Author Archives: theordinaryironman

Its 4:30am and I’m walking on deep soft carpet laid on the pier at Kona Hawaii. Its the Ironman World Championship 2022, back after 3 years in its birthplace, and I, an ordinary athlete, am racing. The air is warm and humid, there’s a low buzz from the crowd. I periodically gulp for breath, blinkContinue reading “Ironman World Championship 2022, Kona, Hawaii”

Today I received the ultimate dream come true. The holy grail of triathlon. A chance to compete in the Ironman World Championships in its birthplace, Kona Hawaii. Yesterday I came 7th in age group at Ironman UK, Bolton. It is this placing combined with a large dose of luck, that has become my ticket toContinue reading “Kona Qualified – The Ultimate Ironman Dream”

Yesterday I competed in the Ironman World Championships, St George Utah, which, bar grief, is hands down the most difficult thing I have ever done in my entire life! A 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride then a full 26.2 mile marathon. Challenging alone, but this was at 90oC heat, ridingContinue reading “Never Give Up – Ironman World Champs”

On Friday 25th February 2022 I sat at my kitchen Island, steaming coffee in hand, suitcase and washing strewn all around as I re-acclimatized from a ski trip in the beautiful mountains of Georgia. I scrolled absentmindedly through my email when my eye caught on a message from Ironman. A message marking the biggest peakContinue reading “Ironman Dreams Come True – World Champs Qualification”

Barcelona Ironman marks significant milestones in my ironman journey. A flat, fast and furious course with gigantic waves in a stormy sea; tightly packed, rapid biking and a gruelling run in the Spanish sun. My first battle in the international arena, third go at full distance, fifteenth in age group, smashing my PB by 2Continue reading “International Ironman – Pain & Perseverance”

The road to the Ironman world championship in Kona Hawaii (we all got to dream), will no doubt be a bumpy journey, and the Staffordshire 70.3 at 29oC was a somewhat uncomfortable bump in the journey so far. Yet setbacks in life, are a blessing. The best of learning curves, forcing a rethink, rebalance andContinue reading “Staffs 70.3 – Too Hot to Handle”

Autumn 2020 was a baptism-of-middle-distance-duathlon-fire for me. A far better than anticipated result achieved by approaching a lengthy race as if it was short and fast, and challenging myself to push for as long and as hard as I could. This “give it all you’ve got” strategy revealed I had hidden capability. It showed meContinue reading “Winning by Accident”

One thing I need to reiterate about my sporting capability, is I’m not particularly good. I was on most of the school teams but if I traversed the slippery pole of greatness in any particular discipline I was quickly put back in my place by the elites. I was smashed in swimming club galas, assasinatedContinue reading “Ordinaries CAN Win if they Niche and Conquer”

My first attempt at a full Ironman was Ironman Wales 2018 which if you go by hills is arguably one of the hardest Ironman competitions there is. I chose to approach the race in a similar manner to doing a local fun run… I wouldn’t write it off as a total fail as I didContinue reading “How NOT to Prepare for an Ironman”

Looking back on life it looks like there was a plan. Gliding from university digs and parties, to jobs and dining out, gradually scaling a career ladder, getting a house, meeting a guy, children, married, dog, divorce. The reality was it just seemed to happen or maybe the unthinking part of me was in controlContinue reading “Inklings of Iron?”