Two Powell fitness fanatics took on perhaps their biggest challenge two weekends ago as they headed south to Colorado for the annual Boulder Ironman.

For many of us, the thought of a regular triathlon might be a bit much, though not for Reanne Wolff and Rinda Eastman, who have participated in a number of those.

But taking on the Boulder Ironman is a whole other level of commitment as the race consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and finishes with not a 5K, not a 10K, but a full marathon distance 26.2-mile run.

“We have both done a few short triathlons and I have done two half Ironmans and two full Ironmans,” Wolff said. “Most of the big Ironman races are really far away, so we chose to give Boulder a try.”

Eastman was of a similar mindset, though maybe not as gung-ho from the get-go.

“I had only done two other sprint tri’s previously, I’m a long distance, ultra runner,” she said. “The Ironman seemed like the next best step and is one of the many things on my bucket list. I used to live in Colorado and have many good friends there, so that drew me to this race, but until Reanne called me to sign up, I might have waited a few more years.”

And so it was off to Boulder the two went and joined another nearly 1,500 competitors from all over the world.

The weather started out tailor-made too, with cool and overcast skies as the race began with the swim in the Boulder Reservoir.

“By about noon the sun came out and it was very hot,” Wolff said. “That did a lot of us in by the time we got to the run. A lot of people struggled during the run.”

But an interesting twist of fate would come upon Eastman and Wolff, who while they came together, hadn’t raced together, and yet finished in consecutive places, within 1 second of one another.

“It just so happened that we caught each other with about 6 miles left to go,” Wolff said.

Which turned out to be a blessing for the both of them.

“We really needed each other to help push us through that last 6 miles,” Eastman said. “I’m so glad we were able to finish that long day together.”

Both athletes crossed the line in 14:59.53 with Wolff ranking 54th and Eastman as 55th in their division.

Now that it is checked off her bucket list, Eastman is happy to leave it at that.

“It was a great experience, I’m glad I did it and I’m glad it’s over,” she said. “If anyone out there has that thing in their life that they are afraid of, don’t be, and go do it. We all have our own Ironmans in our lives to conquer in some form or another, don’t let the fear of failure stop you. In life, failing, winning and making it across a finish line 15 hours later is all about learning, changing and growing as human beings.”

The mindset is similar in Wolff’s case, with perhaps a bit of a caveat.

“I don’t think I’ll do this again as it takes a lot of time and training and my kids are getting to a busy age,” she said. “I will do some half Ironmans, but two full ones are good enough. Of course, I said I wouldn’t do another one last time!”