Forty-one people, including students and faculty, competed in the annual indoor sprint-triathlon Dec. 3. The event consisted of a 3-mile run, 10-mile bike ride and 500-meter swim.

The winner, Brian Gee, a junior from Sugar City, Idaho, finished with a time of 47:02:00. He said for the time he put in preparing, he’s happy with his performance. However, Gee ran this in preparation for something bigger — an Ironman Triathlon, in which one swims 2.4 miles, rides 112 miles on a bike and finishes the event running a marathon (26.2 miles)

“A lot goes into a triathlon,” Gee said. “You have to be a little more apt in the disciplines (running, biking and swimming). You can’t just be good in one area; it’s a really rounded sport.”

Gee said to do well, one should do two workouts a week for each discipline. In both practice and the race, Gee said, “a lot of it’s mental. Probably 75 percent is just not giving up but being mentally strong enough not to quit when you’re hurting.”

How does one push through the pain? Gee said he just breaks the race up into four portions. “I go this far at this pace, and then this much further at this pace.”

“I break it up into small goals,” continued Gee. “If you try to tackle it all at once, it’ll kind of overwhelm you.”

“It’s mental,” said Cami Tanner, a junior from Boise, who finished with the fastest women’s time of 60:03:00. “It hurts, it’s painful, but it’s 99 percent in your mind.”

Tanner said she ran this, her first triathlon, because she likes to challenge herself. “I think I could have done better, but I’m glad I finished. I’d definitely do one again.”

Bryan Pyper, 39-year-old physics professor at BYU-Idaho, feels the same way. He finished 7th overall, with a time of 53:07:00. Pyper has been running three to four triathlons a year.

“It’s a great excuse to stay fit,” Pyper said, who works out at least once a day, sometimes twice.

“When you’re fit, everything works better,” continued Pyper. “Your mind is clearer, you sleep better, your appetite is better; life is better when you’re fit.”