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Faces of Ironman (with photos)

Bobbi Snethen
Special to The Capital Times
 —  9/09/2008 8:19 am

Here's a snapshot of some of the Ironman Wisconsin triathlon participants.

Jake Savstrom

Age: 29

Occupation: engineer

Hometown: Maple Grove, Minn.

Number of Ironmans: one

Time: 11 hours, 3 minutes, 8 seconds

"Despite the horror stories I heard, the bike course was great, and I'm probably one of the few who will say they enjoyed it."

Keelan Schmidley

Age: 19 (youngest participant)

Occupation: student, UW-Eau Claire

Hometown: Green Bay

Number of Ironmans: one

Time: 11:08:35

"It was a great atmosphere for my first Ironman. I signed up for next year, but I'm not sure I will be back because I literally had no life while I was training and going to school."

Natalie Schaefer

Age: 36

Occupation: financial vice president

Hometown: Chicago

Number of Ironmans: two

Time: 11:04:36 (won in her age group, women 35-39)

"This race was phenomenal. From the volunteers to the participants, it makes everything so much more rewarding. I'm not sure I'll see that in Kona next year."

Kristin Korevec

(pictured in between her father on the left, Tim Korevec, and her mother, Jackie)

Age: 27

Occupation: admissions program manager at UW-Madison

Hometown: Madison

Number of Ironmans: five

Time: 11:15:59

"This is always my favorite day of the year. Nothing beats a race like this in a city like Madison, and I had so many supporters here."

Craig Patnode

(pictured with wife Katherine, daughter Parker and son Grayson)

Age: 39

Occupation: art director

Hometown: Chicago

Number of Ironmans: one

Time: 11:19:53

"I'd have to say the worst part was the headlock I happened to be in during the swim, but I can honestly say this is my first and last Ironman. One and done!"

Dan Reimer

Age: 33

Occupation: physical therapist

Hometown: Madison

Number of Ironmans: two

Time: 11:24:38

"It's all about nutrition and pacing, but I also had an advantage because I've biked this course about 10 times this year prior to the race."

Pablo Ramirez

Age: 35

Occupation: artist

Hometown: Belleville

Number of Ironmans: nine

Time: 11:30:08

"Out of all of the races I've participated in, Madison by far has the most challenging bike course. It won't keep me from coming back here, though."

Jeff Snow

Age: 36

Occupation: director of production marketing

Hometown: Barrington, Ill.

Number of Ironmans: one

Time: 11:38:23

"I stopped running in marathons because it was hard on my knees, but I started training for triathlons, and look what I got myself into!"

Erin Kersten

Age: 27

Occupation: marketing account executive

Hometown: Chicago

Number of Ironmans: two

Time: 11:37:52

"I got a flat tire on the bike course, but crossing State Street, like, four times during the run gave me so much motivation to push through and finish strong."

Richard Lenley

Age: 51

Occupation: layout manager, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Hometown: Milwaukee

Number of Ironmans: five (all in Madison)

Time: 11:34:34

"By far, this is the most crowd support I've seen in my five races in Madison. I even saw a family watching from a flatbed trailer pulled by a tractor out on the bike course."

Bobbi Snethen
Special to The Capital Times
 —  9/09/2008 8:19 am