“On what may become regarded as the hardest Ironman 70.3 course in the world Chris McCormack and Catriona Morrison won the UK Ironman 70.3 at Wimbleball Lake yesterday” ...

... is the start of the official race report on the Ironman website.

Understood this year as the toughest 70.3 behind Monaco. The bike on both UK and Monaco courses are challenging, but Monaco’s bike is definitely the toughest of the two, boasting 2500m of climbing over the 90km route as opposed to the still impressive 1900 odd meters of climbing in Somerset. However, in Monaco, once the bike is done, a fairly standard half-marathon faces you whereas in UK the challenge has only just begun as the friendly crew take the bike away from you in T2 and you head out onto the run course. In places, freshly ploughed fields offer a smoother surface to run on than the UK 70.3 route and the only section with smooth tarmac is over a soul-destroying climb and an equally as steep descent on the other side.

But don’t let this put you off if you’ve got plans to enter next years event. Overall it’s a great race for anyone up for a challenge.

The SAUK members and friends who’d signed up for the race were Bruce Rogerson (pic left), myself (pic centre), Eugene Owen (pic right), Steve Winton, Nigel Richardson, Mark Pattison, Lisa Baumann and Barry Atkins, while the support, assistance and camerawork from Candice Marsh and Tracey Craig proved invaluable.

Here’s the link to the photos.

On the morning of the race our bikes and clobber were as we left it the day before – lucky for us - rumour got around that some of the Pro’s arrived in the morning only to find someone had nicked their bicycles from transition overnight.

Otherwise the race started without a hitch – the water was cool, apparently one of the deepest lakes in the UK so the temperature stays pretty cold all year round. Nothing a long pee in your wet-suit wouldn’t fix though. The swim was a pretty speedy one – personally a PB in a HIM swim for me even after suffering a bit of a panic attack in all the chaos at the start and earning myself a huge wetsuit rash on my neck. All SAUK boys came out safe and smiling.

Onto the bike – we all knew it was going to be a long day in the saddle. A 2 lap course with the first half of the lap mainly downhill with some tricky 1:5 descents. The second half of the lap had all the climbs that just never stopped. The first time I’ve seen athletes get off their bikes, take off their shoes and push their bike up the 14% gradients barefoot. The first lap was ok but the climbs in the second lap started to get the better of me and I was only too happy hand over my bike in T2 and put on the running shoes.

Bruce and I had run the route before so we knew what to expect, but the combination of the sharp up and down hills on hard surface and otherwise uneven terrain to run on after such a hard bike made this half marathon more difficult than most. But the end did eventually come. The crowds and organisers were amazing in cheering you over the line and somehow managed to lift the pain and exhaustion from you over the last 100m. All the SAUK members and friends finished in the top half of the field, exhausted but happy.

Special mentions go to Lisa Baumann competing in her first race as a Pro; Bruce Rogerson on completing his first Half Ironman, and Barry Atkins on an amazing 34th overall (while Barry wears the colours of a different club, he’s a good friend of SAUK). Results as follows (850+ starters):

Entries for next year’s event are opening next week for those looking for a great adventure: Ironman UK