Author Archives: theordinaryironman

Ever felt like you’ve come full circle. Like there’s a pattern to life and no such thing as coincidence. You’re on the cusp of understanding why things are the way they are. How things have changed but they’re still the same. Back where you began but the players have shifted slightly armed with wisdom. YouContinue reading “Full Circle – London Marathon 2023”

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”