IT WAS a big weekend in the long course triathlon calendar and Stratford Triathlon Club stalwart Wayne Vickers took part in the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, on Saturday.
To even qualify for this event is a huge achievement as it is a notoriously difficult and challenging course.
After the swim Vickers thought he had posted his best swim time ever, but it was only afterwards he realised his actual time and he was hugely disappointed knowing he had posted faster times than that in training and other races.
Fortunately, he was unaware during the race and took off in his customary swift transition time to record a spectacularly great bike leg.
He said: “I had a great ride until the 90-mile point when the wheels just came off.”
This was not literally, of course, he merely ran out of fuel after so much effort.
Perhaps some extra time to refuel in transition would have made the segway into the run a little easier, but Vickers struggled on through the run, suffering in the immense heat and humidity to finish in a time many of us would be hugely proud of.
There is nothing like an Ironman event to make you dig deep within yourself and find every last drop of energy you can.
Vickers’ result: (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run) – swim 1:27:05, T1 3:24, bike 5:46:15, T2 4:27, run 3:59:25 0 total 11:20:36 and 152nd in age group (M45-49), 2,500 competitors.
COMPETING in another Ironman event on Sunday was Stratford TC’s Paul Nash who was taking part in his second full Ironman in Louisville, USA.
He took to the course with great determination and had a phenomenal swim followed by a bike time most would be proud of.
Nash confessed afterwards: “Coming off the bike I just had nothing left, the heat was incredible and my nutrition was just not right on the day.
“I had a disappointing run but still managed to knock 30 minutes off my time from last year.”
It was a great performance and a stunning PB regardless.
Nash’s result: swim 1:14:50, T1 14:58, bike 6:16:49, T2 12:55, run 6:31:55 – total 14:31:27 – 57th in age group (M55-59), 2,500 competitors.
