[photo: (l to r) Mirek Boruta, Natalie Schaefer & Jason Campbell]

PacWest had nine (9) members race Ironman Coeur d’Alene on Sunday. Despite the small number compared to the 2,500 participants in the race field, PacWest was extremely well represented from start to finish with eight (8) finishing the challenging course in under 11:51:00! The race announcers couldn’t help but notice and acknowledge the strong steady flow of PacWest athletes crushing the course. PacWest also had a HUGE support team of family and friends cheering out on the course all day. BIG THANKS to all of our awesome supporters both in CDA and back home! Trust us, your presence was felt all day long!

Brian August led the group with one of the fastest swims (pros & amateurs) of the day in 52:44 and was 1st out of the water in his age group. Meanwhile Kiet Tran (58:06) and Jason Campbell (59:57) followed with impressive sub-1 hour swims in the freezing water temperatures. Our top athlete of the day, Mirek Boruta, emerged at 1:00:31 and proceeded to mow down the field with a strong bike leg (5:08:49) and then marathon (3:13:50). Mirek was the 7th amateur overall and took 2nd in his age group M30-34. Jason also kept a strong pace the rest of the way and finish 3rd in the Men’s 50-54 age group. Brian went on to finish in sub-10 hours and 12th in M40-44. He just missed a Kona slot!

On the woman’s side, Natalie Schaefer, who was coming off an injury that kept her out of racing the majority of last year, raced incredibly strong and steady the whole way. She finished with the perfect time of 11:00:00 and took 3rd in the woman’s 35-39 age group.

Congratulations also to Jay Ridgeway (10:46:34), Frank Carozza (10:57:21),  Kiet Tran (11:17:40) and Bill Shen (11:50:57) for their impressive performances and times. The frigid water temperatures and change in the run course (they made it harder!) proved to be very challenging for many people. 40 people were pulled from the water because of signs of hypothermia and 165 people did not finish the race.

Check out some of the race photos – click here.

Race Results

Name (Division) Finish Time (Overall & Age Group Finish) Awards
Mirek Boruta (M30-34) 9:29:56 (OA 7, AG 2) Podium, Kona Qualifier
Brian August (M40-44) 9:58:03 (OA 42, AG 12)
Jason Campbell (M50-54) 10:15:43 (OA 85, AG 3) Podium, Kona Qualifier
Jay Ridgeway (M40-44) 10:46:34 (OA 185, AG 37)
Frank Carozza (M40-45) 10:57:21 (OA 237, AG 48)
Natalie Schaefer (F35-39) 11:00:00 (OAFemale 18, AG 3) Podium, Kona Qualifier
Kiet Tran (M40-44) 11:19:40 (OA 341, AG 73)
Bill Shen (M35-39) 11:50:57 (OA 542, AG 90)
Yi Hsueh (F30-34) swim/partial bike only