Ironman Wisconsin - Triathlon

This swim was brutal. It looks like most everyone else agrees and even when the guy who won it compared it to St. George type of a swim with the waves/wind you gotta know all us swimmers were feeling it. The first leg before the first turn wasn't too bad because we had the wind behind us going out but once we hit the turn it was brutal from there on out. I didn't get off to a very good start just due to the fact that I was stuck behind a slower guy and yeah...it's IMWI mass start. I really wanted to be around 55 minutes but I knew that was thrown out the window when I saw the white caps right away at 6:30 am. The long section headed back east was the worst. You were swimming into it and sighting was tough it seemed like to me. I think I could have done better if I sighted more but it was tough getting slammed in the face every time you lifted your' head up while going forward. For some reason also my left hammy started to cramp up which made me back off a tad too but I don't kick much to begin with. Overall I was glad to get out of the water and onto the bike which was a first for me coming from a swimming background!

Try and sight better and go even harder at the start of the swim. Heck! I beat 6 pro male swimmers!

Ran out of the water and skipped the wetsuit strippers since I was a front of pack swimmer. I ran up the helix and really got pumped up from the crowd. I yelled at them to really get em going and they cheered even louder. It made you feel like a rockstar! Got into the changing tent with my bag very quickly and they dumped my bag out for me while 2 other guys stripped my wetsuit off me. Got my socks on quick while I was putting on my helmet. Ran all the way to my bike with my shoes in my hand so I wouldn't have to run as far in cleats.

Nothing really. I think this was a pretty fast time for the distance you had to travel in T1 and running up the Helix.

Well I was doing awesome on the bike. Made it through the first loop feeling a little fatigued but generally I was able to keep my heart rate down better than I anticipated I would. The crowd support was insane! The amount of people that walk miles to get to those big hills are just amazing. Saw everything from fake body parts to weird shaved dogs...you name it. It was there!

Everything was going great until right around mile 60. I was going up a slight hill and doing around 18-19 mph when BANG!!! I came to a pretty abrupt stop. I broke a spoke on my front wheel.(90mm Bontrager carbon wheel). Needless to say the wheel would NOT spin anymore. So I was like my race is ruined until sag gets here. A lot of athletes went by asking if I needed a tube but I just kept telling them my spoke had broke and the wheel would barely turn. One woman said she would tell the next group she saw to get ahold of a SAG. Thank you whoever you were! Sag got there pretty quick actually and I was impressed at how quick they were there. Well insert no help though. Guy got out and basicly told me I would have to quit or ride with what I had. They apparently don't have spare wheels at an event you spend close to 700 dollars for.! I was pissed to say the least. Bike tech guy started explaining to me that since I ran Tubular's that he couldn't change my tire because all he had were clinchers...that's when I lost it a bit on him. I told him again I need a new WHEEL!

Ended up having him completely loosen my front brake so the wheel would pretty much spin on it's own again albeit it still hit the left pad just a tad. I was told to go real easy on the downhills. My wheel was wobbly as hell and all I could do was just pray that I would make it back to T2 and be able to finish this quest for the holy grail! It was very demoralizing seeing a lot of people pass me the rest of the race on downhills because I was riding my rear brake and not going over 25. I was afraid the wheel could fail at any moment and it really was a mental challenge for me. I made it back to T2 though in one piece.

I was averaging 20.5 mph when the spoke broke. I ended up averaging 18.5 but I think if the spoke wouldn't have broke I still would have been around 20. Thinking it cost me close to 40 minutes of time though. :( Very sad.

Not much. Not break a spoke on smooth asphalt I guess...

I didn't ride with my feet on top of the shoes because I didn't think they allowed it since they don't let you leave them clipped in. So I hopped off the bike and they took it away while I ran into T2. Took them a couple extra seconds to find my bag but the volunteer's did an awesome job! Got my helmet off and put new socks on and got into my shoes pretty decent time I think. I think next time I can be quicker about it but for the most part I was happy with the way it all went down. Guy helped me into my socks just like they did in T1 and that is just awesome. Love you volunteer's and if I get the chance next year I will go up and volunteer!

Not much. Maybe try and move a bit faster but when it's all said and done 3 minutes at IMWI T2 is pretty fast.

It was tough! Yeah...kinda an understatement lol. I am so glad a lot of my family came and helped support me. You guys gave me so much of a boost in energy everytime I would see ya. I also had friends following me on bikes for about a half mile giving me some updates and giving me words of encouragement. I think for the most part I did pretty well considering the day I had had. I think all the emotions from my bike issue really wore me down mentally. I really had to dig down deep to make it through this run.

State street is one word...AMAZING. If you want the best support in the world IMWI is the greatest course out there. I know I have only done 1 IM now but all the people I talked to that have done LOTS of IM say Madison is by far the best supported race in the world hands down! There were thousands of people lining the streets along a good portion of the run course. I didn't care for running through Camp Randall Stadium (where the badgers play). It just didn't do anything for me I guess :P. Observatory hill was devastating. I didn't realize how big of a hill it was until it was there slapping and laughing at me in the face. I ran up half of it and decided to start walking to try and conserve energy for later in the marathon. I also had to stop about 4-5 miles in and pee. I hadn't gone all day and felt like I would burst. Well I bet I was in the porta potty for at least 2 minutes that mile. I probably pissed a gallon and was actually relieved to see it was pretty clear! (Yeah we are talking about my urine color). I had to stop and walk through an aid station for the first time around mile 7 or so. The one along the northern lake. I was starting to bonk somewhat and knew I needed to walk and take in extra nutrition. I had basically gone to just Perform and water by then. It was working so why screw with a good thing right? On the way back to downtown I walked through another aid station and took in some pretzels and extra perform again. The pretzels didn't sit right but I was able to get my stomach issues under control without having to walk again. I think in total I walked about 5-6 aid stations at the most which I was really happy about.

When I came back close to the finish line where you turn around and do it all over again there was my Dad at the end/start of State street cheering me on. Got me a little emotional and I continued on my way. Then about a .25 mile further there was my Wife, son, sisters, bro-in-law, and mother all cheering me on. My 3 year old was throwing his arm in the air yelling for me to GO! I got real emotional then and almost started to cry somewhat!.~ I did the turnaround and when going back by them got in close to give him a high five and got yelled at by a volunteer for being in the wrong lane. Sorry but I'm giving my kid a high five! Once on my way back onto State street and seeing my dad again there was Fireman Rob infront of me starting his marathon. I stopped and shook his hand and we all were cheered by thousands! The second lap got really hard out by the lake again for some reason. At that aid station I walked it and tried a gu I had grabbed earlier out of my pocket and tried a bit and about vomited. Gross...back to Perform and water! Around mile 22-23 I really started to pick the pace up thinking I may be able to get under 11. At about 24 though I realized it probably wasn't going to happen and backed off a tad so I could conserve and not hit that brick wall!

I really made up a lot of time on that first loop I think as well. I was passing so many people it was unbelievable. I am a better runner than biker it seems and it really showed in the marathon. I was able to pass 5 people in my ag and almost 100 total for overall placement when it was said and done.

There's something about coming back through that last mile that is magical. It feels like you are floating on a cloud almost. You know you have done it and there is nothing in your' way anymore. No mental barriers because you have just broken through them. You have defeated something only very few in the world have done. You dreamed a dream and it became a reality. Hearing Mike Riley say "Christopher Beveroth, you are an IRONMAN!" was awesome even if I was a little out of it.

?Dunno?

I must have looked half way out of it because two volunteer's were holding onto me for a couple minutes while I was getting my finishers stuff. Then the last one asked if I was good and I said yes. Drank some chocolate milk, got my photo taken and met my family at the back of the finish line along with a lot of friends and training partners who had come to watch me. It was magical!


The wind was a contributing factor during the whole race. It made the swim hard and the bike tough at points but the wheel issue really put a cramp on my day. Again I think it cost me a good 30-40+ minutes of time.


It's Ironman Wisconsin baby! I just want to thank my family and friends for coming on and supporting me through this. Thank you volunteer's and all the other people out their cheering 2500+ crazies onto their dreams. A special thanks goes out to my wife and kid for putting up with all the crazy training hours I put in on my weekends off. Without you two I would be lost. Also a shout out to you the BT community. There were questions I asked along the last year or two that were answered and really helped out as well.

"Christopher Beveroth, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!"