Harrell turns birthday celebration delay into Ironman debut win

SANDUSKY — Jack Harrell, as a boy growing up in Novi, Michigan, came to Cedar Point every summer to ride the roller coasters. Up atop those thrilling rides, he'd take a moment to look out over Sandusky Bay. That provided a full-circle moment Sunday morning, when Harrell swam the opening leg of the Ironman 70.3 triathlon, looked up out of the water and saw those same coasters outlined by the sunrise. And then, less than four hours later, he sprinted down Columbus Avenue as the race's overall champion. "It was really cool," Harrell said. "I thought about for a moment, when I was 12 or 13 years old, who would've thought I'd be leading at a half Ironman? It's pretty cool." Harrell won the race in style, setting a new course record in 3:54.30. He just turned 21 on Monday, and after delaying his birthday party by a week, he'll have plenty to rejoice about now. "We'll celebrate tonight," Harrell said. Harrell only began triathlons about three years ago, entering his first semester at Michigan State, where he is a marketing major. He was a state-qualifying swimmer in high school, then turned bike rides and runs with his friends into the combined sport. Before Sunday, the most Harrell had done was Olympic-distance triathlons. At that length, Harrell was ninth at the most recent collegiate national championships, but he felt the expanded 70.3 — 1.2 swim, 56 bike, 13.1 run — suited him. "I've always known that my skill set matched up with 70.3 really well," Harrell said. "... I knew that the long bike ride would help me so much." Harrell became Sandusky's first wire-to-wire Ironman winner. He burst out of the water after a 25-minute swim and a lead of more than a minute. "I was pretty stoked about the swim," Harrell said. "I couldn't really ask for much more." Harrell knew there'd be faster runners than him, so the bike became crucial. And he crushed it, opening up a six-minute gap by the time he got back to his feet. "The swim sets you up well, but the bike is really where you have to put in the time," Harrell said. "... The bike course was amazing. Such nice roads. Michigan has pretty notoriously horrible roads. But this course is just so smooth. It allows you to really get low, get aero." Harrell felt he'd need to do better than his previously anticipated 6:20 mile splits in the run, and he came in right around six minutes per mile. "I figured if I could get into a groove, not look at the watch too much, make it feel like a long run, make it just aerobic and efficient," Harrell said. "I hoped that would leave me with some life in the back half." The winning adrenaline brought Harrell plenty of energy in the final straightaway, which he punctuated with arms stretched wide, a snatch of the finishing tape and a massive scream. Not even done with his college triathlete career, Harrell has quite the decoration to take back to East Lansing. "There's no feeling like grabbing the finish line tape," Harrell said. "I'm excited to bring this back to Michigan State and hang it up in our bike room. It's good wall decor." The future looks bright for Harrell, who was called a "rising star" by Sunday's public address announcer. Ironman competitors often don't peak until their late 20s or early 30s. "It's one of those sports you can do for so long," Harrell said. "... Probably go pro in the next year or two, just to test my hand. But I've got time." Harrell isn't quite sure how the whole picture will come together. There are still classes to attend and a degree to get. But on Sunday, he created an indelible memory for himself. He'd had plenty of memorable childhood trips to Sandusky. This one took the cake. "This is one of the most satisfying feelings in the sport," Harrell said. "It's something I've been craving for a really, really long time, taking an amateur 70.3. Loved doing it."