Pembrokeshire, Wales is gearing up to welcome over 2,000 athletes and thousands of supporters, for the third annual Ironman Wales. The weekend’s racing gets under way with the IronKids event on Saturday 7 September followed by the iconic Ironman Wales on Sunday 8 September.
Over 400 IronKids aged 5-14 will kick off the weekend’s racing for the run/splash/run on Tenby’s North beach at 14:00 GMT on the Saturday. The event is a fun start to the weekend, giving kids of all ages and abilities the opportunity to be part of the action as well as giving them a flavour of triathlon.
Ironman Wales, arguably one of the toughest on the European Tour circuit, will see athletes taking to Tenby’s North Beach for a sea swim start at 07:00 on the Sunday. The challenging course is not the only highlight of the event, but also the phenomenal atmosphere that Pembrokeshire brings to the Ironman experience with its thousands of spectators supporting the athletes right up to the 17 hour cut off.
The event sold out months ago, attracting competitors from some 40 countries for this 2.4 mile sea swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run, with many competing in this ultimate endurance event for the first time.
While the pro field will be looking for qualifying points towards their Kona Pro rankings as well as battling it out for the US$25,000 prize fund, all of the athletes will be completing the same course and hoping to cross the finish line within the 17 hour time limit and the goal they’ve worked so hard for, to be told ‘You are an Ironman’.
Each athlete has their own special reason for entering. Many have overcome their own challenges to get to the start line, whilst others are competing to fundraise for hugely worthwhile official charities Scope and Macmillan Cancer Support.
Amongst those novices entered are youngest entrants John Morris, who at 18 years 3 days, will be the youngest ever Ironman competitor in Europe and Ella-Rose Richardson, the youngest female competitor at the age of 20.
For John, a student at Pemborkeshire College, who has always been involved in sport since a young age, triathlon was a natural development, “I have always loved cycling and I’ve got pretty good stamina, so I started from there,” he said, “Despite struggling to fit in my training around my studies I am thoroughly enjoying it all… My mates are suggesting I should be going out for a pint and celebrating on my birthday, but the celebrations will have to wait.”
It was different story however for 20 year old Ella-Rose, who by her own admission was a heavily over weight teenager wanting to change herself for the better so started to exercise. She explained “The first I knew of my entry to Ironman Wales was the confirmation email as my mother had signed me up after a few glasses! Once I’d got over the shock I was nothing but grateful. This will be my first ironman and the biggest challenge of my life!”
Amongst the many age groupers hoping to qualify for Kona World Championships 2014 is former pro cyclist Magnus Backstedt, making his debut to triathlon this year, having recently completed Ironman Sweden in a remarkable 9 hours and 49 minutes.
As winner of the 2004 Paris-Roubaix and Stage 19 of the 1998 Tour de France, the notorious ‘Heartbreak Hill’ should be a chance for him to put his experience to good use – together with the support of the cheering thousands at this prime spectator point.
Ahead of the event Magnus said, “Having just done my first Ironman I am very excited to come home and race in Wales. I do feel Welsh nowadays and to be able to compete in front of a what I am hoping will be a great crowd is something pretty special for me. Fingers crossed they can cheer me on to a Kona slot.”
Kevin Stewart, Managing Director at Ironman Britain & Ireland commented, “We are very much looking forward to welcoming all the athletes and their supporters to Wales. We have seen a huge surge in athletes wanting to race Ironman this year and I am sure they will experience a truly memorable day.
“We already have athletes looking to enter the 2014 race, and with Ironman UK selling out in record time, we expect Wales to follow that tread and fill earlier than ever before.”
In addition to the weekend’s racing, there will be an Ironman Expo on Thursday 5th from 15:00 and all day on Friday 6th, Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th in Rectory Car Park, which is free for the public to attend and a great opportunity to soak up the atmosphere of the event, find out more about Ironman and the chance to buy the latest sports equipment.
The weekend’s events are free for spectators to watch. With Ironman Wales action taking place across Pembrokeshire there are a number of opportunities and venues to view the event including Tenby’s North Beach where the swim will start at 07:00; Carew; Narberth; and Saundersfoot for the bike; and The Esplanade in the town centre, where the first athlete is expected to finish around 15:30
