For Ironman Chattanooga's final finishers, even last was a first (multimedia)

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photo Dean Stamper and Wendy Tieck were the last to cross the finish line Sunday.

Wendy Tieck climbed off her bike after riding it for 116 rolling miles in Sunday's Little Debbie Ironman competition. It was 5 p.m. and the 26.2-mile run was still in front of her as she attempted to reach the finish line at Ross's Landing before the Monday morning cutoff time of 12:15.

"I couldn't even walk," she said. "And I still had to run a marathon. I was pretty stressed."

But at 12:11 a.m., less than five minutes before her 16 hours and 48 minutes of wearying work would have been erased from the official list of Ironman competitors, Tieck and her training partner, Dean Stamper, crossed the finish line at the same time, the final two of the 2,241 finishers of record.

"This is my first and probably my only Ironman," said Tieck, an engineer with Dalton's Shaw Industries. "Now I've got three days off and I've already scheduled an acupuncture treatment, a chiropractor and a massage. I lost almost 50 pounds training for this. It's time to pamper myself a little."

Stamper also was more than ready to pamper himself. After conducting a couple of interviews and hydrating himself, he planned to grab his pregnant wife, Alissa, their children Andrew (10), Alex (7) and Kyla (2) and head for Champy's Famous Fried Chicken, which stayed open until 2 a.m. Monday to service the Ironman crowd.

"I'm ready for some real food," he said with a tired smile.

The Scenic City rarely has been more ready to support a sporting event than this one. Near the close of a triathlon that began at 7:40 a.m. with the 2.4-mile swim, there were still hundreds of fans lining the finish line at Ross's Landing at 11:45 p.m., most of them loudly and enthusiastically doing hand gestures to the Village People's classic hit "YMCA."

"This was really well-organized," said 78-year-old Herb Brown, a retired attorney from Charlotte, N.C., who was completing his ninth marathon. "I wasn't a big fan of the bike course; it was a little bumpy. But I can't praise the organizers enough. Great city. Great event."

Asked if he'd known he was the event's oldest competitor, Brown deadpanned, "I'm almost always the oldest competitor at these things."

Becky Adams drove up from Brandon, Miss., to complete her third Ironman.

"I worked 24 weeks to prepare for this," the 57-year-old said. "The support from your community was amazing. But I think this is my last one. I've got other things I want to do with my life."

Sara Cooper long ago did other things with her life, becoming a wife, a mother of three and a veterinarian. But after two failed attempts to finish an Ironman, she finally completed one on Sunday, crossing the finish line a few minutes ahead of Tiech and Stamper.

"I've gone to vet school and had a child, and this was harder," she said, an IV attached to her right arm. "But the support was great."

The biggest support was understandably for local firefighter Jason Greer, who entered the Ironman to help raise money for Emily's Power for a Cure and the Make-A-Wish Foundation as a tribute to his cancer-stricken son Tristin, who's battling Stage 4 neuroblastoma.

A sluggish 320 pounds a year ago, Greer dropped more than 60 pounds training for the triathlon. Approaching the finish line a few minutes after midnight, he received a long, strong cheer before Tristin hung a race medal around his father's neck.

"There really aren't words to describe what that meant to me," said Greer, who was also at a loss for words when U.S. Sen. Bob Corker hugged him a few minutes later and told him how proud he was of him.

"It took me a minute to realize who he was," the fireman said. "I couldn't believe he knew me."

Then Greer lay back down on a cot, momentarily too tired to take another step.

"I took Monday off," he said. "If I hadn't I would have had to call in sick."

Given the Ironman's grueling requirements, one might think a lot of folks would become too sick or sore to finish. But of the 2,349 who began the event, only 108 failed to finish.

Even final finishers Tieck and Stamper seemed to be rethinking their positions of one-and-done as the night wore on.

"Dean's like my brother," Tieck said. "We're very competitive. If he wanted to do it again, I'd probably consider doing it again."

Added Stamper as he left the Landing: "I don't know. But you never say never."

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.

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