HAYDEN - Megan Motley's wedding veil trailed her long, dark hair as it swished behind her.

The white veil could clearly be seen against her green and black Coeur d'Alene TRI Team suit.

As her fiance Shaun Leary rounded the final corner of the Hayden Triathlon course, the bride-to-be hopped on his back and he carried her across the finish line. Cheers erupted through the crowd.

For the athletic couple, it was a nice day for a race wedding.

"We have an evening wedding so it kind of works out," said Motley, 27, of Coeur d'Alene. "What else do you do on the morning of your wedding?"

The couple's anniversary is July 22, so they wanted their wedding date to fall as close to their first date as possible.

"She was in charge, and thought it would be awesome to race the morning of the wedding," said Leary, 33, of Post Falls, prior to the event. "I just kind of go along with it, that's kind of my role these days."

About 30-40 members of the couple's wedding party either competed or volunteered in the triathlon, which fell in the middle of their three-day wedding extravaganza.

"It's exciting. It's a great way to start the day," said bridesmaid Elaina Matthews of Coeur d'Alene. "It's who they are, so I think it's a perfect event before their wedding."

Motley was the ninth female across the line at 1 hour, 14 minutes, 24.2 seconds, while Leary's end time was 1:26:00.6.

The Leary-Motley wedding was a highlight of the third annual triathlon, which drew a large number of people to Honeysuckle Beach early Saturday morning. As the sun broke through the clouds over the water, athletes in colorful swim caps dove into the water in multiple waves to begin the half-mile swim, followed by a 12-mile bike ride and 3.1-mile run.

Ironman Derek Garcia of Post Falls was the first to blaze through the finish line at 59:00.8, with fellow Ironman Nate Birdsall of Coeur d'Alene closely behind at 1:00:10.6.

Brandy Anderson of Coeur d'Alene was top female finisher at 1:08:33.9, followed by Nicolle Baune of Coeur d'Alene, speeding in at 1:08:57.3.

Before the air horn announced the start of the race at 7 a.m., participants and attendees halted for a moment to hear 16-year-old Emma Beaumont of Coeur d'Alene sing the "Star-Spangled Banner" while Sara Walker, 15, of Coeur d'Alene, waved the American flag. Beaumont sang at last year's event and asked Walker to join her in volunteering this year. The friends arrived at 5:30 to work the coffee stand while Beaumont's mom and 14-year-old brother competed in the race.

"One thing that I like besides singing is watching the people come in, I just think it's cool," Beaumont said. "It gives me chills, you know, my mom and my brother are in it."

Hayden Mayor Ron McIntire handed out finisher medals to athletes as race director Tony Koch of Hayden announced the athletes' names. Koch has directed the Hayden Triathlon every year.

"This is our community, this is a good way for us to stay involved in our town," Koch said. Aside from the athletes, he said he enjoys seeing people who he only gets to see during the event, including the doctor who delivered his son 18 years ago. "That's pretty cool for me," he added.

Proceeds from the race support the Coeur d'Alene High School swim team as well as its boys soccer teams. A donation will also go to the Hayden Little League.

"For us, its sort of the community fundraising sponsorship thing, that's what motivates us," Koch said. He said the City of Hayden has been greatly supportive of the event. "They've been awesome, we couldn't do it without them."

Complete results: www.haydentri.com