LAKE STEVENS — Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was in town this weekend. But this time, it wasn’t for any of his foodie reality shows or cooking competitions.
Instead, Ramsay was here to test himself in the Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3. He finished in five hours, 50 minutes and 31 seconds.
The restaurateur and television personality from shows like “Hell’s Kitchen,” “MasterChef” and “Kitchen Nightmares” was one of 1,025 athletes who competed in the event Sunday.
An Ironman 70.3, or a half Ironman, consists of a 1.2-mile swim followed by a 56-mile bicycle ride and finished with a 13.1-mile run.
The annual Lake Stevens race draws professional and amateur athletes from around the world. Countries represented in the first 100 finishers this year included the U.S., Canada, Britain, Switzerland, New Zealand, Russia, Brazil, Ireland and Costa Rica.
Ramsay finished in the top third of racers at No. 331. He crossed the finish line and high-fived people waiting on the other side. A video shows him catching his breath and smiling as one girl yells, “I got a high five. He high-fived me.”
The morning started off misty as athletes got in the lake, but the sun burned away the haze as the race continued.
“When you think of a nice, lazy Sunday morning, you think of being in bed and relaxing,” Ramsay said in a video recorded before the Ironman started.
He told fans that if they were eating eggs benedict that morning, he wished he was at their table. But the celebrity chef had a triathlon to finish.
While in Snohomish County, Ramsay also visited Prohibition Gastropub at 1414 Hewitt Ave. in Everett. He helped revamp the eatery in a 2013 episode of “Kitchen Nightmares.”
Ramsay shared video live on Facebook as he made the surprise visit Saturday night. He ordered short ribs, pork and chicken in a biscuit — the restaurant’s take on a pot pie — with a glass of chardonnay. He also asked to try an appetizer, something new on the menu. While there, he checked that items in the walk-in refrigerator were stored and dated, watched some live music and took pictures with fans. He later posted praise for the “great food.”
“I couldn’t resist popping in and checking out that the nightmare has become a dream,” Ramsay said in the video.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
Ironman info
More details about the Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3, including results, are online at www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman-70.3/lake-stevens.
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