Friday 20 December 2019

1st December 2019 Patagonman Xtri, Chile

3.8km Swim 180km Bike 44km Run - Temperature 16oF
Swim 73:20 - T1 06:14 DNF


I had won the Challenge Championship in June and had planned to then go to the European long distance Champs in Romania and finish my championship campaign at the 70.3 world champs in Nice, France.
However, it was very evident in Samorin that I had come to the end of the road in managing my back pain and hobbling through any sort of running. I did actually go to Romania and even did a pre-race practise on the bike but the night before it was clear it would have been sheer folly to have competed. I pulled the pin and sat on the side lines watching in a world of shudda cudda! To compound my frustration, the guy that won the 70.3 champs was the same guy that beat me in China earlier in the year.

I had my back operation on the 30th August having done a few weeks of hard swimming and biking to assist me in recovering quickly and getting ready for the Patagonman. My interim goal was the long course weekend in Mallorca at the end of October, 8 weeks into my recovery and by which time my consultant had assured me I would have been running for 4 weeks and biking hard again. The LCW came around and I couldn’t walk for a bus never mind run for one. I was swimming at half bore and riding easy and even then, taking a full dose of anti-inflamatories. I swam the 3.8km at the LCM slowly but canned the bike and run. It was becoming a daily battle to figure out what I could do training wise and how I might take part in the Patagonman, resetting my expectations almost hourly. By the middle of November my half full attitude was completely empty, there was no way I could walk 42km or even 4.2km, my back was still too sore and even my biking was still way off the mark. I conceded defeat and resolved to go to Chile, complete the swim and try and muscle my way to the end of the bike, not what I wanted but at least I would get something out of the trip. The iconic part of the race was the run through the Patagonian wilderness :<

There was a good deal of hype around how cold this extreme triathlon swim would be, so we opted to go for the practise swim a couple of days before just to test it out. Wow, how pleased was I that we had made the 90 minute trek to the fjord, it was insanely cold, probably 7oC. I had a thermal swim cap and planned to swim for half an hour, but I was out in 15 minutes shaking with cold. Straight back to the expo and a frantic purchase of swim gloves and booties which I had scoffed at the day before!

Race morning was a 01:00 alarm call in order to do the 90 minute drive to T1 and be on the ferry by 04:00 latest. I had felt pretty rubbish the day before and wrestled my breakfast down, unusually for me managing only to eat half of my normal race day rations. We were on the ferry in good time and were soon chugging out into the channel but starting to get cold as there was no shelter from the cold wind. By the time we reached the jump off point we were having to run around the deck to keep warm.

They dropped anchor then started to herd the athletes off the deck, everyone held back until the last minute then plunged into the frigid water and swam toward the make-shift start line. Pretty much as soon as the last athlete plopped into the water, they sounded the foghorn and off we went. It didn’t seem too bad to start off with or at least not as bad as I had feared. I soon got into a rhythm and started to make my way through the field, feeling pretty chipper. After 30 minutes I wasn’t getting any warmer no matter how hard I swam, and I was started to feel nauseous. I tried to concentrate on keeping a good draft and continuing to work but slowly I started to slip backwards, feeling stroke by stroke, colder and sicker. After what must have been about an hour there seemed to be no end in sight, no support boats nearby and I was shaking uncontrollably and wretching, I wasn’t having fun, and I do this for fun. If there had been a support boat nearby I would have happily climbed in and quit the race, a first in my sporting career as I am not a quitter. But, the only way to end the misery was to swim to the end and so stroke by stroke I made my way to the finish arch on the shore. I lurched from the water, stumbled and a hush came over the crowd, nothing to cheer here, an ugly stagger into T1 and Mary waiting for me.




I was shaking violently and was completely disorientated. I couldn’t stand or speak never mind get my wetsuit off, I was in a bad way and feeling very ill. A cup of coffee shook in my hand and when I swallowed some it just came straight back up. I was in such a bad way that I wasn’t thinking straight, instead of pulling out I went into auto pilot and pushed my bike out of T1

Just pedal and it will come right I figured as I weaved up the road, a danger not only to myself but the other athletes around me. After an hour I started to settle and feel less queasy, so I took a drink from my bottle, but the sickness came rushing back – maybe another hour. I paid no attention to my power or staying aero, just turning the pedals was success. After another hour I felt a little better so tried to drink again but the sickness just came flooding back once more. That was game over right there, I was 70km into the ride and all the hard terrain was still to come. I had no chance of completing the 180km on zero calories, zero fluid, a sore back and barely sufficient bike fitness. The hotel was at the 90km, so I just turned off and took the elevator to the room.





Dylan was still out racing, so I hopped into the support car and continued to follow the race from the back seat. I remained nauseous for the rest of the day and clearly never had a hope in hell of finishing the bike course, gutted.

The season is now over and whilst it has been a fantastic year, winning two titles, it hadn’t gone as I had dreamed but I’ll take it. The back refuses to heal and I continue to experience pretty much the same level of pain I had back in August before the operation. No real prospect of any running in 2020 so time to reset my goals and concentrate on what I can do. That’s the smart thing to do but running is my favourite part of the sport and I miss it enormously, everything crossed I make a full recovery. In the meantime, back to the army of specialists, more head scratching, different therapies and hopefully less frustration from a not very patient person.

Monday 3 June 2019

2nd June 2019 Challenge World Championships, Samorin, Slovakia

1.9km Swim 90km Bike 21km Run - Temperature 26oF
Swim 33:19 - T1 04:28 - Bike 02:14:17 - T2 03:16 – Run 01:34:30 Total Time 4:29:53
World Champion 55 - 59 Age Group, 71st overall


The second stop in my championship campaign was Samorin, Slovakia. Back in December I had shoe-horned the race in Daytona into my calendar in order to win my slot to compete in the Challenge Championship, the world champs for that race series. My back has been pretty sore since October and the right thing to do was rest up and let it heal but with the packed diary of exciting events, I had pushed through to Pontevedra. Since then I hadn’t run in order to help the back ease a little but there was no real improvement. Right through to the morning of the race I was deeply conflicted as whether to race or just stand on the side lines and watch. In the end I resolved to swim/bike and pull the pin on the run if it got too painful.

Up until an hour before the race start the organisers were still uncertain if the swim would be cancelled due to unseasonably strong currents and cold temperatures in the Danube. The day prior to the race the water was between 12 and 14oC and it needed to be over 14oC to be safe for the full distance swim. Race morning it was



14.4oC so it was game on. The first wave of age group athletes launched themselves forwards as the gun went but about a third found themselves making no forward progress as they wrestled with the current, it was going to be a long swim! I decided to take a very conservative position on the start line and sit behind the front group in order to mitigate the effects of the current. After 500m the river bank gave us some protection from the current and I moved past a few athletes and much to my surprise found myself pretty much at the front. I didn’t know at the time, but I exited the water at the front of the age group, the first time ever I have led out the water.

It was a long run from the river to T1 and onto the bike then 2km through the village and onto the main part of the course. It was a very straightforward flat 90km loop alongside the Danube and offered the possibility of a very fast bike split. I was excited to try and lay down a really fast time and build on the gains I had made on the bike this year with a goal of exceeding 25mph and going under 2:15 . The winds were stronger than predicted and the temperature steadily climbed but I stuck to the task and just kept pushing right through to the dismount line, just scraping under my target. I was thrilled to have hit my goal but then entered T2 with some trepidation as the run was looming and with an evaporating run fitness and unhappy back it could all come to a grinding halt very quickly. I racked my bike and saw a bike in my age group already there, it must have been someone who had pulled out, but you never know. It later transpired he had been fished out the water after  15 minutes, not strong enough to cope with the conditions. I set off on the run and decided to run until my back became too sore but keeping a very conservative pace so I had a chance of completing the event if it held up.
I targeted 4:30 min/km for the first lap and that seemed ok although it was getting hotter and my heart rate was soaring. With two laps to go Mary confirmed I had a lead of 9 minutes off the bike, enough of a buffer to run 5:00 min/km and still make it across the line in first place. What she deliberately didn’t tell me was the guy in second was running 4:15s and closing in on me. I kept my cadence high to help stave off the potential cramping and eating and drinking to ensure I had the fuel to keep going. I continued to propel myself to the line and the prospect of a second championship win. What a feeling to cross the line in first place and get the double, beyond words. The next guy had come in just 3 minutes behind me and had run a blistering pace, something I would be envious of even at my best, he just ran out of real estate!

I have still not really taken it in but I do have to now take some time off training and racing to get the back properly fixed so I can race again either this year or next. I am seeing an army of specialists this month and I have promised a few people I will do what I am told, even if that means an extended period of time off. I love the sport too much to jeopardise all the great years of training and racing ahead and I have had an incredible year. I’m a lucky guy.





Tuesday 7 May 2019

4th May 2019 ITU Long Distance World Championships Pontevedra, Spain

1.5km Swim 108km Bike 30km Run - Temperature 22oF
Swim 32:31 - T1 04:34 - Bike 03:26:27 - T2 02:42 – Run 02:13:10 Total Time 6:19:23
World Champion 55 - 59 Age Group, 56th overall



The championship campaign starts here, Pontevedra. The ITU is the world governing body for triathlon and they have a week of world championships across various disciplines culminating in the long distance triathlon at a unique distance. The last time I had competed in this final was 2007 and I had come 26thso there was some room for improvement! There were two changes to the standard long course distance, with water and air temperatures below 14oC the rules mandated the swim distance was halved from 3km to 1500m and in addition, the bike course was cut from 120km to 108km to eliminate some of the technical descents. 

The swim was a deep water mass start - great, lots of contact and a real race to the turn buoy and back out the water. Throughout the race I would be toe to toe with my peers, when being passed I would have to dig deeper to remain in contention or when passing I could surge to create a gap and move up through the field. This was going to be way more fun than the rolling start format and the prize was a world crown.

The swim to the turn was up stream and so it was critical to find some fast feet to sit behind and conserve energy. I quickly found myself at the pointy end of the swim and it seemed like I was in the front pack through to the turn but on the way back I seemed to get gapped and lose valuable time on the lead guys. I exited the water and sprinted the 500m to the change tent at T1, ripped off the wetsuit and jumped on the bike. I had finished the swim in 8th spot and had made up a place in transition to now be in 7th but I didn’t know that at the time, it’s just full gas from gun to tape.

The bike course was three laps of a 36km course that was either up or down, totalling 1500m of climbing with some hairy descents and dead turns. The fastest bikes splits would be down to who had the best descending skills and had the nerve to drive the bike hard into every corner, inevitably there were a fair number who lack one or both and ended up on the deck with nasty road rash. I worked hard to keep the power on up the hills and used any aero advantage I could on the long downhill sections, passing a number of my age group to complete the first lap in the top three. I was now in a race, exchanging places with the leaders by burying myself on the uphill sections and on the rivet descending, reaching speeds in excess of 70kph. By the end of the second lap I felt I had created a gap sufficient for them not to see me anymore and therefore I could focus on fuelling for the run and getting to the dismount line safely. I was desperate to know my placing and whether I could be conservative with run pace or needed to red line it to catch anyone in front of me.

Quickly through T2, I just locked into a pace that felt comfortable so I could compose myself and keep a strong rhythm. I hadn’t run 30k for over 6 months so it was a bit of an unknown quantity pace and endurance wise but I resolved to focus on the now and just run at or below my target pace of 4:30 minutes/km. At the end of the first lap I saw Mary but the athlete tracker wasn’t helping with figuring out my race standing. The pace was comfortably ahead of my target so I was less stressed about my position as I knew my run split would probably be the fastest on the day. I kept the fuel going in and maintained my rhythm and by the end of the second lap Mary confirmed I was in the lead by five minutes or more. Simply by staying on my pace would be good enough for the win, my mind started to drift to the finish line and the prospect of my first world title. I seemed to float through the next two laps and I before I knew it I was running down the finish chute to take the tape.


It still hasn’t sunk in really, winning gold and being crowned world champion was never in my contemplation when I started out in this sport 17 years ago. I had a plan to try and win a title this year and I was giving it everything but that’s still more of a wish list than a certainty. I couldn’t be more proud and so grateful for all the support I get from Mary, my family and friends. Chuffed.


Monday 15 April 2019

14th April 2019 Ironman 70.3 Liuzhou, China

1.9km Swim 90km Bike 21km Run - Temperature 22oF pouring with rain!
Swim 29:19 - T1 04:41 - Bike 02:16:46 - T2 04:03– Run 01:28:27 Total Time 4:23:16
2nd 55 - 59 Age Group, 24th overall

I came back to Liuzhou for the last of my 2019 qualification races having raced there, won and secured my Kona slot in 2018. I moved up an age group this year and so if last year’s result was anything to go by then I could be 15 minutes slower and still cross the line in first. I had looked at the start list and my principal rival, Massimo, had already won his slot in Shanghai on October 2018 so I figured he wouldn’t be bringing his A game. I would still be racing for the win and wanted to better my bike spit at Colombo to prove to myself that the investment I had made in my bike fitness and aerodynamics was paying back. It would be my first race on the new P5, armed with a good deal of the aero bling I had spent hours researching and acquiring. 

I slept well and felt pretty relaxed as we made our way to the start line. A combination of detailed lists and recent race practise takes a lot of the pre-race stress away. We were down at the swim start about forty five minutes before the start and it was hammering it down with rain to the point that I half expected them to call off the swim and maybe reduce the bike to a single lap, I suspect in the USA they would have done so. After a slight delay the rolling start commenced and I placed myself in the 25– 30 corale, looking for a low contact swim, and so it proved to be.

I pulled myself out of the water onto the ladders and up onto the pontoon, up the 82 step staircase before the 500m run to transition. I ran at a decent clip through T1 and grabbed the bike but then needed to slow right down as the ground was very slippery to the mount line. I hopped onto the bike and after a brief wrestle, my feet were in the shoes and the power was down. It was still hammering down and my visor soon fogged up with the high humidity so I opted to remove it and wave goodbye to 5 watts. I was excited to be on the bike and to see what I could do and the main problem I had, was keeping a lid on that excitement and the numbers. Each 10km ticked by in increments of 15 minutes or less and my concern was whether I would be able to run off these numbers but oddly it felt manageable, perhaps how a hard bike split should I thought to myself. I knew I would need to run well off the bike so the voice in my head told me to reign things in and ride within myself. The second lap was a minute or two slower and that felt easier, the margins are very fine. Before the race I told myself best case was 2:20 in these slippery conditions and 2:25 would be ok but I just kept motoring headlong towards two something teen. I was ecstatic to have bettered my PB bike split at Colombo by 7 minutes. Now I needed to go to work on the run and see if that bike time impacted my running.







I sat briefly in T2 and shouted at the cheaters in there that I had seen drafting, but they didn’t seem that interested in my protestations and explicatives, so I just got on with my race. I saw Mary at the 2km mark and she told me I was 3 minutes behind first place, I couldn’t believe it, I had just ridden the bike split of my life and I was still behind. I knew I had to run a solid sub 90 minute half marathon to ensure the win as that was pretty much always 5 minutes quicker than anyone else in the age group. I saw Mary again at the half way mark and the guy in front was only running 6 seconds a km slower than me so unless he folded I wasn’t going to catch him, but I couldn’t control that, I could only control my 100% effort. Turns out he is a former Pro athlete and world champion!




He didn’t fold and I crossed the line having given it everything. A top class swim, a record breaking bike leg and winning run time, but I hadn’t won. I had set a personal best at the distance by over 10 minutes at the age of 55, finished in the top 20 age groupers overall, improved my record bike time from last year by 10% but it still fell short by 47 seconds. I was thrilled with the performance but would have loved to get the Kona slot. The winner was a former French professional athlete and in a different league to me, it was his to lose.

I still have an exciting year of racing ahead of me and I am certain I can continue to improve and win.


Wednesday 6 March 2019

24th February 2019 Ironman 70.3 Colombo Sri Lanka

1.9km Swim 90km Bike 21km Run - Temperature 32oF 
Swim 35:13 - T1 01:52 - Bike 02:23:39 - T2 01:20 – Run 01:36:39 Total Time 4:38:44
55 - 59 Age Group Champion, 11th overall

It felt like the season started back in December at Challenge Daytona, that being the first of three qualification races for the 2019 goal of racing all five of the long distanced branded and non-branded championship races. The Ironman 70.3 world champs are in Nice, France this year so it was a great opportunity to race at the top level close to home. I had booked a summer holiday in France so if I didn’t qualify in Colombo I was going to have to race again later in the summer to get my slot so there was some pressure to get the job done now. 

This is only the second year of this race so it was a bit of an unknown quantity. When I looked at the start list, it was a relatively small field by Ironman standards and a short tail of quality athletes. However, there were clearly a number of good athletes that had come from most corners of the world (58 countries represented) to grab a spot for the world champs so, it wasn’t going to be such a soft spot after all! I figured I had about 5 guys to beat, all of whom had competed at the world champs the previous year. In reality you just race who turns up and race as hard as you can. The one caveat for me was that I had done very little running since tearing my calf at Christmas so I was really anxious not to bury myself on the run if I didn’t need to. 

The swim was not great for me, rolling start sea swim and non-wetsuit. No BOOM of a gun, just a slow amble to the start line then a five count before the next 4 athletes rush into the surf, it couldn’t be less anti-climactic start. The waves weren’t huge but they were big enough to hide the buoys and make navigation a lottery of which swimmer you trusted most to follow, assuming they could see the buoys! I snaked my way around the course with no real idea if I was making good head-way but it was over soon enough and I was rushing through T1 and ready to attack the bike course.

I was quickly out onto the flat three loop bike course with just a handful of dead turns to break up the time trial.  I made my way through the field during lap one and we were pretty strung out by the time we had completed the first 30k. By the second lap, small bunches of riders were starting to form, clearly illegally drafting on each other’s wheel. I largely put the cheaters from my mind until a pack of riders came by with one guy sat in the middle who was in my age group. Now this guy was clearly going to cheat his way into getting my slot for the world champs so number 136 Chip Grizzard quickly had my attention. I sat 10m behind the group observing their riding so I could be sure it was blatant cheating and not a momentary lapse of concentration or failed passing manoeuvre. Yup, he was holding a wheel, less than a metre from the rider in front. I pushed a little more power and came along-side him, told him he was cheating and ought to back off into a legal position – nothing, nada, no acknowledgement of my presence never mind my message! Some in the group took my advice, others just kept their head down and cheating. I figured I would need to gap the group and keep them at least a minute behind me into T2 so I put the hammer down and left them behind. At each dead turn I continued to observe them cheating as they passed by the other side but I managed to hold the gap through to T2. 

A swift change in T2 and I headed out onto the run course with the temperature hovering around 30oC. It was a flat two lapper and had two dead turns on each lap, ideal for talking splits on the gap I had on the chasers. The first out leg was along the concrete harbour breakwater, the heat radiating off the walls like an oven and the air completely still. I checked my watch at the turnaround then again when I saw cheater Chip, I had a lead of just over two minutes. I shouted across to Chip, reminding him of his less than honest performance on the bike. 5k to the next dead turn and the gap had grown to over 5 minutes, I just had to keep the same pace and I would get the win and coveted WC slot. The temperature continued to climb, reaching a baking 38oC so I just kept a lid on the pace and slowed down at each aid station to make sure I took on enough liquids and fuel to comfortably sustain me to the finish line, no need to take any chances, just tap it out.

I crossed the line pretty spent but not buried, it was my longest run in four months but the calf held up and I had gotten the job done.  I am pleased to report Chip was passed in the last 100m and came 3rd, well done Jeremy Snoad! Now on to Liuzhou and to scrap it out for a spot at the big one, Ironman WC Hawaii.