Seeley finishes 2nd at Ironman Coeur d'Alene

Polson triathlete Matt Seeley finished second at Ironman Coeur d'Alene on June 27, after leading the race at the end of the bike and for most of the run.

His final time was eight hours, 44 minutes and 45 seconds, a 20-minute improvement over last year when he placed third.

Seeley, who has competed professionally since 2001, won $6,000 for his performance and qualified for the world championship Hawaii Ironman.

Seeley entered the race as the long-shot hope of a strong local fan base he has cultivated during the past 10 years by winning most of the triathlons in the northwest U.S.

And he nearly upset the acknowledged favorite, Chris Legh, who has won Ironman Austrailia and finished in the top-10 at the Hawaii Ironman multiple times.

Seeley completed the 2.4-mile swim in 53 minutes, the 14th fastest time.

Then Seeley posted the fastest time of the day on the 112-mile bike portion in four hours and 43 minutes, taking the lead of the race and putting nearly nine minutes between himself and his closest rival, and eventual winner, Legh.

During the first half of the 26.2-mile run, Legh and Seeley ran the same pace, a little faster than seven-minute miles.

But during the second half of the marathon, Legh was able to speed up and capitalize on Seeley's fading strength.

At the halfway point, Seeley led by nine minutes. At 15 miles, he led by seven minutes.

At 18 miles, his lead had dwindled to five minutes and at 24 miles it was less than a minute.

Legh passed Seeley with a little more than a mile to go and both triathletes coasted to the finish line through a corridor of spectators crowded into the streets of downtown Coeur d'Alene.

Seeley's run time was three hours and five minutes.

Seeley resides in Polson, where he lives with his wife Tana and their two children, and works in Pablo.

-Kootenai College in Pablo and is a founding member of Team Stampede, a Missoula-based triathlon club.

More information about the race can be found online at www.Ironmanlive.com