COEUR d'ALENE — Coming out of Lake Coeur d'Alene following a swim Saturday, Claudia Langarica looks like an Ironman athlete.

She is trim, fit and didn't even need a wetsuit in the choppy water that is about 65 degrees.

Wrapped in a towel on a warm, sunny morning, she sits on the steps at Independence Point, where many men and women who entered today's race are also resting after some short swims.

The Chicago woman, though, is not here to compete.

"I'm here to watch a friend," she says.

Which isn't the norm for her.

Langarica has done about 10 of these races of endurance, strength and speed. She did Ironman Coeur d'Alene in 2017. She loves the 140.6-mile challenge. It has long been part of her life.

But no more.

Never again.

The scars on her left leg explain why.

Langarica was struck by a vehicle Oct. 13, 2022, while riding her bike during training for an Ironman in Boulder, Colo.

The driver, she said, turned left directly into her when she was just two blocks from home.

Langarica screamed.

The collision broke her left leg in five places. She spent two weeks in the hospital, 10 weeks in a wheelchair and underwent two surgeries.

Today, her leg is held together by a rod and plate, 17 screws in the area of the knee, and two more at the ankle.

"I can't run," Langarica said. "Not anymore."

Which means no more Ironmans.

Despite her passion for Ironman, Langarica is OK with not being able to participate in it any longer.

She can still bike. She can still swim. So she is thankful.

"I just made peace," she says.

Independence Point was swarming with Ironman athletes the day before the big race. They gathered to test the waters, to talk race plans, to enjoy the beauty around them.

Brent Hay of College Station, Texas, also took a short swim in the lake Saturday morning. Coeur d'Alene will be his sixth Ironman.

Why does he do them?

"That’s a big question," Hay says, smiling.

His answer? He likes to set goals and get things done. Ironman was a goal and he got it done.

"It's something that’s always been at the forefront for me," Hay said.

He likes the bond between those who have gone the distance.

"Ironman is a brotherhood," he says. "It's a camaraderie of best friends that you’ve never met."

He's fairly confident of a solid race today. Get past the nerves of the 2.4-mile swim, enjoy the 112-mile bike ("It's the fun part"), and count on determination and volunteers to get him through the 26.2-mile run.

"Should be a good day," he says.

Hay tried shorter triathlons before moving up to the full and getting a coach.

"Then it was off to the races," he says. "It's kind of a bug after that."

Alex Boyd of Mesa, Ariz., swimming off Independence Point without a wetsuit, will be competing in his third Ironman today.

He started doing Ironman just two years ago.

Why?

A few reasons.

He wanted to set an example for his two daughters and to challenge himself to see what he could do.

Boyd played tight end at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., but says he "got off track" after starting a family.

"I needed something to get going," he says.

Ironman provided that something.

Despite being athletic, he was never a biker, runner or swimmer, so the transition to the sport didn't come easy. But he began training in January 2021 and knocked off Ironman Arizona in Tempe in a little over 14 hours in November.

"I haven’t looked back," he says.

Boyd continues to push to the edge and find out just how far and fast he can go.

"I truly think when you get to that limit physically, it’s mental and emotional and spiritual as well," he says. "You really learn about yourself in the process."

Boyd is feeling "as good as I can" for Ironman Coeur d'Alene.

"Ironman is a long day. There’s a lot going on. I'm excited to go," he says.

Langarica, asked if she wished she could be out there, shakes her head.

"No, not really," she says, laughing.

She is content to watch and support her friend.

"I’m fine. As long as I can do something, I'm OK," Langarica says.