in a mass start to mark the Ironman Canada triathlon in Penticton, British Columbia.

And it only got worse from there for Mark Glusing.

The 25-year-old Bermuda resident finished a respectable 253rd overall and 62nd out of 240 in his age group -- but his time of ten hours, 49 minutes and 15 seconds wasn't good enough to qualify him for the Hawaii Ironman in October.

Glusing said he was well ahead of his ten-hour target for the 2.5-mile swim, 112-mile cycle and 26.2-mile run -- but ran into disaster during the bike portion in the form of a wasp sting on his thigh and back-to-back flat tyres in the last ten miles.

Because of the heat, Glusing called the marathon "the hardest run in an Ironman I have experienced.'' He says he has already started preparation for next year's event.

Bermuda residents Bob Morrison and Mathew Trim were 919 and 1,063 overall in their first Ironman events.