The following article and photo appeared in the Boise Weekly following the race. Note the commentation 1/2 way through the article from my dear sister as well as my fine husband. I can see Tex waving the cowbell as we speak! Love you both!
Cloudy with a side of headwinds (oh, and lots of rain). The weather
order on Saturday, June 9, for the 2012 Ironman race was certainly not
what racers or their fans anticipated when they woke up that morning. By
noon, when the first leg of the race dipped into Lucky Peak, the Gem
State's signature fickle weather wasn't showing any signs of budging
graciously for the event.
Still, despite the cold and rain, there were victories—more than
expected, actually. New Zealand natives Callum Millward and Matty Reed
made Ironman history when they crossed the finish line together in 2
hours, 13 minutes and 18 seconds. After three hours of deliberation,
both were awarded $10,000 winner's checks. In the women's race, Jodie
Swallow of Great Britain finished at the head of the pack, with a time
of 2 hours, 29 minutes.
I've never been so cold in my life," exclaimed A.J. Baucco, a veteran
Ironmanner from Ohio who remained at the front of the pack during the
race. Baucco was the 24th person to cross the finish line. I've done a
lot of these: New Orleans, Kansas, Mexico, fuck, you name it. And that
sucked."
Officials of the race concurred, even if they didn't describe the
conditions in the same explicit terms. The race's biking portion was
drastically amputated due to the chilling conditions and alarming
headwinds, leaving 12 miles to pedal over, rather than the usual
50-plus. While this was done with the racers' safety in mind, not
everyone breathed a sigh of relief in light of the decision.
As athlete Lynette Horton pulled through the 50-degree water, her
sister Patty said, "When they took the bike off, we both started crying.
All that hard work and its not really a full Ironman."
Baucco agreed, "I would have rather had a longer bike."
But spirits weren't irredeemably droopy, though, even with the race
modifications. Even Patty said in a relatively chipper tone, "I told
her, 'OK, you will have to do another one with me, but can we just do it
someplace warm, like, I dunno, New Zealand or Cancun?'"/p>
Before long, the jangling cow bells amplified, grandmas and
grandkids began swaying their hips along with the loudspeaker, and Tex, a
dapper man in the crowd, egged it all on with impressions of Saturday
Night Live skits:
"We need more cow bell!" he yelled.
Enthusiasm
only increased as the race progressed into BODO. Amusing and absurd
quips were scrawled onto posters that peppered the crowd. Top favorites
included: "That's not sweat. It's your fat cells crying," and "My mom is
hotter than your mom." The former came with red-and-orange paper mache
flames and four energetic kids, and the latter was crafted specially for
racer Kim Sharmon of Washington, and signaled a shift in the race's
initially beleaguered atmosphere.
Mother nature even took a
hint, and the race ended on a rejuvenatingly sunny note. The amount of
soggy and sobbing children dwindled and racers' bone-white bare feet and
bluish lips returned to a color that didn't seem like they all stepped
out of The Adams Family. As late afternoon crept forward, it was time
for delicious hot bevys, blinding silver space blankets, and warm food
from BODO's restaurants and local vendors. And maybe even a
well-deserved nap.
