Rocky Remy, left, and Kevin Barron finish the swimming portion of the Midwest Mayhem Triathlon on Sunday and head towards their bicycles at Lone Star Lake.

The physical and mental demands of competing in a triathlon can leave an athlete exhausted.

Whether the athletes were tackling the Olympic-distance course – a 1.5-kilometer swim, followed by a 40-kilometer bike ride and a 6.2-mile run – or the shorter sprint-distance course, fatigue was visible on the faces of nearly all the 400-plus competitors who dared to put their bodies through the rigors of the third-annual Midwest Mayhem Triathlon on Sunday morning at Lone Star Lake.

During those moments of anguish, it helps to focus on something else, competitors said.

“Every time I think this is kind of tough, I think about stuff I’ve done that was tougher,” said Ginny Lee, who finished first among female competitors in the Olympic-distance event with a time of 2 hours, 22 minutes and 52 seconds.

A Fort Riley resident, Lee said her experience as a mother and a nurse midwife helped her put things in perspective when she felt the painful effects of the competition. What’s more, not once, but twice, she has been struck by a car while training for triathlons on her bicycle.

“As a 41-year-old, I have a lot of experience to draw from,” Lee said.

Nicholas Luft might not have had a lot of triathlon experience to draw upon – he started competing in 2005 – but the 28-year-old MidAmerica Nazarene track alumnus was the first athlete to cross the finish line Sunday.

Luft’s time of 59 minutes, 4 seconds helped him repeat as the male sprint-distance winner at the Midwest Mayhem.

The reigning champ, who now lives in Keller, Texas, said the short course, which features a 500-meter swim, an 11.4-mile bike course and a 3.1-mile run, was challenging.

“The bike course is really tough,” Luft said. “There’s some good hills out there that burn your quads when you’re going up.”

Luft said he just gritted his teeth and battled through periods of fatigue en route to his sub-hour finish.

“I just try to push through it,” he said of fatigue. “You set goals for yourself, and it’s somewhat easier to keep pushing yourself through the pain.”

Although she finished second at a short-course triathlon in Forrest City, Ark., last weekend, Debra Bevard of Kansas City, Mo., didn’t arrive at Lone Star expecting to win. But her 1:08 finish was best among women in the sprint-distance competition.

“I always want to do well, but I didn’t really expect to win,” Bevard, a 28-year-old with six years of triathlon experience, said.

When the going got rough Sunday morning, Bevard said she received a boost by passing other competitors on her way to the victory.

“When you can pick the people off as you pass them, that kind of takes away all the pain,” she said.

Bevard started in the last heat of the morning, but she was the first woman to cross the finish line. She said it felt good to see that line and her husband, Darren, waiting for her.

“It’s awesome when people are cheering you on and (yelling): ‘You’re the first girl,'” she said.

Mike Morrison, 33, said when he finished the Olympic-distance course, he felt something else – relief.

Two hours, 5 minutes and 48 seconds after jumping into the water to start the race, the Urbandale, Iowa, resident finished won the men’s long course. Morrison said the hills presented the biggest challenge to him.

“Some of the hills on the run really got your heart rate up,” he said.

A former defensive back at the University of Northern Iowa, the 11-year triathlon veteran said the competitive nature of the sport keeps him going.

“I wasn’t good enough to take it to the next level as a professional (football player),” Morrison said, “and golf has never really done it for me, and you kind of run out of competitive stuff after that.”

Despite his competitive nature, Morrison said he battles fatigue like any other triathlete.

“When things get tough, you just change your thought process or think about the finish line or something that gives you energy, and you use that as much as you can,” he said.

Lee said the Lone Star course was competitor-friendly, and that fact helped her along the way.

“This is one of my favorite courses,” she said. “It’s hilly, but not out-of-control hilly and not too technical.”

Getting out of the sun, Lee said, can be another bonus on the Lone Star course.

“Anytime you can run on trails, that’s icing, and there’s a lot of shade on this course,” she said.

Luft said battling through the pain and conquering the Midwest Mayhem course was gratifying.

“It’s a pretty good feeling – knowing that you worked hard and that effort can get you a win,” he said.

Triathletes are nothing if not competitive, and that comes across after they cross the finish line.

“I finished first (at the Midwest Mayhem) last year,” Lee said, “and on one level we do this because it’s fun, and then on the other level you do it because you like to win.”