Teacher-turned-Ironman inspires
Jerry Landmark in good spirits en route to finishing his fastest Ironman Wisconsin yet. Photo by Elaine Miller
Jerry Landmark – or “Mr. Landmark” as I used to address my former social studies teacher – was an inspiration to me growing up in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin.
And he is again.
Landmark was among the more than 2,000 extraordinary athletes to have started the Ironman Wisconsin triathlon yesterday. And today, at age 54, he has now completed three editions of the endurance event (which includes a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run) held in Madison.
“Guess that adage about the third time being the charm is true,” Landmark said of his impressive finish in 12 hours and 22 minutes. That time is more than an hour faster than his first and previous best in 2004. “I beat my old swim time by 3 minutes, my old bike time by 30 minutes, and my run time by 40 minutes,” he said.
That extra speed through the bike and run legs of the event allowed Landmark to pass 276 of his competitors. One of them was another former student of his, 20-plus years his junior. The two were almost neck-and-neck through the bike course, but Landmark managed to finish the marathon more than an hour ahead of the rookie Ironman.
“The weather was beautiful and had a lot to do with it,” Landmark said. “But I felt good about my training and was ready for a good race. It may be my last IM, so I wanted to do well. Turned out everything fell into place, and as sore as I am today, it’s a great feeling.”
In the November 2004 issue of Silent Sports, Landmark wrote about his first Ironman and the training leading up to it. Read his article here and just try not to feel inspired.