Coeur d’Alene is a favorite resort and recreational setting in Idaho that offers breathtaking scenery to its visitors. Some of this city’s beauty includes a glacier-fed lake, the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course’s floating green, all encircled by amazing forests and parks. That beauty is where Darren Iozia, managing editor of The Source, participated in IRONMAN Coeur d’Alene on August 21.
This classic triathlon found athletes including Iozia pushing themselves to their utmost physical limits in swimming, biking and running. The race began with a two-loop, 2.4-mile swim in the clean and beautiful waters of Lake Coeur d’Alene. The athletes then proceeded to take on an arduous 112-mile bike course on which there is an 80-mile stretch with no turns. The athletes finished the event with a full marathon run, 26.2 miles, which loops around the shores of the lake. During the run, they travelled across peaceful natural scenery, and also took in bits of bustle in the small towns through which they passed. IRONMAN Coeur d’Alene boasts the most scenic routes of all the IRONMAN competitions.
Iozia spent approximately nine months preparing for the event and finished it in 15:59.57. “As long as you train you can physically complete the course, it’s the mental game that you have to battle throughout the race,” Iozia said, adding that the entire town supported all racers that day. Congratulations, Darren. We are so proud of you and your accomplishment. “I most definitely will do another one, but maybe in a year or so,” Iozia said.