“You’ll win the last 10 minutes of the race and that’s all that matters,'” Foley said.

When Foley finally caught up to race leader, Matthew Marquardt of Cincinnati, Ohio, on Wilmington Road in Lake Placid with just a few miles left in the race, he knew he had to pass him.

“I’ve done good in 99% of races and I’ve folded in the last 1% of races (before), so I just needed to make sure that I could get to mile 25 and still compete,” he said.

His patience helped him win Ironman Lake Placid in a course-record time of 7 hours, 55 minutes, 23 seconds. He was also the first-ever triathlete to complete Lake Placid’s course in under 8 hours.

“It’s reassuring that I’m doing the right thing with my life,” Foley said. “I’ve longed (to be on) the top step in the world.”

The previous best was set last year by Joe Skipper of the United Kingdom in 8:03:46. At the time, Skipper seemed to have set the bar pretty high, considering he shattered the previous record by more than 10 minutes.

Marquardt finished with the second fastest Ironman Lake Placid time ever, crossing the finishing line in 7:57:14. Lionel Sanders of Windsor, Ontario rounded out the podium in 8:05:39. Skipper competed on Sunday, but ended his journey on the biking portion, to save energy for his next competition, according to Ironman Lake Placid officials.

It was only the fourth time Foley had ever taken part in the full 140.6 Ironman triathlon, but for this race he was more prepared than usual. Foley’s arm was riddled with numbers — each one represented a mile marker and when he should eat during the run.

“It’s way too hard to remember for eight hours,” Foley said. “So I just wrote it in Sharpie last night and hoped it sticked.”

It seemed to have helped him; he recorded the fastest run time among any of the more than 2,400 competitors. He also had the second fastest time on the bike, which was very much needed, since he immediately had to make up ground after falling to 42nd place overall after the swim.

When he crossed the finish line on the Olympic Speedskating Oval, he felt nearly every emotion, from pain to happiness. Within seconds, he was greeted by his fiance, Sophie Piniella.

“It was just my best day today,” he said. “This is the first time my fiance was at the finish line and it was my first big Ironman win, so it was very emotional.”