Brothers spending triathlon together

The days spent hiking the High Peaks, which started with Frank Woods packing the car with sleeping elementary schoolers in Loudonville before dawn, weren't some plan devised to show his three sons the importance of staying active.

[...] young professionals, they'll return to the Adirondacks as triathletes on Sunday in the Ironman Lake Placid, an extreme triathlon hooking together a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a marathon (26.2 miles) into a test of mental and physical will.

Few people can handle the grueling training regimen required — often six days a week — and the Woods family has produced a crop of brothers who are looking to take to take on the mountains in a new way.

Chris took up triathlons when he was still in the Navy and eventually pulled his brothers into the culture, starting with Brian, who ran track on scholarship at the University of Pittsburgh, and then Tim, an avid skier and the most laid-back of the three, who often is the first to hand out beers at the finish line.