Racers in Sunday's inaugural East Cooper Coastal Triathlon went to extremes, beginning their morning with a bone-chilling ocean plunge at Isle of Palms and ending it with an extremely pleasant, sunny run into the Mount Pleasant Towne Center.

Zach Stroud, a 24-year-old medical student from James Island, won the men's division handily in 1:26:40, but the cold and scenic new course was the big story.

"I've being doing races all over the country, and this is probably the prettiest course I've seen," Stroud said.

"The weather's perfect now (at the finish). I really have a feeling in a few years this could be a big, big event."

The 0.4-mile swim was shortened from 0.6 the week of the race, due to the unseasonable cold. Water temperature was in the low 60s Sunday morning, causing one racer to buy a wetsuit on the spot from Charleston Bicycle Company's tent. Weather at the 7:30 a.m. race time was in the mid 40s, about the same temperature of the New Year's Day "Polar Bear Plunge" on Sullivan's Island.

The plunge was followed by a 16-mile, windswept bike ride down the IOP Connector to Hungry Neck Boulevard, returning to the Isle of Palms, taking a right to Sullivan's Island, and returning to the transition area at Isle of Palms County Park.

The five-mile run leg then took the Connector again and finished in front of the EarthFare in Towne Centre, making this a rare "point-to-point" triathlon.

Women's winner Jane West, 40, of Hanahan came out of the water smiling and yelling, "I can't feel my feet!" Peeling off a borrowed wetsuit, her transition to the bike was her longest ever, she said. Triathletes usually jump on their bikes in thin lycra suits, but West, like many others Sunday, took the time to put on extra clothes and a pair of gloves.

"I was totally numb," she said at the finish, adding that she prefers the extreme heat of the James Island Sprint Triathlons in the summer. "But I do like the adventure aspect of this, whenever there's something extreme, like cold or rough water."

The water was fairly calm, but a strong current did push a few swimmers into the pier. Race organizer Kathleen King said there were no injuries, and all 68 swimmers finished the leg.

Organizers had capped the event at 155, but blamed the cold weather and only six weeks of preparation time for limiting total participation to 81. The race has been a dream of Mount Pleasant Town Councilman Gary Santos for years. Santos, who also made up the bike leg of a relay team, praised the collective efforts of the towns of Mount Pleasant, Sullivan's Island, and Isle of Palms, and said he looked forward to watching the race grow in future years.

EAST COOPER COASTAL TRIATHLON TOP FINISHERS

Women: 1. Jane West, 1:49:22; 2. Jeanne Welsh, 2:02:01; 3. Heidi Kent 2:02:55.

Men: 1. Zach Stroud, 1:26:40; 2. Eric Rackel, 1:29:17; 3. Steve Fitch, 1:30:17.

Relay Teams

Men: Tri Sports (Ed Todanzer, Harold Fallis, Jim Kirwan) 1:32:21

Mixed: Mean, Lean and Always Late (Kim Duffy, Clint Adams, Darren Flinn) 1:32:27

Age Group Winners

Men 15-19: Nick Daigle 1:45:21

Women 20-24: Christina Bedford 2:02:55

Men 20-24: Benjamin Pettit 1:44:24

Men 25-29: Nathan Pramik 1:35:20

Women 30-34: Stacy Fernim 2:09:00

Men 30-34: Adam Martin 1:30:47

Women 35-39: Melissa Coleman 2:15.33

Men 35-39: Jody McAuley 1:36:05

Men 40-44: Edwin Kohn 1:34:15

Men 45-49: Don Leech 1:44:23

Men 50-54: Kennneth Hanger 1:47:57

Men 60-64: Neil Jacobs 2:01:53

Men 70-75: Charles Swanson 2:37:51

Women's Masters: Christine Case 2:20:13

Men's Masters: Dawson Cherry 1:33:45