COEUR d’ALENE, IDAHO — The 2010 Ironman contest in Cozumel, Mexico did not turn out as well as Brian Whelan had hoped.

By the time he emerged from the 2.4-mile swim, fatigue had already begun to kick in. He still had 112 miles to go on his bicycle and more than 20 miles to run. It was his first Ironman competition. He would not finish in the allotted time.

Whelan was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, in 2004. Swimming, which is the first leg of an Ironman triathlon, was too much of a drain.

“Coming out of Mexico last year, I needed to work on my swim and core strength and flexibility,” Whelan, a Suquamish resident, said.

He did just that. And on June 26 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Whelan finished the contest in 16 hours 2 minutes 58 seconds, about one hour before the cutoff of 17 hours. He came in 133rd place out of 146 finishing racers in the 50-54 age range for males.

A total of 2,351 people participated.

Though there are numerous reasons for someone to register for the triathlon, Whelan uses the competition as a fundraising opportunity for MS. His goal is $10,000. So far he has raised more than $6,290. His honoree is Debbie Crabtree, a friend who was diagnosed with MS in her teens.

“I know a lot more people who are struggling with MS more than I am,” Whelan said.

MS is caused by damage to the myelin sheath, the protective covering that surrounds nerve cells. When this nerve covering is damaged, nerve impulses are slowed down or stopped.

The nerve damage is caused by inflammation. Inflammation occurs when the body’s own immune cells attack the nervous system. Repeated episodes of inflammation can occur along any area of the brain, optic nerve, and spinal cord.

Symptoms are myriad, and include fatigue; loss of balance; numbness, tingling, or pain; and problems with coordination and making small movements.

Whelan has a website — http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/brian.whelan — dedicated to the fundraiser.

Whelan was one of 10 participants from the West Sound Triathlon Club competing in the Ironman contest and one of four from the North Kitsap area.

“Overall, we did really well,” club president Richard Seibert said.

Some of the club participants compete for their first time.

This included Poulsbo resident Steve Lahaie, who finished in 171st place in the 45-49 age division with a time of 13:48:15.

Seibert said Whelan was in a unique position, because he feels tired and worn out before he began training for the event each day. Training for Ironman requires about 17 hours per week, he said.

“A lot of people would say, ‘you already have enough challenges,'” Seibert said of Whelan’s condition. “I think it’s incredible that he can overcome any of the potential limitations.”

Whelan began focusing on the swimming aspect when he switched trainers after the triathlon in 2010.

“Brian (Whelan) felt swimming prevented him from completing his first Ironman,” Whelan’s current trainer Ryan Chapman said. “By the time he got to the bike, he was fatigued.”

At first, Chapman said he was apprehensive about coaching a triathlete — his focus was swimmers or beginning athletes — but he knew all the principals of the competition.

“He got almost instantly faster,” Chapman said.

Chapman, who runs his own training service — tribasetraining.com, said Whelan cut his time of a half-mile swim from 25 minutes to about 12.

“He really did look strong coming across the finish,” he said. “He was training in a way he hadn’t trained before.”

2011 Coeur d’Alene Ironman results from North Kitsap area

Mark Andersen, Suquamish: Swim, 1:07:26; Bike, 6:44:12; Run, 5:36:59 — Total 13:49:43

Corrynn Cloward, Poulsbo: Swim, 1:43:09; Bike, 7:28:33; Run, 5:09:12 — Total 14:44:57

Steve Lahaie, Poulsbo: Swim, 1:07:28; Bike, 7:02:49; Run, 5:16:50 — Total 13:48:15

Brian Whelan, Suquamish: Swim, 1:48:37, Bike, 7:24:46; Run, 6:22:53 — Total 16:02:58