There are Subarus parked throughout the course. There’s a WRX STI parked at the transition point from the run to the bike, and a Subaru Forester posed on a podium overlooking the final shoot down to the finish line. The shoot itself is festooned with Subaru banners and logos, there’s even an inflatable archway in Subaru blue.

Somewhere on the course there’s a blue 2016 Subaru BRZ with STI package. It’s the one I drove up. You probably know the story of this car already: It’s one of a pair of twins, the other being the Scion FR-S. The engine is all Subaru; a plucky boxer four-cylinder, 2.0L worth of it with 200 hp and a trick manual transmission. The chassis is a small, nimble, front-engine, rear-drive unit with superb balance and razor-sharp steering. There are few things more fun to drive. I don’t think any of the folk running by it care. But I bet at least half of them wish they could jump in and let it carry them to the finish.

For people like me, the BRZ is the best of what Subaru has to offer, sharing that honour with the WRX STI. But it’s a sea of Subaru SUVs that awaits in the parking lots of Mont Tremblant. This, Marketing Director of Subaru Canada Joe Felstein tells me, is why the Ironman sponsorship makes so much sense. He’d like us to think of Ironman competitors and Subaru in a similar light. They’re rugged, reliable and have diverse capabilities. No, that doesn’t mean I can try and make the BRZ swim. Spoilsport.

Subaru’s involvement with the Ironman is deep and runs beyond the race course. Joe tells me that the company has a special factory rebate available for competitors. Each year the claims for the rebate money number in the hundreds. It’s a good deal too. Go buy your Subaru, then mail Subaru your receipt for the car plus proof you completed an Ironman and voila – $750 rocks up in the mail. Technically, this would make you a pro athlete. At least that’s what I would tell girls at the pub.

Driving back in the BRZ, with its stunning STI body kit and black STI wheels I’m thinking again about the emotion and the joy on the faces of people who crossed the line. Every one of them dragging bodies that protested and resisted and every one of them with an ear-to-ear smile plastered on their face. It’s little wonder Subaru wants to be a part of this sort of revelation. Hell, even I do now.

Briefly, I consider doing one myself. Maybe I’ll start with a baby triathlon, and build up from there. As I drive home though, winding mountain roads passing under the sure-footed and nimble BRZ, I realize I already have my drug. And for me too, Subaru is an enabler.

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