Locals compete in half Ironman

High school teacher Kevin Cotner and local contractor Doug Hull, along with hundreds of other athletes, competed in the sixth-annual Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens, held on Sunday, August 14, in Lake Stevens, Washington.

Lake Stevens is a small resort town located 40 miles north of Seattle and eight miles east of Everett in Snohomish County, with a lake that encompasses approximately 1,040 acres with eight miles of shoreline. The town was teeming with athletes, friends, family and hundreds of spectators who came out for the half Ironman competition which is known as one of the most challenging and hilly 70.3 courses in the country.

Weather conditions couldn't have been more perfect: calm waters, zero wind, low temperature and cloud cover that lasted for most of the race.

Almost 1,500 competitors, including professionals, groups from 18 years of age to 80-plus years, and the physically challenged competed with staggered age-group starts. The professional men kicked it off at 6:30 a.m. and hit the water en mass and fought for position in the 1.2-mile out-and-back swim from the public boat launch in downtown Lake Stevens. Contestants swam in a narrow part of the lake which provided the best views for spectators.

From there, competitors transitioned to their bikes and rode 56 miles that took them through beautiful Pacific Northwest terrain. The 13.1-mile run took competitors out of downtown and into the surrounding communities for the final leg of the race.

Sisters locals finished the course and were pleased with their performances.

Cotner battled the 70.3-mile course to finish in 5:10:15, 20 minutes better than he'd hoped for. Kevin swam a 34:30 split, a 2:48:04 split on the bike and a 1:42:41 split for the 13.1-mile run. Cotner finished 29th in his age group (30-32) out of 160 contestants and 189th overall out of 1,490 contestants.

"I finished under my goal, so I was definitely pleased," said Cotner. "However, the competitor in me felt like I could have gone under five hours with a few minor adjustments. I need to do some things differently as far as nutritional/caloric intake during my bike leg, which will hopefully leave enough gas in the tank to finish strong in miles 10-13 in the run."

Hull, who was part of the 40-44 age group, finished 93rd out of 127 in his age group and 600th overall. Doug swam a 44:50 split and 3:00:39 on the bike. Hulls' back tightened up while on the bike, which slowed down his time. Doug wrapped up the race with a 2:13:48 split in the 13.1 mile run for a total of 6:06:27.

Hull said, "I was really happy with my finish. I told myself I'd be ecstatic if I could finish under six hours, and I finished at 6:06 which is right there. I felt like I finished the swim well, and I gained ground on the bike based on where I was when I got out of the water. On the run I just held on for dear life."

The grueling 70.3 miles were very taxing and took their toll on both Cotner and Hull.

When asked how he felt after he crossed the finish line Hull grinned and said, "I was a hurtin' puppy. I had burning pain in my hamstring tendons, and I was done. My legs were killing me and I had to sit down. It took me a full week to recover."

Cotner's response was, "It's hard to describe how I felt after the race was over, but I was truly exhausted. This was as challenging an endeavor as I have ever participated in, and for over five hours I demanded my body to operate at a high level. It hurt! But, the people that are the most successful in this sport are those who can push their body further and harder than their opponents. They're the ones who don't slow down when they need to, don't walk when they have to, and push through when they feel they can no longer."

Both commented on the highs and lows of the race.

Hull said, "The best part of the race was sprinting to the finish and thinking to myself, 'Yes, I did it!' And, the worst part was when I hit the 10-mile mark in the run. I hit a steep grade and I felt like my legs couldn't turn any faster. My running was like me walking and I was so glad to make it to the top."

Cotner told The Nugget it was hard to describe how he felt when he crossed the finish line.

"I'd trained for six months, over 1,700 miles for this one event, so crossing the finish line was kind of bittersweet. Coming around the final turn of the run and heading toward the Ironman banner splashed across the finish line was such a beautiful sight and definitely the best part of the race." 

Cotner added, "The worst part for me was urinating on the bike while going 23 mph. I'm not too proud to admit that I am a competition junkie. There's just no way I was going to get off the bike to pee and let people pass me. It just wasn't going to happen."

Both plan to compete in future races.

Hull first became interested in the Ironman while he was still in high school. It was then he thought he might actually want to compete in the event at some point in his life, and it wasn't until two years ago that his dream started to take shape and he started to compete in Olympic and Sprint races. This year he decided to take it to the next level with the half Ironman in Lake Stevens.

Cotner's interest was due to entirely different reasons. Kevin's decision came as a result of a commitment he'd made to himself after he was diagnosed with cancer back as a senior in high school.

"I was given many books and told many stories about people who had overcome odds and then succeeded at bringing their chemo-stricken bodies back from total ruin to compete in some of the most grueling events in the world. It's taken 14 years to hold true to that commitment, but my journey is now six months in the making and half complete. The Ironman to me represents the peak of human endurance (2.4-mile swim, 112 miles on the bike and 26.2-mile run). It represents the biggest challenge I could place on my body. I want to be able to have gone from the fringes of death to the finish line at Ironman, something that in my exercise/OCD mind will solidify the health of my body post-cancer."

Cotner hopes to fulfill that commitment next June in a full Ironman competition in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. He plans to compete in another half Ironman in Sweet Home in September as part of his continued training and preparation for next year's big race. Hull has plans to compete in an Olympic race in San Diego, also in September.