ON OUTDOOR SPORTS: DeKalb man competes in top Ironman event
By JAMES NOKES
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sports@daily-chronicle.com
DeKALB – The sunset over the Pacific Ocean was beautiful.
The splendor of the moment made a 26.2-mile run easier for Tim Suter, who had just completed a 2.4-mile ocean swim and a 112-mile bike ride in the 31st edition of the 2009 Ford Ironman World Championship.
Suter finished in 13 hours 17 minutes and 38 seconds. His overall place was 1,343th out of 1,800 participants. The DeKalb resident said the legendary competition at Kona, Hawaii, was a world-class event.
“The experience blew away any expectation that I had,” Suter said. “It was a first-class organization and a quality course worthy of a world championship. The sun setting is the memory of all memories. Besides crossing the finish line, the sunset over the ocean was truly unique.”
The first-leg of the swim in crystal-clear water allowed for beautiful vistas of the ocean floor. The water temperature was 79 degrees, the current was minimal but there was a mass of athletes huddles together. When the course turned to the lava fields, Suter said he encountered one of the most physically and mentally demanding tracks he ever had faced.
“The lava fields are baked by the sun all day,” Suter said. “The heat builds and it just radiates. It was like riding through an oven. The temperatures are in the 90s-100s and the ride into 30 mph winds made the ride epic.”
While running in his strong suit, when it came time for the marathon, Suter already had been on the course for eight hours. Every mile there was an aid station. Rather than focusing on running an entire marathon, Suter locked in on running to 26 different aid stations.
Because he stuck to his pre-race strategy to follow his heart rate rather than try to beat an athlete in front of him or stick to a certain speed on the bike, he "had a better day than expected,” Suter said. “The conditions were harder than I expected. I thought I had prepared for the worst. But time and time again I met my time goals. The heat and the wind were beyond my imagination.”
With his wife Julie, son Cullin, daughter Madeline, mother Jane and father George cheering him on along the way, Suter crossed well within the 17-hour time limit needed to be reached for results to be considered official.
“The whole last mile was the fastest of the run,” Suter said. “It was just a runners’ high. To see all the people, the lights, the announcer and TV cameras made me numb with adrenaline. I felt no pain at that moment.”
Kuhn update: The Chicago Marathon was a challenge for David Kuhn.
A goal of finishing in less than five hours was almost impossible with the mass of people on the streets of Chicago. Even though he wore a T-shirt that read Blind Runner, Kuhn had to stop four times as he ran into runners and made several sudden stops to avoid contact.
“It was a little more than I bargained for,” Kuhn said about the number of runners.
Undeterred by not meeting his goal, Kuhn will run the Chicago Lakefront 50/50 on Oct. 31. A race in which participants choose to run either a 50K or 50 miles. Kuhn will run the 50K, which is 5K more than a marathon and has a clear-cut goal for the event.
“There will be less people there,” Kuhn said. “I want to finish in under five hours so I can show that I would have done that at the Chicago Marathon."
Kuhn will run again to raise money for the Family Service Agency Senior Service Center.
“It is a great place for seniors to go play cards, watch movies and talk with people their own age,” Kuhn said.
For more information on how to donate to the Senior Service Center call them at 815-758-4718.
• James Nokes writes a weekly outdoors sports column for the Daily Chronicle. Write to him at sports@daily-chronicle.com.
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