Juneau duo of Bursell and Rivera conquer world's toughest triathlon
Local athletes each finish the Hawaii Ironman race in less than 11 hours
Juneau's Tracy Rivera and John Bursell more than held their own Saturday at the 2007 Ironman World Championships triathlon in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
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The duo each completed the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bicycle race and 26.2-mile run in under 11 hours. It was the first Hawaii Ironman race for both of them.
Rivera, a 40-year-old Juneau-Douglas High School physical education teacher, finished 118th out of 250 competitors in his men's open 40-44 age group. Rivera completed the arduous course in 10 hours, 49 minutes and 47 seconds.
He completed the swim in 1:06:33, the bike race in 5:34:10 and the marathon in 3:51:04. He finished in 716th place overall.
Rivera was also the fastest Alaskan in the race.
Bursell, a 43-year-old physician, finished 138th in the same age group in 10:56:21.
He finished the swim in 1:13:58, the bike race in 5:35:30 and the marathon in 3:25:34. Bursell took 781st place overall.
Eagle River's Katy Rosane, a 44-year-old nurse, finished the course in 11:39:46 while Anchorage's Ellyn Brown, a 55-year-old teacher, finished in 16:08:25.