Professional triathlete Chrissie Wellington celebrates after taking first place in the women’s Ironman 70.3 race for the second year in a row on Sunday at Clinton Lake.

Jeff Martinez was one of hundreds of people to travel to Kansas this weekend to participate in the Kansas Ironman 70.3 at Clinton State Park.

Martinez, who made the trip from Texas for his first Ironman experience, said he “had some good pros out there to watch. It was a lot of fun.”

The annual event began at 6:30 a.m. Sunday with a 1.2 mile swim. After that, the athletes biked for 56 miles and finished with a 13.1 run to the finish line.

Last year’s runner-up, Chris Lieto, finished first this year with a total time of 3:44:07. Chrissie Wellington finished first among women with a time of 4:07:49.

A vast majority of those who competed in the triathlon had no expectation of finishing first or even in the top 25 — they simply wanted to complete the grueling race, “It was really fun,” Jamie Borgman said about the race. “It was my first ever,” she said, “I set a personal record, which is all I can ask for.”

Borgman said she spent six months in training and considered her participation in the Ironman, “a celebration.”

Josh Blaisdell, who traveled from Tennessee to compete in his first Ironman , said, “It was the most brutal thing I’ve ever done, mentally and physically. But other than that, it was awesome.”