Gaiser finishes Ford Ironman triathlon

By JOE SOVA - Hungry Horse News

It's a whole different animal for triathletes when they compete in the 2007 Ford Ironman World Championship in Hawaii — due to the heat and humidity.

Scott Gaiser, an assistant principal at Columbia Falls High School, competed in his third triathlon world championship on Oct. 13 in Kialua-Kona. He finished the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bicycle and 26.2-mile competition in 10 hours, 55 minutes, 4 seconds — finishing in 765th place.

"I was shooting for closer to 10 [minutes] rather than 11," Gaiser said. "I had a good swim and a good bike, and the run was going well, but I cramped up.

"The heat and humidity took its toll. Once you get behind you can't catch up. For eight hours I had a good day going," he added.

Gaiser's splits were 1:08:50 in the swim, 5:31:35 in the bike and 4:04:57 in the run.

In the last world championships, Gaiser turned in a time of 10 hours, 27 minutes.

"The conditions are so different," he explained. "I felt better about this race. I feel I did everything right, but I didn't hydrate enough. I did everything I could do. I was satisfied and pleased. It was a good experience."

Training for an event of such magnitude is extremely demanding, and Gaiser said he "needs to stay away" from the grueling world championship. Training is stressful and takes time away from family.

Gaiser said he'll still compete in triathlons, just not the world championship.