Ironman Boulder’s midnight finish “magical” way to end

boulder» Watching the winner come through the finish line at an Ironman race is certainly worthy of celebration.

It’s nothing like watching the last-place finisher, though.

Sunday’s Ironman Boulder competition will get rolling at 6:30 a.m. with the swimming portion of the 140.6-mile event. But it’s the final two hours of the race that produce the most energy.

Between the music, food, good vibes from those who finished earlier in the day and constant cheering and cowbell ringing from spectators, Pearl Street is the place to be Sunday night.

“The midnight finish is certainly fantastic,” said Ironman Boulder race director Dave Christen. “The final finisher party starts at 10 o’clock and we run it until midnight. It’s a tradition in the sport that is certainly magical.”

Although the winners of Sunday’s race will cross the finish line during the heat of the afternoon, there will be several of the nearly 3,000 participants who complete their Ironman journey during those final two hours. For some, it will be a heck of a race just to beat the midnight cutoff.

In 2014, Janet Brode of San Antonio was the last to beat the midnight cutoff, finishing at 11:59:17.

The Boulder community is so in tune with the challenges associated with training for and competing in an Ironman that Brode was treated like a champion at the finish line — with hundreds, if not thousands, cheering her on.

“It’s so emotional,” Christen said of the finisher party. “The athletes that are still on the course have a story, and a lot of times we know what that story is. If we know they’re still out there, that story builds throughout the night. That’s cool. And the tradition is that everybody (who finished earlier) comes back, so everyone is bringing home the other person they saw out on the course.”

In fact, the first person to greet Brode at the finish line a year ago was the event’s overall champion, Justin Daerr.