Twenty-one triathletes from the Washington area set out to compete in the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, Oct. 10. The race consists of a 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run. Here is a recap of how they did: Kelzie Beebe, 11 hours, 9 minutes, 28 seconds

My first Kona turned out to be an overwhelmingly positive learning experience with a pretty decent result. The conditions and my mind ended up being my competitors. The heat, humidity and wind are unlike what you would encounter in D.C., so I turned inward and focused on being consistent and keeping cool. It paid off as I had a relatively enjoyable race and a huge smile — and now a burning desire to go back and really race it.