Anchorage Daily News

Nobody expects the Ironman World Championship triathlon in Hawaii to be easy.

Even when conditions are ideal and an athlete feels wonderful, the grind of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike race and 26.2-mile run back-to-back-to-back in tropical heat is grueling.

But Katy Rosane of Eagle River hoped her second Ironman in 12 months would afford her familiarity, experience and -- dare she say -- a slightly more comfortable trip.

Forget that.

Less than 24 hours before the race start on Kona early Saturday morning, Rosane's body was wracked by a nasty cold.

"I was questioning whether I was even going to make it to the start line," she said on Sunday by phone. "Friday I was drugged up on cold medications and sprawled out in bed while my husband was putting together my nutrition plan for me and helping me get my bike turned in" (to where athletes pick it up after completing their Pacific Ocean swim).

"When race day rolled around, I could at least breathe, so I made it to the start line. But, man, it was brutal."

The world's most renown triathlon is about nothing if not perseverence, and Rosane, a 45-year-old nurse at Alaska Regional Hospital, had that in spades. She got through, somehow finishing under 12 hours in 11:58:47 to place her 36th in her age group. The time was a bit slower than her 11:39:44 effort a year ago, but for Rosane, simply finishing was more important than any time.

Fellow Alaskan Dale Haines, 49, demonstrated more than his share of perseverence too, finishing his first Ironman in 14:27:39.

While Rosane qualified to race in Hawaii with her finish at the Lake Placid Ironman earlier this year, Haines won one of 150 lottery spots auctioned off to U.S. triathletes who cannot meet Ironman's rigorous qualification standards.

That launched months of intense training by the operations manager for Chevron in Anchorage. Haines was particularly worried whether he could meet the cutoff time of 2 hours, 20 minutes for the opening swimming leg amid the frothing arms and legs of 1,807 other triathletes.

He did -- with ease.

Haines finished his swim in 1:29:29 and followed that up with a 7:44:21 bike ride and a 4:57:14 marathon. His biggest challenge came at the end of bike ride when, he believes, a rock got caught in the sprocket of his bike.

"I went head over heels," he said, suffering several abrasions. "The medic folks told me to lay down but I told them, 'I've got things to do.' "

Like running a marathon. "My marathon was a sub-5 (hour) time, but the time really doesn't matter."

What mattered was experiencing the home stretch of the Ironman at the end of the marathon segment.

"Going down Ali Drive (toward the finish line) there were tens of thousands of people out. You could start hearing the noise two miles away."

Haines' family was there to help him celebrate what he called "the most physically and mentally challenging thing I've ever done. Crossing that finish line was phenomenal."

Rosane might say the same thing, even though she's now completed eight triathlons at the full Ironman distance. In addition to feeling ill, headwinds that nearly blew her off the bike several times in last year's Ironman were even worse.

"But I just kept telling myself, 'God brought me to it, he'll get me through it!' I just prayed for perseverance -- and that I wouldn't pass out on the run."

Sure enough, "I got pretty dizzy at times," she said. But over the last few miles, she started chatting up fellow racers, "some wonderful people who helped pull me in."

Haines was so stoked that he and his family celebrated until 2 a.m.

Not Rosane.

After a quick hamburger, she headed back to her hotel.

"I was falling asleep walking back," she said.

Reporter Mike Campbell can be reached at 257-4329 or mcampbell@adn.com.

Alaskans at Ironman World Championships

• Katy Rosane: 11:58:47, including 1:22:05 (swim), 6:16:40 (bike), 4:09:32 (run)

• Dale Haines: 14:27:39, including 1:29:29 (swim), 7:44:21 (bike), 4:57:14 (run)

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