Two ISU students have become ironmen.

The Ironman is the longest triathlon, with a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run.

Nick White, graduate student in health and human performance, and Alex Syhlman, senior in management information systems and president of the ISU triathlon club, competed in Ironman Wisconsin in Madison on Sept. 15.

“It’s the pinnacle of triathlons,” White said.

White and Syhlman represented Iowa State as they swam, biked and ran to a second-place finish in the collegiate pairs division. Top honors went to the duo from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.

The two Iowa Staters didn’t even know they had placed that highly. White said he didn’t stay for the awards ceremony and didn’t know he was part of the second-place pair until Syhlman called him with the news.

White finished 11th in the collegiate division with a time of 10:38:20. Syhlman came in 51st in 12:04:37.

Running was the most difficult leg for White.

It was tough “to get off the bike and still have the motivation to run an entire marathon,” he said.

The bike ride gave Syhlman problems – stomach problems. The worst part was the numerous trips to the PortaPotty, he said.

During the run, White and Syhlman had a cheering section of other triathlon club members, most of whom are looking forward to participating in a future Ironman.

Syhlman said “everyone who watched wants to do it next year. I’d like to get more people in the club – and interested in triathlons.”

White has already signed up for next year’s Ironman Wisconsin.

At the finish, White was relieved it was finally over, though he said it didn’t feel as long as it actually was.

All of the hard months of training were finally over. The pair had been training since last December, White said.

During the summer, they trained alone since Syhlman had a job in North Carolina for the summer and White was in the Des Moines area. “Training by yourself kinda sucks,” White said.

Syhlman agreed. “You have to have a lot of motivation,” he said.

Of the pair, White decided to enter the Ironman first. This year was the inaugural Ironman in the Midwest, he said. Ironman Wisconsin also served as collegiate nationals.

Deciding to enter was “kind of automatic,” White said.

To compete as a collegiate team, there must be a minimum of two people competing, Syhlman said. That minimum was one of the reasons he decided to enter.

To compete in the team division, White and Syhlman would have to recruit a woman. That was not necessary for a pairs entry.

White and Syhlman are currently recovering. They won’t race again until the Cy-man duathlon on Oct. 5.

Syhlman said he is watching a lot of television. He’s watching re-runs, but not sitcom re-runs.

“I’ve watched the Ironman tape 10 times,” he said.