<\/a>Swimmers wind their way past watercraft in Auke Lake Sunday during the first-ever Ironman Alaska. (Ben Hohenstatt \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Whetman, a Salt Lake City resident participating in his fifth Iron Man, finished with a time of 9 hours, 11 minutes and 17 seconds, more than 12 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher. Race officials said winners often finish the endurance race in about eight hours, but the cool day and uneven terrain made for a slow course.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
The winner slowed to a walk as he neared the finish line and immediately collapsed upon crossing it with leg cramps, with his wife Kendall and a handful of racing officials immediately rushing up to offer what aid they could. A couple of minutes later he regained his feet and, during a brief interview with “Voice of the Ironman” Mike Reilly, said the most difficult part of the race was between mile 20 and 40 of the bicycling course, when his chilled hands were unable to squeeze his liquid bottles.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“It would have been so easy to just stop and quit,” Whetman said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Things got a bit brighter as he progressed, seeing his first sunlight since Thursday from one of the bays he passed on the circuit he had to pedal twice. But he was feeling the chill again when he started the marathon.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“My hands stopped working,” he said during an interview after collecting his medal and finisher’s shirt. “The first mile my legs were like stumps.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Whetman said despite the struggles that saw his per-mile pace slow considerably during the run “this is by far the best marathon I’ve ever run.” He said the bicycling portion is his strongest of the three events, so the chilly early-morning swim in Auke Lake seemed like it would be the most formidable challenge.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“Swimming is my weakness so the short swim played in my favor,” he said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Soaking up Southeast’s spirit<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Staging the Ironman in Juneau for the first time meant plenty of logistical challenges before the race such as some guest lodging being fully booked many months in advance, as well as impromptu arrangements during the race itself. But participants and officials in the event projected to generate $7 million in revenue generally offered warm and sunny praise for their encounters on and off the course.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Liz Cullen of West Vancouver celebrates after finishing with the top woman’s time in Ironman Alaska a time of 10:23:03. This is her fourth Ironman, but the first in seven years and she said the unique first-time location was part of the lure. (Mark Sabbatini \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t “It’s a great crowd out there in the pouring rain,” said Liz Cullen of West Vancouver, who was the top woman’s finisher with a time of 10:23:03. “Juneau, you are an absolute blast.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t This is Cullen’s fourth Ironman, but the first in seven years and she said the unique first-time location was part of the allure. As a resident of the Pacific Northwest “this climate suits me better than some others,” she said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t The bumpy cycling course stretching from Auke Lake to “the end of the road” north of town (with racers required to pedal the route twice) was challenging, but she said the gentler curving marathon route and a strong start to the day helped her achieve a winning finish.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “I just executed really well early,” she said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t The fastest Juneau resident was Will Coleman, an engineer with the state of Alaska, with a time of 10:03:24, placing him 14th overall. A prolific cyclist whose many victories include the 13.2-mile Juneau Freewheelers Bicycle Club North Douglas Time Trial in June, he followed that up by winning his first triathlon ever at the Sourdough Triathlon in Fairbanks on July 16 as his “trial run” for Ironman.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Will Coleman, the Juneau resident with the fastest time in the first-ever Ironman Alaska, pedals away from the University of Alaska Southeast campus on Sunday. (Ben Hohenstatt \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Coleman said the biking portion of the race over familiar roads went well — and without feeling the chill many outsiders did — because “it’s kind of nice I knew where the trouble spots are.” But when a friend talked him into doing the race a year ago it meant starting to run long distances again, and “I started learning how to swim (competitively) in November.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t But his fastest finish among Juneau residents was marred by a couple of clouds, including another local getting announcer credit from Reilly as the first Juneauite to cross the finish line — which technically was true because starting times for racers were staggered and Coleman’s “rival” got off to an earlier start. The more painful setback was Coleman said he suffered what appears to be a stress fracture, which means while he might qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in October due to his top-three finish in the 35-39 age group, he won’t be going there this fall.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “I intend to get there at some point,” he said. “It’s going to happen.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t The “first” local resident to cross the finish line was John Bursell, 58, a veteran of more than 20 Ironman races, with a time of 10:13:20. Bursell, a sports medicine doctor with more than 30 years of experience who has lived in Juneau with his family since 1996, said he wasn’t bothered by the cold and wet conditions on his home turf.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/a>