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August 26, the mercury climbed to 86 degrees for the first ever, Louisville Ironman Triathlon, in which Mark VanDevelde, participated. The August 26 event in Kentucky was the first Ironman competition for the son of James and Verna VanDevelde of Frankenmuth.
One of the participants, a local TV anchor who competed in the Ironman described it this way,
"You just think about finishing the race," says John Boel, "When you get to the end of it you're in the darkness and you see the light up ahead and you hear the announcer and the crowd. The announcer calls every single person's name out. They're like, 'And here cojmes John Boel from Louisville, Kentucky. John: You're an Ironman! And suddenly you have no pain in the world."

For those unfamiliar with the competition the Ironman competition is a long version of the triathlon, which involves swimming, bicycling and running.

VanDeVelde, a senior manager for Honda in Columbus, Ohio, trains each morning before he begins his job. Although this is the 43-year-old's first Ironman, he has run several races and shorter triathlons, including the Boston, Los Angeles and Columbus Marathons.

"Running these races gives my son a sense of accomplishment and at the same time reduces his stress," said Frankenmuth High School's former band director, James VanDevelde. "I think his involvement is great."

Ironman competitions are held all over the world but this was the first annual Louisville, Ironman Triatholan.

The race began with a dip in the " not so pristine" waters of the Ohio River looping around a 2.4-mile course.

Next the events 2,141 triathaletes biked 112 miles through flat terrain that quickly transformed into foothills, making the ride more grueling for it's participants.

Not to be outdone by each other, the athletes moved on to what some might consider the easiest part of the race, running 26.2 miles through many of Louisville's well-known sites, such as Churchill Downs and the University of Louisville.

VanDevelde, finished with a time of 14:14:43. The top place finisher completed the course in 8:38:00 and the last contestant to finish had a time of 17:18:00. 500 people gave up before they finished the course.