COEUR d'ALENE - There's no other way to put it: The positions with the most sex appeal are booked, filled up, plum off the market.

Which ones are those?

Strippers and body painters, but more on that later.

Because Ironman still needs volunteers - even if the glamour spots are full up - and lots of them.

"We're a little behind the curve this year," said Michelle Haustein, Coeur d'Alene Ironman volunteer director. "We're not exactly sure why, to be honest with you."

The 140-mile triathlon race has 2,544 volunteers to help along the swim, bike and run course, not to mention medical tents.

But its goal is to have 3,800 to 4,200 helpers on hand June 23, so they're about 1,200 to 1,600 bodies in the hole.

Race day is still about two weeks out, so the organization isn't in panic mode. Plus, they'll take volunteers just about until the opening swim.

But ...

"We do need people," Haustein said.

Specifically, they need help at bicycle and running aid stations and sector points. Aid stations are where the volunteers hand out hydration and food, and the bicycle ones can be tough to fill because cyclists sometimes go whizzing by, so volunteers who want to hand them a cup have to keep up a good pace of their own.

Sector stations are where volunteers point or flag the direction of the course to alert athletes of a possible bend in the road.

Sector standers can dress up and cheer as they wave flags pointing out the way.

"We try and make it as fun as possible," Haustein said.

She said a possible drop off in volunteer numbers is because of the Boston Marathon bombings, but added increased security at their events since the April attack should ease concerns.

They're also looking for help in the medical tents, whether nurses or errand runners who can pick up supplies or bags in a hurry.

The spots they don't need filled are wet suit strippers and body markers.

Suit strippers, as the title explains, strip the swimmers suits off as they climb from Lake Coeur d'Alene. Body markers, as the name says, are the people who write the numbers on the athletes' bare skin before they put on their wet suits.

Those 62 slots filled up quicker than quick.

"Most of the body markers are female, so I think it's because they get to touch the athletes before they're tired and sweaty," Haustein said.

The other popular job?

Finish line catchers, or catching the athletes as they collapse across the finish line. Those 150 slots are booked up, but plenty of other opportunities are available. And though volunteers shouldn't be in it for compensation, an awards banquet will be Monday to say thanks.

To register, go to www.ironmancda.com. For more information, visit cda@ironmanvolunteers.com.