The conditions outside this week in Madison are fairly similar to those prevailing at the 2006 edition of Ironman Wisconsin: cold, windy and wet.
While this may sound like a pleasantly cool situation for athletes racing a combined total of 140.6 miles by water, bike and foot, it's actually pretty disagreeable, tough conditions when the action starts off in the choppy waves of Lake Monona.
This didn't stop more than 2170 entrants from completing the race though, with more a few finishes captured for posterity.
Several videos of the finish line in front of Monona Terrace follow below
The first clip shows the finish line at Hour 14 of the race (around 9 p.m.), which is described as "cold, dark, rainy, and inspirational":
That's not the only video of the finish line at this year's race. Three more follow:
- This 12-second clip follows one Ironman completing the final steps of the day while accompanied by two young fans.
- This photo montage -- set to "Float On" by Modest Mouse -- depicts the entirety of the race from Lake Monona to the fields of Dane County and back to the streets of Madison. The focus is ironman and "special guest star" Brendan Gately, who completed the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run amid cool air and steady rain. A "tough one."
- The final three clips are video montagea, showing clips of the racers and their fans as they swam, biked and ran through the morning, day and night. It is also a souvenir of the race, as the end of the video could be customized for each individual racer. In this version, Wookie Kim completes the course in just under 12 hours. "The best single moment of my entire life. I'd give almost everything to relive that moment," he writes. "Experience the glory of an Ironman." Similar clips can be found here and here.
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