YOP Ironman Update

It’s been a long block of training for The Northumbrians. We’ve had a fairly decent winter/spring weather wise and the six have put in plenty of time in the pool, on the bike and running.

We have, sadly, had our first casualty and Ironman withdrawal. A persistent achilles injury has prevented Iain from running. He has decided to concentrate his training on swimming and cycling and deferred his Ironman entry until next year. We are all sad that Iain has had to make this tough decision but we’re very grateful that he hasn’t stopped training with and coaching the rest of the team, while also finding some more suitable races to enter.

Iain-still to be found happily cycling and swimming

On Sunday 4th June four of the crew travelled to Ullswater for the Epic 3.8 km swim. Kate and Keith chose to train in central France enjoying swimming, cycling and running in the sunshine. So Jules, Iain, Craig and Stewart met up in Glenridding hoping for equally pleasant conditions. The day did not disappoint. The water temperature was 19 °C, which for this time of year was very decent. For Jules and Stewart this was their first attempt at the Ironman distance outside of training.

The race was well organised and had a nice, friendly atmosphere. The giant duck marking the start/finish was a great touch. Iain and Craig set off in the first wave with Jules and Stewart setting off a minute behind in the second wave. Calm conditions made for a good swim. Jules and Stewart set personal bests way ahead of their target times. Craig also swam a PB and Iain swam a season’s best with many, many season’s between this and his PB. All were pleased with their efforts.

Having completed the swim Iain set off for home to support his wife Karen in her fell race, while Stewart, Craig and Jules cycled back via Hartside Pass. The ride back was hilly to say the least, but was a great training ride and a good one to have in the bank.

View from Hartside (that’s a long climb!)

On Sunday 18th June four of the team took on The Gauntlet, a half Ironman distance race (actually 73.3 miles) , at Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire. This time The Northumbrian representatives were Stewart, Craig, Kate and Jules. Iain had competed in The Deva Aquabike the previous week and Keith was working in China-both pretty decent excuses for their absence.

Stewart, Craig, Kate and support crew Jules M chose to camp on the event site on the Saturday night. Jules and support crew Steve P chose to stay in an Air BnB. A huge thunder and lightning storm directly overhead at 1am disturbed everyone’s pre-race sleep but I am guessing the campers had the worst of it! Despite all, the four racers and two support crew met up in registration at 0645 full of nerves and anticipation. The day had dried out and conditions were pretty good. The water temperature of 22.7 °C was a huge relief to the competitors as it rose perilously close to a non wetsuit permitted race.

The bikes racked, kit and nutrition laid out, the competitors headed to the bath (lake) for the start of the swim, bike, run. The swim included an Australian Exit which saw the athletes running along a floating platform before re-entering the water. A fun touch. The bike was three 32 km laps which wound it’s way around some beautiful countryside. The run was three 7 km torturous laps around the castle grounds. By then the weather was hot and the inclusion of a huge hill (mountain) in the run was tough for all.

All The Northumbrians successfully negotiated the race and had two podiums to celebrate on top of the achievement. Craig was first V60 and Jules 3rd V50. Kate narrowly missed out on the podium with 4th V40 and Stew finished 16th V50. A big thanks to support crew Jules M and Steve P for the bag carrying, cow bell ringing, cheering, moral supporting and coat fetching!

Four starters, four finishers-job done!

Now the hard work continues as we progress towards Ironman Copenhagen on 20th August 2023.

And Then There Were Four

The Northumbrians IRONMAN Copenhagen