Race day has come and gone without any major casualties (although I’ve heard rumors of a few lost toenails from the group). The course was tough, but the weather really cooperated.

Ironman St George by the numbers:

• 2,384 people signed up for the race
• 1,915 got in the water to start the swim
• 38 people didn’t finish the 2.4 mile swim
• Another 165 didn’t finish the 112 mile bike
• Another 78 didn’t finish the 26.2 run

Here’s how your favorite 3 racers fared:

Hammer was cruising along on the bike and had some mechanical issues that just cost him too much time. Not 48 hours went by after the race that we was signed up for Ironman St George 2011 along with a couple of other racers from the group.

Many have asked to see some pictures. You can check them out here:

Once again, a sincere thank you to all the supporters. Stay tuned and get ready to participate in the next (albeit shorter) event. Details coming soon.

3 days and counting until:

Race day is almost upon us. Athletes are arriving and the town of St. George, UT is buzzing with excitement. To get a general idea of the torture that awaits these guys, check out this video.

If you’ll be in or around town on Saturday be sure to stop by and cheer. If not, you can get a live video feed throughout the day and use an athlete tracker to keep tabs on your favorite athlete. Ramp-up show (where they go over the course, anaylze the pro field, give a race day weather outlook, etc) is this Friday at 10AM MDT. Race day coverage begins at 6:30AM MDT on Saturday (swim start at 7am) and will go for an hour after the midnight finish. Be sure to tune in for the swim start and throughout the day at:

www.ironman.com

If you’d like to get an idea of what these 3 stooges think of their chances, you can check out their predicted finish times below. Thanks again to everyone for all the support!

45 days and counting until:

To get a general idea of the torture that awaits these guys, check out this video.

If you’ll be in or around St. George, UT on May 1st be sure to stop by and cheer. We’ve certainly appreciated all the love so far. You can see updated poll numbers from our supporters in the sidebar at right. Here’s a sampling of some of our favorite comments:

• Go get ‘em guys!
• Hammer Time!!!
• I hope they have a great time! Maybe there will be a 3 way tie and they will cross the finish line holding hands !
• I heard Mark is using a swim suit that is illegal. He is also using pig grease on his body to keep him afloat. He also is using Flubber in his tennis shoes that make him run faster and jump higher. When you know all of these advantages, you know he will win. You did not ask in your questionaire if he is legal. You might also have to check to see if he has been hanging out with Alex Rodriquez or Mark Mcquire.
• Mark my words, Mark will do it!
• hot stuff ben…i’ll vote for you all the way………. -from your secret admirer
• I support the cause and support all of you and your hard work. The best of luck to you all. Make’m hurt BULLETT.
• the hammer will rock this event as usual.
• I think you are all crazy, but good luck anyway!!!
• Go HAMMER!!! You’ve seen him kick trash and beat the odds once let’s see him do it again!!! Team Hammer all the way!!!
• Team Bullet’s gonna Rock It!! All my money’s on Melton…
• Mark Melton is more powerful than He-Man. I want a toy company to make an action figure of him and I will buy 11 of them and put them all over my house so I can see my hero every time I turn around.
• Sorry Matt – I have older brothers as well so I’ve got to cheer for Ben. The younger brother is looked at as the underdog and that’s what makes us dangerous!

From the poll we did, 49 of you said you would participate in this event (or something shorter) in the future. 118 said “Not on your life”. For that group of 49, now is YOUR time to step up and show the world what you can do.

Step 1 – Register as an individual or team for The Great Race 37, to be held July 17th in Sacramento, CA (if you want some help forming a team, post a comment on which leg you’d like to do).

Step 2 – Let us know in the comments that you registered.

Step 3 – If you’re an employee or customer of Brasher’s Sacramento, stay tuned for prize opportunities.

It’s time to make known where your allegiance lies (anonymously of course). Will you align yourself with Team Hammer, Bullet, benny, or Other?

For a description of the challenge and a bio of the contenders click here. Be sure to read below to get a training update.

Team Hammer

• Brasher’s Idaho
• YTD Training Miles
  • Swim .1 mi
  • Bike 98.7 mi
  • Run 5.1 mi
• How’s the training?: “Training is going well.  It’s a lot more time than I anticipated, so balancing work, family time and training has been a challenge.  It has forced me to be a lot more organized with my time.  I’m still a little tentative running on my ankle after the surgery (swimming and biking has been great), but I am getting to the comfort level that I need to be at.  I am excited about the race.  Again, the running part has me a little concerned, but I am confident that the swim and bike portions will go well.  Why should you vote for me?  I would only vote for me if I was a gambling man that liked to play the odds, and I am, so vote for me.”

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Team benny

• Brasher’s Auto Auctions
• YTD Training Miles
  • Swim 2.48 mi
  • Bike 82 mi
  • Run 19.6 mi
• How’s the training?: ”January 1st marked four months from race day and that was the date I was going to start following a more disciplined training schedule. I’m a little off track so far but surprisingly not too worried. I have some nervous energy, but mostly I’m just excited for race-day. I still have plenty of work to do, but I’m fairly confident it will all work out. My goal has been to focus more on the bike and I’ve done OK on an indoor trainer, but I need to get out for some longer rides. If you vote for me I will make all of your wildest dreams come true.”

Team Bullet

• Brasher’s Northwest
• YTD Training Miles
  • Swim 2.2 mi
  • Bike 173.5 mi
  • Run 39 mi
• How’s the training?:

• Peter Brasher – George Washington University
• Tom Brasher – Brasher’s Insurance
• Logan Sheppard – Sheppard and Associates Insurance
• Heath Sheppard – Sheppard and Associates Insurance
• Austin Bowden – Sheppard and Associates Insurance
• Rusty Loveless – RJL Wire Connections, City of Lehi Fireman/EMT
• James Player

Don’t forget to vote by clicking here.