Tupper Lake's Amy Farrell high-fives her daughter Ruby after beginning in run as the women's overall leader in Sunday's Ironman Lake Placid. (News photo - Lou Reuter)

LAKE PLACID – After holding the lead for most of Sunday’s Ironman Lake Placid race, Amy Farrell needed to recall her favorite quote after she was passed on the run 2 miles before the finish line.

“My favorite quote is ‘One can never consent to creep when one feels the ability to soar,’ by Helen Keller, so I was just saying ‘Soar. Soar. Soar,'” Farrell said.

Farrell dug down deep, the woman who passed her ran out of gas, and a local was crowned the women’s overall champion in the grueling 140.6-mile race.

Competing about 30 miles away from her hometown of Tupper Lake, Farrell didn’t disappoint the crowds cheering her on in Lake Placid, as she topped the women’s field with a finish time of 10 hours, 13 minutes and 19 seconds. She had built up a sizable lead on the 112-mile, two-loop bike course and kept the advantage until she was passed late in the marathon run by Haley Germack of Philadelphia. But Germack broke down with less than a mile to go, and Farrell went on to win the race.

“I just had to keeping moving forward, hold it together as best as I could and be proud of my race, you know,” Farrell said. “She was about a minute ahead of me. She looked great. I saw her right up to the turnaround, but then I came up and there were two people walking her. I just ran.”

Amy Farrell of Tupper Lake nears the finish line as the women's champion of the Ironman Lake Placid triathlon Sunday. (News photo - Lou Reuter)

Sunday marked the second straight Ironman victory for Farrell, who also won her age group title last October at the 2014 World Championships in Hawaii. The last time she competed in Lake Placid was in 2002, when she finished in a little more that 10 hours and 18 minutes. She achieved her two goals on Sunday of bettering her time from 13 years ago and winning the race.

Farrell said she was really prepared for last year’s Kona Ironman, but entered Sunday’s race without a lot of training as well as a nagging leg injury that she ultimately fought through.

“Probably the last 12 miles, my quads felt like bricks,” she said. “About three weeks ago I couldn’t run a mile without shooting pains up my left quad, so I was not sure what was going to happen on the second loop at all to the point where I wasn’t even looking at my splits. I just wanted to keep running. I didn’t walk at all – that was the thing.”

Farrell said she was also concerned about competing in two Ironman races that are fairly close to each other this year, as she’ll be headed back to Kona to defend her title in October. However, on Saturday night, she decided she was ready to take on both.

“In May I was nervous about doing both races and kind of overwhelmed,” Farrell said. “I sent my coach a text last (Saturday) night and said I’m excited for Kona now. I’m ready to get back at it and train the way we did last year for it. I’m glad we did this so it didn’t get stale. I haven’t done two (Ironmans) since 2001, and that didn’t go well, but I feel like I got 15 years of hard work under my belt.”

Tupper Lake’s Amy Farrell nears the end of her bike ride during Sunday’s Ironman Lake Placid race. Farrell held the overall women’s lead starting the run. (News photo - Lou Reuter)

Farrell won Sunday despite being charged with a five-minute penalty on the bike leg.

She said it was “just one of those weird things where I had gotten passed, and then I stopped pedaling to try to get out of the zone, and then I got impatient.

“I went to pass. You learn something every race. You just have to be patient and at that moment I wasn’t. I would have biked five minutes faster.”

Farrell said knowing the course and having local fan support also helped push her to victory.

“I felt so strong on that bike,” the Ogdensburg native said. “I’ve probably done 10 laps on the course – not overkill, but I know it – and it’s so funny from when I was younger, that the Wilmington to Lake Placid climb seems so much easier. The energy in this town is incredible. Coming through on those bike loops, there’s nothing like it.

“I heard ‘Go Lumberjacks down in Wilmington,” she continued. “Yeah, ‘Go Lumberjacks,’ ‘Go Ogdensburg,’ ‘Yeah Tupper Lake.’ It definitely warmed my heart.”

Farrell’s split times were 1:03:18 for the 2.4-mile swim, 5:31:32 on the 112-mile bike ride and 3:32:40 on the marathon run. In addition to being the first woman to cross the finish line, Farrell was the 26th fastest racer overall during the first time in 17 years that no professionals competed in Lake Placid.

Lori Sherlock placed second overall for the women in her ninth appearance in the Ironman Lake Placid. Her finish time of 10:31:31 was a personal best in the race for the resident of Star City, West Virginia, Sherlock was downright giddy about it.

“This is a dream,” Sherlock said. “I’ve been top 10 here before, not including the pros. Second place, second place, really? It’s just amazing.”

Sherlock, also a teacher, was fifth after the bike leg and made her climb during the run.

“West Virginia is really similar in terrain so this feels like home and one of my cue words on the bike is ‘Smitten,'” Sherlock said. “I’m smitten with this place. The beauty is just breathtaking.

“I just kept thinking if I don’t fall apart I’m going to get an overall finish, and my face hurt so bad from smiling,” she continued. “It would be a dream to win my age group, but you know I’m over the moon.”