From mile 22 on I was super choked up and on the last block I couldn’t hold back and started bawling,” described Helander, who hopes to attempt another Ironman next year. “It’s a feeling of accomplishment, joy and pain at the same time.”

Helander had heard horror stories about the swim portion of the race, of people being kicked, bumped into and even swam over as more than 2,000 bodies simultaneously storm the beach.

“The swim start is complete mayhem, madness,” said Helander, calling it her strongest discipline. “I had to channel those nerves to excitement and be ready to kill it.”

Sandpoint’s Jacob Styer was the fourth and final area resident to conquer the Ironman, clocking a tidy 11:58.03, good for 609th overall and 91st in his age group of 30-34 year-old men.