Wiedmer: Tears are part of what makes Ironman special

Steve Bean wouldn't take credit for the remarkable examples of courage, toughness and love he displayed throughout Sunday's Little Debbie Ironman. Instead, with the biggest emotional challenge of his 58 years on Earth finally completed at 11:21 p.m., Bean said, "It was something else, not me. I talked to Cameron the whole way. I said, 'Help me be as strong as you were. I'm so tired. Could you give me your legs?'"

Only a day earlier he had witnessed the burial of his 28-year-old son, an elite distance runner who just missed qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Trials.

Steve Bean wears his Ironman bracelet while he listens to his wife, Lisa, share a story abound their son, Cameron. The Bean family spoke to the Times Free Press about their 28-year old son, elite runner Cameron Bean, who was killed Monday after being hit by car while running. Cameron was training his father, Steve, for this Sunday's Ironman.

When Steve Bean, right, competed in the half Ironman in May, Cameron, left, took care of all the details, from loading gear and planning meals to helping his dad during transitions in the race.

And Cameron was supposed to run side by side with his father in the Ironman, the two of them swimming 2.4 miles together in the Tennessee River before biking 114 miles, then running the final 26.2 miles, father and son quite possibly crossing the finish line together, the ultimate buddy team.

"It was a yearlong process that we had done together, every single day," Bean told multiple media outlets.

But then Cameron was struck by a car nine days before the race. He died a couple of days later. Steve, who'd never previously attempted an Ironman, would now have to soldier on alone with the heaviest of hearts.

Somehow, some way, he pulled it off, finishing the event with 39 minutes to spare.

"I wasn't worried about the time until the final 13.1 miles," he said as at least 30 friends and family members hugged him and consoled him. "That last 13.1 was really challenging. It was very emotional. I cried a lot."

Sofie Bell cried, too. Before the race. During the race. After the race. How could she not? While giving her bike a final, brief workout in Knoxville on the Sunday before the Ironman, she and the bike were sent flying by a hit-and-run driver who later was caught.

Much like Steve Bean, the Little Debbie was to be Bell's first Ironman. A 42-year-old wife and mother to six children ages 9 to 18, including three adopted children, she was initially told in the emergency room that there was no way she could compete.

"My left hand swelled up, there was a big, old, ugly scrape on my hip and my right ankle was a mess," Bell said. "X-rays showed I had a fracture."

It's tough to realize sometimes how much this is a family event. Sophie talked of how her husband David and their children had surrendered a summer vacation to help her train. They even printed T-shirts that read, "Making Mom an Ironman."

"My family had given up so much," she said.

Perhaps sensing that, Knoxville orthopedist Christine Seaworth gave Bell a second, more favorable opinion. The fracture was stable. If she could stand the pain, there was almost no risk of further damage.

So she competed, her spirits kept high at times by both spectators and her Rocky Top training group.

"There were complete strangers telling me, 'I've heard your story; I know your story, we want you to know we believe in you,'" Bell said. "The crowd support was overwhelming. It made me do what my body didn't want to do. By the finish line I was overcome with emotion. I was losing it."

Atlanta resident Elizabeth Ramey was afraid she was about to lose her official medal for finishing in the allotted time as she approached the finish line. Despite racelong encouragement from her husband Ed, daughter Amanda (11), son Alex (16), her mom and stepfather, Jean and Bill Reed, and her Team In Training friends - who raised more than $250,000 for leukemia and lymphoma research while preparing for the Little Debbie - the clock was moving much faster than her feet.

But teammate Mark Healy wouldn't leave her side, encouraging her every step of the way. The two of them were the last to cross the line by the midnight deadline, literally hitting the imaginary tape two seconds before 12.

"Words cannot begin to explain what Mark staying with me meant," she said. "It got me through. I was very worried I wouldn't finish on time."

But she did, earning this praise from her daughter: "My mom's inspired me to do this one day. She's my hero."

GPS Middle School cross country coach Gina Wells had considered competing in an Ironman for years, saying, "It was tucked away on my bucket list."

After making it her goal to finish in under 15 hours, her official time was 14:53:59.

"I really enjoyed seeing the support on the course," she said. "Every time I would see my family, friends or the girls from school, it was like a jolt of caffeine to keep me going."

That doesn't mean she plans on returning next year.

"I will just check this one off and move on to the next thing on my list," Wells said. "I want to do the Big Sur Marathon in Carmel, California."

Yet she'll never forget those final few yards, running down the chute at Ross's Landing, hearing the words, "Gina Wells, you are an Ironman," blasting from the loudspeakers.

"I really wanted to cry," she said as she saw her family and friends waiting at the finish line. "But I'm always telling my cross country girls, 'No crying.'"

There was plenty of crying in the Bean, Ramey and Bell camps, however. These were accomplishments truly focused on the journey rather than the result, victories for the heart and soul and the need for inner peace.

"It was the culmination of the worst week of our life," Lisa Bean said. "I really believe Cameron talked to his dad all the way through. And in the end, something good came out of tragedy."

Said Steve Bean: "I just wanted Cameron to be proud of me."

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.