Ironman World Championships 2010 - Kona Hawaii

The lead up to my race hadn't been perfect; I'd qualified in Wisconsin the previous year. Since then I'd had to pull out of both IM Lanzarote and IM Nice due to injury. I had torn ligaments in my left ankle which had affected my running for the rest of the year. My early plans of a sub 3 marathon were slipping away...



Kona would be my first Ironman of the year, with this came the uncertainty of how I would race. I arrived earlier this year than I had in the past, this was to be a very special couple of weeks for me and few weeks that would shape my future. Mette and I were married in St Peters Church, Kailua Kona - Hawaii on the 3rd October. It was a very special day for both us and made even more special by all our friends and family who were there


My race didn’t have a perfect start I had positioned myself two rows back in the middle. As the cannon sounded the paddle boarders were too close to me and blocked my swim. I had to go sideways before I could go forward and this wasn't easy with around 1500 other athletes behind me. From that point onwards I tried to relax in the 'melee or thrashing arms and feet' that was the swim. Exiting the swim, I felt good, relaxed. I hadn't been any where close to the red line; I was conscious that this was where I could make up some time.



I ride to watts and quickly settled into a rhythm passing the faster swimmers. I’ve recently been Retul’d by Freespeed and my position felt strong even in the Trade winds at Hawi. This gave me confidence and a sub 5 bike was the result!! my first ever in Kona…..... I put this down to having a plan and sticking to it. I use a concentrated Infinit Speedfil on the down tube and have a profile torpedo with water on the bars. This is all I carry, no bars, saltsticks or any other nutrition.




The run was hot, and although I was just off my target pace I felt like was just hanging in there...At the turn point I saw Declan Doyle was about 200m behind me and Tim Bishop was a little further back. Both looked strong. I train with both Dec and Tim and know how capable and talented they are, I wasn't sure if I could hold my pace. I saw a sign at the side of the road that said ’ Pain reassures you that you’re alive’ I was alive alright… and hurting!! From the start my run felt hard, I didn't remember 2008 being like this. But this year I was shooting for better than 21st in my age group and it came at a cost. Richard Hobson, my coach, was just ahead and it spurned me on to see familiar faces. I could see that he was hurting too, thank goodness for that as Tim and Dec still looked fresh. Heading out onto the Queen K into the lava fields, I felt alone and strangely took strength from this, my race was in my hands and it was mine to let slip away. I took solace that I was still passing more athletes.

I was so glad to see the finish, there’s nothing quite like the finish on Alii Drive and I will cherish that forever. My friend’s from Disney Tri were there cheering me on and for the first I shared the finishing flume with no one.... It was mine and mine alone.



My fastest race to date in Kona, 89th overall including all the Pro's. 36th Amateur and 10th in age group. 1st British Age grouper again

Swim 1:06.21
T1 3.03
Bike 4:55.30
T2 3.10
Run 3:09.15

Raise a glass to the supporters

I pulled out of Ironman Lanzarote with a heavy heart, knowing I was in peak shape, but for my damaged ankle ligaments. Watching the race was difficult as I had mentally planned my race in each day dream for months. I knew as the clock ticked where I'd planned to be, where the pain would come and also where I'd need to dig in and hold on.

The morning of the race, I'd hired a scooter and my plan was to follow the race and support all my friends, especially in areas or parts of the course where the support was very sparse.

This seemed like a simple plan, how hard could it be to support Richard, Tim and some of the other guys. They had arrived in Lanzarote with a view to qualifying for Kona. This race was their only chance and their hopes and dreams to race the World Championships in October depended on it. It was going to be a fantastic day!!

Dawn broke and the long day ahead beckoned. It was important for me to give Richard and Tim their positions in their age group on the run. This I found was much harder than I expected because not only did I find myself looking at athletes as they passed trying to guess their age, but it meant that I had to get a close look at each competitors number when they ran past, both of which I found really tricky as the front runners were running some fast marathons. Next time I'm racing, I'll be much more appreciative when someone shouts at my position in a race , as I really didn't understand how difficult it was.....get the info/intelligence wrong and you risk the competitor holding back in the belief that they're safe within the qualifying zone. Get this wrong and you become the reason they missed their slot and that is just bad karma!!!

Watching Richard Hobson and Tim Bishop, both excellent athletes but they both have different strengths and race very differently. Richard was out front from the swim and Tim was muscling his way through the pack taking scalps as he went. So the danger was there were faster runners behind Richard that were catching him and how many more athletes Tim would need to overtake before he made it to safety within the qualifying zone. All of this was very stress full.....

Thankfully both athletes excelled themselves on the day, Richard lost a few places but still remained well on track and Tim motored through bulldozing those fellow agegroupers ahead.

What I'll take away from this is how tough it is for the loved ones and partners who have supported their husband, wife, Mum or Dad and the level of stress they go through worrying about thier partner whilst they're watching them carve out their dreams.

So the next time we race, lets make it requirement that the first beer post race, we toast the supporters, who if they could..... would be with you your whole journey.

Ironman Lanzarote 2010 - A DNS....

With over 20 days on warm weather training camps in Club La Santa –Lanzarote this year. My coach Richard Hobson and I were feeling confident about shape and form to race Ironman Lanzarote. It’s a strange feeling.... but as an athlete, you feel channelled, directed and focused especially when things have been going well. I was really excited at the prospect of laying the smack down…

My training camps in Lanzarote, were all about acclimatising and adjusting to the heat and ferocious wind that Lanza is famous for. Richard Hobson had organised two 10 day camps one in February and the other in April. This was the perfect opportunity to train with a great group of athletes.

I returned leaner and stronger, having dropped down to my race weight. All in all the tide was turning and my body was transitioning to a weight and body fat content that I’d only be able to hold for a couple of weeks. Carrying less weight really impacts on my run. A few less kilos’ on the marathon and it makes for an easier day.
In the build up to a race Richard reduces my training mileage, which allows my body to recover, but introduces a few tempo sessions to make sure my training doesn’t go stale. This called a taper.

I’ve heard Richard say many times that

‘The hardest thing about racing is making it to the start line’.

And he’s right; there are so many things that can go wrong – Illness, injury etc
I’ve always been very fortunate on this front as even when I’ve picked up injuries and had to take time out, I’ve recovered well. In the run up to this race, I seemed to be on fire, I clocked sub 33 mins for two laps of Richmond Park (an undulating 24km) so I knew I was ready.

It was 5 days out from the race and I was on a 20km training run into work, it felt good as the sun was out. Mentally I was in a good place as I was already rehearsing my race in my head when suddenly I turned my ankle over on an uneven paving slab. There was an audible crack and I was reduced to a hobble….

That was it…. Game over!! It was X rayed and fortunately it was just the ligaments. I’ve had this sort of injury before so I knew the routine and the method to improve recovery. I saw the Physio and started my treatment.

I travelled out to Lanzarote, not as an athlete ready to race, but to support my coach Richard who would be racing an Ironman for the first time in 17 years. It was a difficult decision to make to tavel and when I arrived, I was asked by so many friends ‘What was wrong?’ and ‘Why can’t you race?’ My friend Vince said I should tell them
'I slipped on a lime in salsa competition….'

Despite this it was great to get out on the course to cheer on my friends, Tim Bishop,Lee Holdaway,Kit Stokes, James Pete, Steven Lord, Pete Slater, Tom Newman and of course Richard. It was a super day and in his first Ironman race for 17 years..... Richard smashed it!!! coming 41st overall, 2nd in his age category and qualifying for the Ironman World championships in Kona - Hawaii. My good friend Tim Bishop also put in an awesome performance notching up Pb’s in both the swim and the run on his way to being the fastest British Amateur in 37th, also qualifying for the World Champs. Congratulations Tim - I know how much you wanted this.....


So with three of us already qualified … there’s just Declan Doyle, Lee Holdaway and James Pete to go…

Come on fellas...

Congratulations must also go out to Pete Slater & Steven Lord both qualifying again to race in Kona. Both raced with their heart and soul and deserved the result.

Speedfil - is it another Aero Advantage??

I'm just back from having spent 10 days training in Lanzarote, it was an awesome eye opener to how windy the island can be. When I arrived with Richard Hobson and some of the Athletes registered on his Long distance Triathlon camp we encountered the tail end of the hurricane that had been causing damage & devastation across France.

I was concerned by the fact that I'd decided to bring my time trial bike with deep wheels. This meant I was faced with the prospect of being blown off the road and maybe there days where I was unable to ride at all. I had also agreed to trial a new water bottle - Speedfil
This is both aerodynamic and has a 1200ml capacity. It has a simple bite valve and easy to refill. It took me less than five mins to install.....
The Speedfil is a revolutionary product designed to minimize air disturbance while creating fluid-carrying capacity. The down tube-mounted cage creates smooth airflow around the frame while the rider is in motion. Fluid passes through flexible tubing, allowing for easy output through the bite valve. Hydration is immediate as the bite valve keeps fluid at the ready for whenever its needed. It fitted well on my Specialized Transition and having the straw in front of me encouraged me to drink regularly.
On a 60km/10km/40km/5km/20km/5km Brick session I only lost 200grams of weight, compared to some of the other guys losing over a kilo. This demonstrates that I remained well hydrated throughout my session.

In the wind, it seemed to pick up the wind like a sail, blowing me a long - Yipee!!! the only problem I had was when I was caught by gusts, but so long as my weight was over the front wheel on my aero bars it wasn't a problem. Clearly this is the next step in 'aeroness', much better than having the normal parachute that most athletes have attached to their seat in the form of cages, spare tubes and tools.....

For longer distance races 70.3 or Ironman its got to be a winner!

The Wisco Disco - Ironman Wisconsin 2009

Short Report
2nd 35 -39 Age group, 5th Amateur, 18th Overall out of 2400 in a time of 9.33:18
Qualified for The World Championships in Kona- Hawaii 2010

Detailed report
My early decision to take a year out from Kona in 2009 wasn't taken lightly. When I qualified again this year in Lanzarote, turning down that golden ticket and all that it meant to me was the hardest race decision I've ever made. My friends all thought I was clinically insane... Tim and Dec my training buddies, who had targeted later races, thought I was nuts!! I had a plan that 2010 would be my special year and I was confident that with the right coaching and support from Richard Hobson, Mette (my girlfriend) and I could make it happen...

I arrived in Wisconsin and hooked up with Tri legend - Ken Glah. Ken had organised my accommodation and transfer. Ken now runs a Ironman specific travel company called Endurance Sports Travel The following day we rode the course. It was every bit as hilly as I was led to believe, not on a Lanzarote scale, but tough enough to play to my strengths. Thank goodness I had selected the right gearing, I was running a 56/39 with an 11/26 on the back. There were lots of fast corners with intermittent steep sections. With the 56 I could make time up on the downhills, where other bikers would be using their brakes or free wheeling.

Come race day I was ready, I woke at 0430hrs for a 0700hrs start. Experience has taught me I need to eat at least two hours before a race in order for nature to take its course! The Ironman had truly rolled into town and nothing would stand in its way. I later found out that the previous day a fisherman had drowned in Lake Monona and they had been dredging all night looking for the body. Thankfully they had found the poor soul, but this wasn't good Karma. I put my thoughts about this aside...but the water was so cloudy and murky that I found it difficult to think of any thing else, whilst tredding water on the start. BOOM..... the cannon sounded and I was off. I had positioned myself on the pace line, a little optimistically in fairness, but I was used to a bit rough and tumble. I normally just put this down to racing. I don't believe its due to anyone being purposefully malicious. At about 800m into the swim I realised I'd gone marginally off course, the sun was in my eyes and I'd gone maybe 70m off course. I had basically been ploughing through other athletes but heading in the wrong direction!! I quickly corrected this and continued to work hard to regain the distance I'd lost. I began to leave the pack and edge up to the athletes ahead. Either they were dying or I was so far off course that the normal guys I'd be up with were long gone!! No one passed me on the second 1900m loop...My Sailfish wetsuit felt great, super comfortable. I exited the water about 3 Min's down of where I expected. In distance terms this is about 100-200 metres and this accounted for my poor sighting....Grrr! I later found out I was 293 overall at this point with a time of 1.04:39.

Transition One - This is totally crazy, it must be the longest transition ever. After your encounter with wetsuit strippers, who make you lay on your back before they peel your suit off. Then you run from ground level up the helix of a multistory car park to the 4th floor, pick up your bag and change before running out to the car park to pick up your bike to descend down another helix....
All this took me 5.07. The fastest pro guys were 3.58. It has to be seen to be believed......
The bike was a 23km out and back from Madison with 67km loop in the middle which was repeated twice. I liked this idea taking the race out on to quiet country roads so the main roads, in and out, of Madison weren't effected. For the first 90 Min's of the bike I pushed really hard trying to make up for my lost time in the swim. From time to time I'd pick up someone who'd try to hold my wheel, but confidently I'd push on. After two hours I caught a group who were riding legally, but clearly rotating through and working together. I knew there were three hills coming up and I left my attack until then, leaving them in my wake. I needed to push and hold over 400 watts to break the group and this would come back to haunt me later. A stronger Czech guy stayed with me but was later red carded for drafting. For the remainder of the race, I had caught two guys, one from Boulder called Shane and German guy called Stefan. Both were strong and we were riding the same pace. We had to keep out of each others draft zone as we were constantly shadowed by the race marshals. At around 3 hours I started to lose sight of them and they pulled away. My mega power intervals had pushed me over my red line and up came my breakfast.... I eased off and left it 15 Min's before I tried to take on some water. Thankfully the answer was yes, this gave me the chance to take on more Infinit energy and within minutes, I was back. I used only 2 bottles of concentrated Infinit on the bike and diluted this with water from my aero bottle. I reeled in other bikers passing the female Pro's who had started 10 min prior. I knew then that I was ii the sharp end of the race and I was charged...I'd biked 5.05:01 averaging 35.5kmh....

The second transition from bike to run was shorter and I tore through it, equaling or beating most of the Pro's in 2.06 Min's

I stormed out of the Monona Exhibition Hall transition area hitting the tarmac hard. I knew I had a 3 hour marathon somewhere, the question was would I find it here in Wisconsin...The first part of the run took us into downtown Madison and I was able to settle into a relaxed pace. I felt good, hydrated with no stomach issues. I was taking a gel every 15 Min's, chasing it with water. After the first 10km this changed.... the course became difficult to maintain a rhythm, It was up down, left, right, onto a sidewalk and then back onto the road and my pace began to wain.. Note to self, always recce the run course too, this was simply bad admin on my part. I should have biked it before the race. It really is a crazy course... at one point we ran into the 100'000 seater 'Wisconsin Badgers' American football stadium, round the touch line and back out!!!

At the half way point Mike Reilly shouted over the speaker that I was the 5th amateur, third in my Age Group and that number one was just in front..... this was like a red rag to a bull, I pushed on. Suddenly I saw a guy walking in front. He was the lead guy in my age... great I thought, 1 more to go. I could see him in front, Brian was his name. I was catching him each mile, but the second lap had become really congested. At the aid stations It had become increasingly harder to be re supplied with sponges and water. Each aid station was laid out in a different format and I found myself having to stop and often walk back to the water supplier, who had missed my shouts for water as I ran passed. This had began to annoy me as I kwew I would have to burn the precious seconds that I had worked so hard for... Eventually I caught Brian and passed him decisively. I could hear his feet disappear, and knew he hadn't come with me. I was now leading my Age group and was third amateur overall. The race was mine too lose.... and this became a real possibility. I had used GU gels for this race,which were not my usual choice and they were giving me gas!!!Not good.... at this point I was concerned about having a You tube incident, so had to duck into a portaloo. Can you believe that the first two were both occupied. Typical ehh...I really didn't expect this, I even mindlessly started to queue. I frantically ran through the next aid station looking for the loo, and thank goodness found one.... I was almost disappointed having burnt all this time to find out it was just wind. Brian had re passed me and was now 200m up the road. I had just the up hill stretch home to catch him..... I had run out of road, despite upping my pace I wasn't able to bridge the gap. I was now surrounded by so many athletes on their first lap he was difficult to pick out ahead. I took solace that I was now finishing my marathon and that my race was almost over. I decided to enjoy it, ignoring the the younger age grouper who ran by me, Thorsten was his name. I celebrated with the crowd, high five-ing everyone and doing a 'Tim Don' aeroplane down the finishing flume... It felt just awesome!!!

3.16:28 not my fastest Ironman marathon, but it had put me 18th overall, 5th amateur and 2nd in my Age Group. I missed 1st by just 41 seconds.....

Job done - Kona 2010 here I come - Hooray!!!!

Sailfish Attack -Wetsuit Review 2009

Sailfish wetsuits has four suits in their range progressing from an entry level suit through to the top end ‘G–Range’. I had agreed to test a suit with a view to racing in it but time was running out as I was off to Lanza in two days!! A suit arrived directly from Germany by express delivery the next day. I had gambled on the sizing and was hoping it would be right.

The first thing that I noticed when I unwrapped my delivery was that it comes in a really cool bag. It’s a little like a paper delivery/couriers bag with a shoulder strap. There’s mesh on one side for the water to drain out and enough room to put swim toys, or towels. It’s a great idea as I usually use a Sainsbury’s ‘bag for life’

Secondly the wetsuit looks cool…. and the seams are blind stitched and glued flat… There’s only so much that a wetsuit manufacturer can do with graphics, but I like what Sailfish have done and also the fact its named after the fastest fish in the ocean. Maybe this would create some good karma for my imminent race!!

The wetsuit I was testing was the ‘Sailfish Attack’ which is one of their mid range models. Upon examining it I noticed how light it was, much lighter than my previous suit, which I’ve had since 07. I followed Jan’s easy instructions on how to put it on. My current wetsuit takes me 15 mins to get a good fit, I had managed to put the Sailfish suit on in a couple of minutes.Once I had it on, I realised it was too big. I had learnt that the fit is more important than how much it costs. To sum up… a good fitting cheaper wetsuit may out perform a bad fitting expensive one. Faced with the dilemma of what to wear – I reverted back to racing in my current wetsuit.

Not to be put off, Sailfish sent me a smaller suit, this time it fitted ultra snugly. The collar sat neatly on my neck line and despite forgetting my body glide I experienced no chaff... This is especially good if you work in an office and don’t like attending meetings with what looks like ‘love bites’ on your neck. The forearm has what Sailfish call ‘Aqua reach zones’ which increase water resistance during the pull phase of the stroke. I must admit
it felt really comfortable and my range of motion across my shoulders was superb. The inner arm and shoulder area has this ultra super stretchy neoprene which is designed to aid performance by reducing any restrictions in the pull and recovery phase – It felt really good!

In the water the ‘Sailfish Attack’ felt very buoyant, correcting my body position. It has strengthened hip panels which optimise your body position to avoid hip rolling!! On my first swim I felt as if I was moving quite fast…. I was cruising along with very little effort. So I decided to test it against my current suit in a ‘head to head’.

I swam 400m warm up then did 200m all out in each suit, with 100m easy in between each 200m. I repeated the same test the next day but swapped the order I swam in each wetsuit. Now I know this is a really crude test but the results are evident, the Sailfish suit was quicker….

Test Day 1

Sailfish Attack – 2.31 secs
2007 Current wetsuit – 2.45 secs

Test Day 2

2007 Current suit – 2.40 secs
Sailfish Attack 2.32 secs

So how would this have affected my time at Ironman Lanza…. Well who knows? My swim split was 1.03 as I took off my suit before I went over the timing mat. Maybe I would have broken the hour??? Something I’m yet to do. I finished in 9.53 and although I qualified for Kona I’ve decided to make 2009 a build year, for a dream year in 2010 ;so I didn’t accept my slot. I want to attain a top 10 position in my age in Kona and I think I will need longer than 4 months to build for this

To sum up, it’s nice to finish first British Age Grouper, 20th Age Grouper overall, and it’s good to come away from a race believing that it’s still possible to go faster. Lanzarote is such a well organised race. Kenneth Gasque, the Race Director, makes all the competitors feel really welcome. I’ve already registered for 2010, but next time I’ll be in a Sailfish!!

Lanzarote Ironman 2009 - Bring on the wind!!!

The motto says it all. "Normal limits do not apply." and Its billed as "The toughest Ironman in the World".

It's hard to say what makes the Ironman Lanzarote course so tough. There's heat, high winds, and a challenging bike course that winds its way up and down two mountains.A swim is a swim, and the 2-loop ocean swim is a great way to start the long day. The bike course is where things get really tough for roughly 1300 competitors. By the time all is said and done, we will have climbed more than 2,600 meters (that's 9,000 feet!). Oh, lest we forget, there is still the run. The out-and-back run course is relatively flat. What makes it so tough are the winds, and the heat ... and the fact that it's a marathon

I had a great race with everything more or less going to plan. We had typical Lanzarote weather with a head wind from Yaiza all the way to Mirador del Rio; we even had 10 mins of rain!!!
It was a tough day for age groupers and Pro’s alike with Bert Jammer narrowly missing a herd of goats, crossing the road, whilst on the decent to Famara.

The swim was frantic and the current was pushing us into the buoys. Exiting the water for the second lap was exhausting, but good for the spectators, and I managed a smile before entering the water for another pummelling.
The head wind from Yaiza was tough and strung out the field, Going up Haria I was pushing 450 watts, holding just 8kmh!!
I could have walked quicker….

I had a solid bike and I managed my ‘Ironman marathon PB’, so I was really happy. I used only Infinit on the bike and gels and water on the run… I had no stomach issues and felt strong the whole way through. Getting your nutrition right is as important as all the hours you put into your training; I took two bottles with six scoops of infinit in each and consumed 1/3 of a bottle per hour, chasing it down with water from my aero bottle. I’m sure this contributed to my 3.08 marathon as I ran pretty consistent splits off the bike. The crowds support was awesome and because it’s a loop marathon course, where you collect a different coloured band each loop, it’s easy to focus on attaining the next band to stay motivated.

Although I qualified for Kona, I’ve decided to make 2009 a build year, for a dream year in 2010.
It was a tough decision, but I didn’t accept my slot for Kona. I want to attain a top 10 position in my age there and I think I will need longer than 4 months to build for this

I have a place at IM Wisconsin (Sept 13th) which has slots for 2010 and it will be my goal to qualify there.

To sum up, Its nice to finish first British Age grouper, 20th overall, and its good to come away from a race believing that its still possible to go faster. Lanza is such a well organised race and Kenneth Gasque the Race Director makes all the competitors feel really welcome. I’ve already registered for 2010!!


SWIM 1:03:48
BIKE 5:33:17
RUN 3:08:34
OVERALL 42
DIV.POS. 8th in age group

1st Brit

Copyright ©2009 Stuart Anderson