Hoffman, Wurtele Set Course Records

Ben Hoffman’s girlfriend Kelsey, rushes to embrace him after he won the 2013 Coeur d’Alene Ironman triathlon with a course record time of 8:17:31 on Sunday in Coeur d’Alene. (SR photo: Tyler Tjomsland)

Ben Hoffman and Heather Wurtele have special connections to Ironman Coeur d’Alene. Hoffman attended the University of Montana and the first Ironman he watched was when Polson’s Matt Seeley took second in the Lake City. Wurtele’s first Ironman race and first Ironman victory came in Coeur d’Alene. That made Sunday even more special for the two as they captured professional titles in record times at the 11th annual Ironman Coeur d’Alene. The Boulder, Colo.-based Hoffman took the lead early on the bike and covered the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run in 8 hours, 17 minutes and 31 seconds, eclipsing Craig Alexander’s 2011 record by more than 2 minutes. Three-time champion Viktor Zyemtsev was second in 8:26.01/ Jim Meehan , Coeur d’Alene Press. More here.

Question: Has Ironman Coeur d’Alene inspired you to be more active?