URL: http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2006/06/23/news/news01.txt

It takes a village
Posted: Thursday, Jun 22, 2006 - 10:12:12 pm PDT
By LINDA BALL
Staff writer

Ironman Village opens as competitors prepare for big day

COEUR d'ALENE -- The song blasting out of the speakers at City Park was just right for the occasion.

"Iron Man" by Black Sabbath.

Tan, fit bodies were interspersed with family members, vendors, teenagers and the curious as the public checked out the Ironman Village that opened Thursday.

"I am buying a jersey just for a souvenir," said April Masters Ruhne with her dog, Emma, a Weimaraner, by her side.

The Santa Cruz, Calif., resident is here to compete in her second Ironman with 10 other women from Santa Cruz.

"Emma is my training partner," she said.

The entire downtown area was overwhelmed with Ironman atmosphere Thursday as folks milled about looking at merchandise, exhibits and each other three days before the Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene.

While some athletes got in some final training by swimming in Lake Coeur d'Alene, biking on the Centennial Trail or jogging on Lakeside Avenue, others spent time with families having fun and trying to relax.

Ernie Prevost of Montreal was trying to guess how many Gatorade bottles were stuffed into a brand-new Ford Escape. The correct guess wins the car.

"2,346," Prevost said. "I'm here to cheer on my daughter, Marie Anne."

Marie Anne Prevost lives in Whistler, B.C., and plans to finish the race in 11 hours, so she guessed 1,100 bottles were in the Ford.

"It was freezing in the lake this morning," she said of her earlier swim.

Five professional women are represented in Coeur d'Alene this year from team Timex, including Melanie Valerio, a former Olympic gold-medalist swimmer in the 400 meter relay.

"We have 45 people on our team," said Keith Meyer, from Middlebury, Conn.

Meyer said their big Timex van in the village, which looks like a bike shop on wheels, goes to all of the Ironman North America events.

The village pulses with technology. The communications crew put in televisions, connected the park to the Internet and phone, and put in more than 11,000 feet of various types of cable.

Tanita, a company headquartered in Tokyo and Chicago, had representatives demonstrating scales designed for the health conscious.

One step on the scale, which retails for $129.99, tells you your weight, bodyfat percentage, percentage of body water, muscle mass, physique rating, bone mass, basal metabolic rate, metabolic age and visceral (belly) fat rating -- whether you want to know or not.

"I think it's kind of wild," said Miles Whitten of Austin, Texas, who just got off the scale and was in town to cheer on his brother, and escape the hot, humid Texas summer.

Food is abundant at the village. The "Race Day Cafe" is serving coffee, espresso, sandwiches, fruit and granola bars.

Fig Newton is handing out free Fig Newtons.

"It's a great opportunity to supply something healthy for the athletes," said volunteer Jeanne Hayes. "They look for the power of the fig."

Jolene Gosselin and Larry Campbell traveled from Rock Island, Wash., to compete in their first Ironman in the 45-49 age group.

"There's a lot of great stuff here," Gosselin said of the village.

Jim Douglas, representing Zipp, a bike wheels and accessories company, has been to every Ironman Coeur d'Alene and others throughout the country.

The Indiana-based company sells very high-tech bicycle wheels, that sell for as much as $1,500 for a rear wheel.

"Coeur d'Alene is one of my favorite races to come to," Douglas said.