Irontwit

Comparing an Ironman race with the ultimate sacriface made by so many on D-Day might be a bit lame, but for 1200 athletes, including a 73 year old from New Zealand, a 59 times Ironman competitor, a youngest ever Ironman champion, and me, it was indeed a day of days. For a sport that only has 30 years of history, Ironman has achieved a semi-mystical status conjuring up images of superfit, supertanned supermen (and women), but the group of athletes queueing up to get in the water at Rivington near Bolton at Ironman UK laid that myth to rest. For sure, there was more than a sprinkling of the stereotyped ultra low body fat percentage racers dreaming of qualification for the ultimate triathlon (Ironman Kona in Hawaii, the birthplace of the sport), however, for the most part the field was made up of ordinary people, with ordinary bodyshapes and ordinary jobs trying to complete an extraordinary challenge.

With the London Marathon (and even the London Triathlon) becoming something of a celeb fest, Ironman racing stands apart. There aren’t too many celebs who are prepared to make the sacrifices necessary to get to the startline of an Ironman, let alone complete the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile cycle ride and 26.2 mile run. How many other sports are there where you compete in exactly the same race as the top pros? There is no separate “elite” race start in Ironman and it was certainly no shame to get lapped by race winners Philip Graves and Bella Bayliss as well as a host of other pros while out on the bike course.

When I started triathlon 7 years ago as a 40th birthday challenge I couldn’t conceive that I would ever compete in an Ironman race. Over the 7 seasons I gradually built up to the half-ironman distance, but was reluctant to take the ultimate step. By shifting Ironman UK from Dorset to Bolton, the Ironman Corporation took the decision for me, how could I not support my “local” race. So when, at about 9:15 yesterday evening under blazing lights with me being displayed on an enormous video screen in front of a huge crowd making a spectacular amount of noise, I heard the announcer say, “John Sutton, you’re an Ironman!” it felt like a journey had ended.

The before and after shot