That was how long it took Adamle, 60, to complete the elite Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Adamle covered the 2.4-mile swim in 1:33.51, the 112-mile bike ride in 7:09.48 and the 26.2-mile marathon in 5:14.04. He finished 29th in his age group and 1,449th overall in a field of about 1,800.

Competing to raise pledges and awareness for Gridiron Greats, the WMAQ-Ch. 5 sportscaster completed the course as quickly as he did when he first participated 11 years ago at the age of 49.

Adamle's time would have been 40 minutes quicker if not for a flat tire on his bike he had to repair himself. Yet he couldn't have been more satisfied with his effort, even if "it took a forklift" to get him out of bed Sunday morning, Adamle said.

"This was the hardest thing I ever did," Adamle said by phone. "The conditions were amazing, the tire made me adjust on the fly, but it was something special everybody should experience once."