Scenes from the First Ironman 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley

The first Ironman 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley on Sunday welcomed more than 2,000 competitors from 43 states and 15 countries to Centre County.

After a year of planning and with the support of nearly 1,000 volunteers, athletes swam 1.2 miles in Sayers Lake at Bald Eagle State Park, bicycled 56 miles through Clinton and Centre counties and ran 13.1 miles on the Penn State campus before crossing the finish line at the 50-yard line in Beaver Stadium.

Penn State alumnus Matthew Guenter, of Boulder, Colorado, was the top finisher with a time of 4:19.30. Caroline Moyer, of Malvern, had the top women’s time at 5:00:55. Vincent Fadale was the first State College are resident to cross the finish line, clocking a time of 4:48:03, good for 28th overall.

From the Ironman Village outside Beaver Stadium to the finish line, check out the sights from the inaugural event.

After the swim, competitors then took a 56-mile bike ride that turned north to Mill Hall then back through the Nittany Valley, over Centre Hall Mountain into Centre Hall and toward State College.

The final leg of the triathlon was a 13.1-mile run through the Penn State campus, with the course passing landmarks like Old Main and the Nittany Lion Shrine.

The triathlon concluded at the 50-yard line of Beaver Stadium.