Colin Delaney, left, and Caitlin Delaney stand in front of High Peaks Cyclery on Monday, July 17 in Lake Placid. (News photo — Parker O’Brien)

LAKE PLACID — When Wilmington residents Caitlin and Colin Delaney were growing up, they really only knew each other through attending school around the same time.

They did things together through the Lake Placid Outing Club, but that was pretty much it.

They started dating after they had both graduated college and returned to the area for the summer. They eventually went their separate ways.

Later on, they reconnected, and a big reason was their mutual love for endurance events, such as cross-country running, skiing and triathlons.

“(It’s) what has kept us together,” Colin said.

For the first time as a married couple, Caitlin, 31, and Colin, 32, will take on one of the longest endurance triathlon events in the world on Sunday, July 23 when they compete in Ironman Lake Placid. The race consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike race and a 26.2-mile run.

Luckily for them, this isn’t their first time taking on the 140.6-mile triathlon. Caitlin has independently completed seven full-length Ironmans, while Colin has done one by himself.

But to them, Ironman is different from other endurance events because of how much it played a role in their childhoods. Both of their fathers have multiple Ironman finishes under their belt.

Colin’s father Brian Delaney competed in Ironman Lake Placid since its inception in 1999, before stopping in 2019 at 21 straight.

“I was 8 years old when the first race was here,” he said. “I always thought that one day I would try to make it happen. I’ve only participated once, but I can see it being something that I do more in the future. There’s a good gravity to it to be a part of it.”

Caitlin’s father, Bill Skufca, is the reason she started competing in the Ironman. This year, Caitlin is hoping to match her father’s total of seven Ironman finishes.

“I remember growing up and I would plan summer outings around my dad’s long bike rides and it was a lot of fun watching him do it,” she said. “The first time I was able to do it with him was when I was 18, and that was really fun. It’s pretty addicting.”

Caitlin keeps signing up for the Ironman because it’s harder for her to just watch the race than compete in it.

“I honestly think that spectating or volunteering at Ironman is more tiring than doing it yourself,” she said.

Colin said he’s excited to compete in his first Ironman since 2017, but noted that anything could go wrong on race day.

“I haven’t done a huge amount of training, so it’s going to be just a day of trying to be pretty calm and not try to race people,” he said. “(I want to) just focus on what I can do.”

Caitlin said this is probably the least amount of training that she has ever done going into an Ironman.

“I road one century ride in May and I’m hoping that works out,” she said.

While they haven’t necessarily been training for the Ironman itself, they stay in shape by doing various endurance exercises throughout the year, such as the High Peak’s Mini-Tri series. During the winters when it’s harder to train for one of the three disciplines in a triathlon, they go cross-country skiing.

“We spend a lot of time mountain biking, and swimming when it’s hot, (that’s) kind of been our training plan,” Caitlin said.

Colin said they’re constantly trying to do something every day to stay in shape.

“Not as many of the four or five hour training days that are pretty important if you’re trying to go out there and hammer it all day,” he said. “We definitely support each other in the training efforts. We encourage each other to get out and it’s a good motivator.”

On race day, they really won’t have the opportunity to support each other, with them both competing at the same time. Colin thinks they’ll see each other at some point.

“We’ll stop and chat for a bit if we’re going in the same direction,” he said. “Obviously, on the run course, we’re going to see each other a number of times, because it’s where we could be a half hour apart and going to the same place. Even then, we’ll see each other on the turnarounds.”

Both Caitlin and Colin didn’t have a set finish time that they wanted to achieve. Colin, who didn’t really remember his first Ironman, said he just wants to cross the finish line in a happy mood.

“Finishing before dark is always kind of a goal of mine, but who knows,” Caitlin said.

She added that it’s always nice to be able to sit down and not have to move forward anymore after completing an Ironman.

“I think that the finish line feeling is really what brings you back because the next day for whatever reason you sign up again,” she said.