If you were anywhere near downtown on Sunday, you no doubt saw the hordes of people that came to witness one of the world's greatest tests of courage, determination and pure athleticism. The Ironman Wisconsin Triathalon consumed the city for most of the day Sunday, kicking off at 7 a.m. and concluding at midnight.
The grueling race began with a 2.4 mile swim around Lake Mendota that had to be completed in just over two hours, as the swim course closed at 9:20 a.m. After completing the swim it was onto the hilly biking course, 112 miles completed in two loops throughout the Madison area.
The bike course ran mostly west of the city and ended where it began on Caroll Street. As if biking 112 miles in the heat was not enough, the participants then put on running shoes and ran a 26.2-mile marathon. The race finally ended near the Capitol, where thousands of fans cheered on the finishing athletes.
There were athletes from all over the world, including participants from Germany, Spain, France and Switzerland. But Madison's own were out in good numbers as well, and it was a professor who had the honor of being the first Madison resident to complete the race.
People as young as 18 years old, as well as experienced veterans who had competed in over 20 Ironman Triathalons.
As exciting as it was for the athletes to test themselves against arguably the toughest event in all of sports, the fans and spectators had a major role and impact on most of the athletes.
Throughout the home stretch on State Street and at the finish line near the Capitol Square, fans filled in to watch the athletes. At certain points the crowd was four people deep along the course and the grandstands were packed near the finish line.
As they lined the streets, fans greeted the athletes with cheers, as well as noisemakers, cow bells stereos, signs, posters and T-shirts. The athletes were also welcomed with words of encouragement that had been written on pavement along the course, especially on State Street.
Hundreds of people volunteered to hand out food, water, Gatorade and any help that was needed by the athletes. For the people working the race, it was a special day just to be able to witness such a remarkable event.
\I am a runner, and it's just an inspiration and it's great"" said Inga Verg, a volunteer who spent most of the afternoon passing out food to the athletes on Mifflin Street. ""And as an athlete, this is an ultimate, to see how you can push your body. To me it is just the pinnacle of an athlete.""
For the athletes, the grueling one day event encompasses much more than the average spectator can imagine. Training may be the most tedious and frustrating part of an Ironman Triathalon for those participating.
""For this, he has slowly been building up for it, doing different stages of it here in Madison,"" said Katie Scott who was watching her friend Dana complete the triathalon. ""He ran a marathon, and he started biking, so he has been working his way up.""
""[It's inspiring] just seeing everybody push themselves so much, and get so close to the edge,"" Scott added about the participants.
For Uwe Widmann, who finished third overall, traveling from Germany was well worth the test of endurance. Sunday's triathalon was at least the 15th triathalon he has completed, yet he felt Madison's course was very difficult.
""It was so hot out there today, the humidity made it a lot tougher,"" Widmann said. ""The hills were really tough in the biking part of the race.""
At the end of the day it would be Heather Gollnick of Hartford, Wisconsin that would take home the women's first place prize. Gollnick won her second consecutive Wisconsin Ironman and finished the competition in nine hours, 46 minutes and 28 seconds.
She fell behind in the first two parts of the race - swimming and biking - but was able to make up five minutes on Desiree Ficker of Boulder, Colo. for the victory. Gollnick ran the marathon in three hours, 24 minutes and 30 seconds to beat the second place finisher by nearly 20 minutes.
On the men's side, it would be Dave Harju from Canada that edged out Torbjorn Sindballe of Denmark and Widmann in a close finish in triathalon terms. Harju was the only athlete to finish the event in under nine hours. He completed the race in eight hours, 55 minutes and 26 seconds. The Canada native was able to fight off Sindballe who finished just over five minutes behind him.
The top finisher in the men's competition from Wisconsin was Terry Labinski. Labinski makes his home in Waukesha, WI, and completed the course in nine hours, 22 minutes and 59 seconds. That time was good enough for fifth overall.
Over the course of the Ironman, a total of 1,807 people participated according to Ironman Wisconsin News. All in all their were $25,000 in prize money and 80 participants qualified for the World Championship in Hona, Hawaii.
