The Ironman 70.3 World Championships this Saturday brings together a mix of long and standard distance competitors in one of the most competitive elite races of the year.

Athletes will race over a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile cycle and 13.1 mile half marathon, in the final major triathlon in the international calendar, in Clearwater Florida.

More than 1,800 competitors have earned the right to compete in the Ironman World Championship 70.3 by qualifying at one of the 31 Ironman 70.3 events held around the world.

On the elite side the British women will go in with high hopes. Julie Dibens comes off her win at the XTERRA Triathlon World Championships looking for further success whilst Leanda Cave will want to add to her two ITU world titles with an Ironman medal. Scottish duathlon specialist Catriona Morrison enters Florida with high aspirations having won the ITU Duathlon Long Distance Championships earlier in the year.

The UK men should also be in contention with Stephen Bayliss looking to add to two his two Ironman. Stirling’s Fraser Cartmell won the UK leg of the Ironman 70.3, whilst sibling duo, Toby and Joel Jameson, will look to race well and gain valuable.

Results will be updated here when available.

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Great Britain’s Chrissie Wellington and Australia’s Craig Alexander celebrated first-place titles at the 30th anniversary of the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Alexander, with an Ironman 70.3 World Championship title in addition to a second-place finish last year in Kona, crossed the line with a time of 8:17:45.

The event saw 1,731 athletes officially start the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Defending her current World Championship title, Wellington finished more than ten minutes ahead of her fellow competitors at 9:06:23. Despite mechanical trouble, Wellington took the women’s lead approximately 30 miles into the bike and eclipsed the current women’s run course record with a blistering marathon time of 2:57:44.

ITU Duathlon World Champion, Paul Amey, was top male Brit in 17th with Stephen Bayliss 19th. Bayliss’ fiancée, Bella Comerford, finished seventh in the women’s race to round off an exceptional year which has included three Ironman wins.

Alexander dominated an impressive men’s field consisting of Ironman World Champions such as Chris McCormack, Normann Stadler, Faris Al-Sultan and other top contenders including Chris Lieto, Eneko Llanos, Torbjorn Sindballe, Cameron Brown and Rutger Beke. Alexander, among the top ten throughout the bike portion, further showcased his running prowess taking the lead at the turnaround.

You can get the full race results here.

NBC will air the 2008 Ford Ironman World Championship on December 13, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST. Please check your local listings for specific details.

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Ford Ironman World Championship - Kona, Hawaii, October 11th 2008

If you are a triathlete, there is no bigger day in this sport than the Ford Ironman World Championship. It is the race that defined triathlon as it came of age and continues to be the defining race in our sport for any avid triathlete.

30 years on and the Ironman World Championships remain in Hawaii on the island of Kona. On Saturday morning Britain’s best will swim in the Pacific Ocean, ride across the formidable lava fields and run their way down into Alii Drive to the finish.

To get to the starting line in Kona, you must either be very lucky and get yourself a spot through the lottery, or very talented, and win yourself a qualifying spot at one of the qualifying events held around the world.

Tens-of-thousands of triathletes try to get one of those coveted Ironman spots every year. Only 1,800 succeeded.

That means 1,800 “lucky” people get to test themselves on one of the biggest challenges the sports world has to offer … 2.4-miles of swimming, 112-miles of biking, and a 26.2-mile marathon run through tough ocean waves, and challenging lava-covered terrain.

Defending 2007 womens champion, Great Britain’s Chrissie Wellington, will start as favourite following a superb year on the Ironman circuit. With wins at Ironman Australia, Germany and the ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships in the Netherlands, she is undefeated over long course racing in 2008.

Other Great Britian women out in Kona are Leanda Cave and Bella Comerford, both come into the event in impressive form with some excellent result throughout the season.

Stephen Bayliss has had a great year which has included wins at Ironman UK and Ironman South Africa with a second place finish at Ironman Austria and fourth at Ironman New Zealand. This will be the first outing over the Kona lava fields for the Great Britian, but having prepared in Korea he will be well acclimatised and in good shape to push the front runners.

Other elite Great Britain men in the wash include three time ITU Duathlon World Championship Paul Amey, who also heads to the Ironman World Championships for the first time. While Ironman UK runner-up Scott Neyedli is looking to improve on his finishing position from last year’s World Championships where he crossed the line in 31st.

A large British contingent gained selection for the Ironman World Championships from the full range of age group categories and also head out to the lava fields of Kona.

While there are thousands of triathlons around the world, it is this one that truly defines the sport.

Best wishes to all those participating. You can get live updates, results and more info here.

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2008 Rimini ITU Duathlon World Championships, Italy. 10km run, 40km bike, 5k run

Paul Amey won his third ITU Duathlon World Championship on a day marred by controversy in Rimini, Italy. Belgian Rob Woestenborghs was first across the line but after his own teammate lodged a protest, Woestenborghs was later disqualified by race officials thereby giving the world championship title to Amey.

The drama began early in the 40-kilometer bike segment as all six men were in the lead pack. According to Dereere, his Belgian teammate Woestenborghs was cycling dangerously. Eventually Amey, Aernouts and Woestenborghs broke away and went on to post the three fastest bike splits of the day by almost two full minutes. That lead was enough for all three to secure the podium with Woestenborghs crossing the line first, Amey second and Aernouts in third.

However, after the race, Dereere filed a protest with race officials against Woestenborghs for his aggressive riding. Officials said it was a tough call but ultimately disqualified both men for what was deemed “unsportsmanlike and dangerous behaviour on the first lap of the bike segment which risked the safety of the competitors around them”.

In the women’s event Olympic silver medallist Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal successfully defended her ITU Duathlon World Championship. It was a commanding victory for Fernandes who finished ahead of 2-time Long Distance Duathlon World Champion Catriona Morrison of Great Britain and double Olympian Ana Burgos of Spain.

Morrison, who only started her season last month due to knee surgery in April, has come back strong and adds the silver medal to her long distance world championship in August.

Alongside the impressive elite success in Rimini, Great Britain’s Age Group competitors also accumulated a number of medals.

You can view the full results for the elite and age group catagories here. Results and report courtesy of ITU official website.

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Britain’s Bella Comerford and Stephen Bayliss, continued their excellent year of competition with victories at Ironman UK in Sherborne, Dorset on Sunday.

Bayliss exited the swim just behind Scotland’s Fraser Cartmell, and despite coming under pressure on the bike was able to pull away on the run to register a comfortable victory over last year’s champion, Scott Neyedli. Cartmell retired towards the end of the run whilst Austria’s Andrea di Bernardo took third.

After a steady swim last year’s women’s champion, Comerford, chased down the leaders on the cycle before opening up a large margin and stormed to victory by 35 minutes ahead of Germany’s Heiki Funk.

Well done to all those who participated and achieved the status of ‘Ironman’, as well as a huge thank you to the army of volunteers that make Ironman UK such a success.

Full race results can be found here.

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Beijing Olympian Will Clarke returned to form at Sunday’s Corus Elite Series in Strathclyde Park, the venue for the triathlon at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Clarke raced through the super sprint format competition, cruising through his heat before pipping fellow Team GB member, Alistair Brownlee, for the gold in the final. Having exited the 300m open water swim off the pace, Clarke was forced to chase down Brownlee during the 7km cycle, finally catching him with just one of three 2.5km laps to go. However a swift final transition saw Clarke steal an early lead on the 2km run and he was able to hold off the charging Brownlee for victory. Dann Brook made it an all British podium with a third place finish.

In the women’s race New Zealand’s Samantha Warriner buried her Olympic demons, where she finished 16th, with an excellent performance. She held off Germany’s Christine Pilz and Britain’s Jodie Swallow to take first place.

Glasgow’s Kerry Lang overcame a leg injury from her heat to place fifth. When changing from bike to run in her first race she slipped and cut her leg on the gears of her bike, however thankfully much of the damage was superficial.

Scotland’s World Junior Champion, Kirsty McWilliam, finished tenth in the final. Having been held up in the swim she was unable to bridge back up to the leaders but ran strongly to pull herself through the field.

The Corus Elite Series in Strathclyde Park also concluded the season long British Triathlon Grand Prix Series. Having raced across six venues Britain’s Richard Stannard finished first with Stuart Hayes second and Dann Brook moving up to third after his efforts. There was a tie in the women’s competition as Andrea Whitcombe and Jodie Swallow finished on 297 points with Samantha Herridge from Guernsey and Vicky Holland tied for third on 288 points. Results courtesy of British Triathlon.

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British Triathlon have announced that tomorrows Corus Elite Series race in Strathclyde Park, Glasgow, will see the conclusion of the the 2008 British Triathlon Grand Prix Series.

Having taken place in Reading, Blenheim, Windsor, Tredegar and London, the series adopts the adrenaline-fuelled super sprint format and moves on to the triathlon venue in North Lanarkshire which will be used for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The super sprint eliminator format proved a massive success when it made its debut at Hyde Park, London in 2007. Only in this format of racing do athletes have to compete in a heat’s and final format event, proving for some fast and exciting racing. Also at stake for athletes that took part int he previous two Corus Elite Series events, will be the overall title of series winner.

The 300m lap swim in the Loch begins with a pontoon start. This will be followed by a testing 7km bike stage which takes in the scenic surroundings of the park. Athletes will then transition into a 2.2km run to race to the finish. The event will be held in conjunction with North Lanarkshire Council, triathlonscotland and EventScotland.

The women’s race will pitch Britain’s best against an Olympic trio of New Zealand’s Samantha Warriner, Ireland’s Emma Davis and Christine Pilz from Germany. Young Junior World Champion, Kirsty McWilliam, will fly the flag for Scotland alongside Kerry Lang whilst Jodie Swallow and Andrea Whitcombe have a personal battle to decide the winner of the Grand Prix Series. They are currently tied on 297pts.

Back from Bejing, Team GB’s Alistair Brownlee and Will Clarke will be sure to figure at the head of the race, but there is serious competition in the form of Barrett Brandon from the USA and Ben Visser from New Zealand, as well as a whole host of European elites. With Stuart Hayes racing in the USA, Richard Stannard has effectively won the Grand Prix Series with this weekend’s race in hand.

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A friend of mine is competing in Ironman UK this weekend in Sherborne and got this note of inspiration through on an e-mail. Like you need inspiration anyway! It’s a very good read even though it may appear a little long.

Good luck to all those participating and I sincerely hope that the weather holds out.

“Right now you’ve all entered the taper. Perhaps you’ve been at this a few months, perhaps you’ve been at this a few years. For some of you this is your first IM, for others, a long-overdue welcome back to a race that few can match. You’ve been following your schedule to the letter. You’ve been piling on the mileage, piling up the laundry, and getting a set of tan lines that will take until next year to erase. Long rides were followed by long runs, which both were preceded by long swims, all of which were followed by recovery naps that were longer than you slept for any given night during college. You ran in the snow. You rode in the rain. You ran in the heat. You ran in the cold. You went out when others stayed home. You rode the trainer when others pulled the covers over their heads.

You have survived the Darwinian progression that is an Ironman summer, and now the hardest days are behind you. Like a climber in the Tour de France coming over the summit of the penultimate climb on an alpine stage, you’ve already covered so much ground…there’s just one more climb to go. You shift up, you take a drink, you zip up the jersey; the descent lies before you…and it will be a fast one. Time that used to be filled with never-ending work will now be filling with silent muscles, taking their final, well-earned rest.

While this taper is something your body desperately needs, your mind cast off to the background for so very long, will start to speak to you. It won’t be pretty. It will bring up thoughts of doubt, pain, hunger, thirst, failure, and loss. It will give you reasons why you aren’t ready. It will try and make one last stand to stop you, because your brain doesn’t know what the body already does. Your body knows the truth: You are ready. Your brain won’t believe it. It will use the taper to convince you that this is foolish - that there is too much that can go wrong. You are ready.

Finishing an Ironman is never an accident. It’s the result of dedication, focus, hard work, and belief that all the long runs in January, long rides in April, and long swims every damn weekend will be worth it. It comes from getting on the bike, day in, day out. It comes from long, solo runs. From that first long run where you wondered, “How will I ever be ready?” to the last long run where you smiled to yourself with one mile to go…knowing that you’d found the answer. It is worth it. Now that you’re at the taper, you know it will be worth it. The workload becomes less. The body winds up and prepares, and you just need to quiet your worried mind. Not easy, but you can do it.

You are ready.

You will walk into the water with 2000 other wide-open sets of eyes. You will look upon the sea of humanity, and know that you belong. You’ll feel the chill of the water crawl into your wetsuit, and shiver like everyone else, but smile because the day you have waited for so VERY long is finally here. You will tear up in your goggles. Everyone does. The helicopters will roar overhead. The splashing will surround you. You’ll stop thinking about Ironman, because you’re now racing one. The swim will be long - it’s long for everyone, but you’ll make it. You’ll watch as the shoreline grows and grows, and soon you’ll hear the end.

You’ll come up the beach and head for the wetsuit strippers. Three people will get that sucker off before you know what’s happening, then you’ll head for the bike. The voices, the cowbells, and the curb-to-curb chalk giving you a hero’s sendoff can’t wipe the smile off your face.You’ll settle down to your race. The crowds will spread out on the road. You’ll soon be on your bike, eating your food on your schedule, controlling your Ironman. You’ll start to feel that morning sun turn to afternoon sun. It’s warmer now. Maybe it’s hot. Maybe you’re not feeling so good now. You’ll keep riding. You’ll keep drinking. You’ll keep moving. After all, this is just a long training day with valet parking and catering, right?

You’ll put on your game face, fighting the urge to feel down as you ride for what seems like hours. You reach special needs, fuel up, and head out. By now it’ll be hot. You’ll be tired. Doubts will fight for your focus. Everyone struggles here. You’ve been on that bike for a few hours, and stopping would be nice, but you won’t - not here. Not today. You’ll grind the false flats to the climb. You’ll know you’re almost there. You’ll fight for every inch of road. The crowd will come back to you here. Let their energy push you. Let them see your eyes. Smile when they cheer for you - your body will get just that little bit lighter. Grind. Fight. Suffer. Persevere. You’ll plunge down the road, swooping from corner to corner, chaining together the turns, tucking on the straights, letting your legs recover for the run to come - soon!

You’ll roll back - you’ll see people running out. You’ll think to yourself, “Wasn’t I just here?” The noise will grow. The chalk dust will hang in the air - you’re back, with only 26.2 miles to go. You’ll relax a little bit, knowing that even if you get a flat tire or something breaks here, you can run the damn bike into T2.

You’ll roll into transition. 100 volunteers will fight for your bike. You’ll give it up and not look back. You’ll have your bag handed to you, and into the tent you’ll go. You’ll change. You’ll load up your pockets, and open the door to the last long run of your Ironman summer - the one that counts.

You’ll take that first step of a thousand…and you’ll smile. You’ll know that the bike won’t let you down now - the race is down to your own two feet. The same crowd that cheered for you in the shadows of the morning will cheer for you in the brilliant sunshine of a summer Sunday. High-five people on the way out. Smile. Enjoy it. This is what you’ve worked for all year long. That first mile will feel great. So will the second. By mile 3, you probably won’t feel so good. That’s okay. You knew it couldn’t all be that easy. You’ll settle down just like you did on the bike, and get down to your pace. You’ll see the leaders coming back the other way. Some will look great - some won’t. You might feel great, you might not. No matter how you feel, don’t panic - this is the part of the day where whatever you’re feeling, you can be sure it won’t last. You’ll keep moving. You’ll keep drinking. You’ll keep eating. Maybe you’ll be right on plan - maybe you won’t. If you’re ahead of schedule, don’t worry - believe. If you’re behind, don’t panic - roll with it.

Everyone comes up with a brilliant race plan for Ironman, and then everyone has to deal with the reality that planning for something like Ironman is like trying to land a man on the moon. By remote control. Blindfolded. How you react to the changes in your plan will dictate your day. Don’t waste energy worrying about things - just do what you have to when you have to, and keep moving. Keep eating. Keep drinking. Just don’t sit down - don’t EVER sit down. You’ll make it to the halfway point. You’ll load up on special needs. Some of what you packed will look good, some won’t. Eat what looks good, toss the rest. Keep moving. Start looking for people you know. Cheer for people you don’t. You’re headed in - they’re not. They want to be where you are, just like you wanted to be when you saw all those fast people headed into town. Share some energy - you’ll get it right back.

Run if you can. Walk if you have to. Just keep moving. The miles will drag on. The brilliant sunshine will yawn. You’ll be coming up to those aid stations fully alive with people, music, and chicken soup. TAKE THE SOUP. Keep moving. You’ll soon only have a few miles to go. You’ll start to believe that you’re going to make it. You’ll start to imagine how good it’s going to feel when you get there. Let those feelings drive you on. When your legs just don’t want to move anymore, think about what it’s going to be like when someone catches you…and puts a medal over your head… all you have to do is get there.

You’ll start to hear the people in town. People you can’t see in the twilight will cheer for you. They’ll call out your name. Smile and thank them. They were there when you left on the bike, and when you came back, and when you left on the run, and now when you’ve come back. You’ll enter town. You’ll start to realize that the day is almost over. You’ll be exhausted, wiped out, barely able to run a 10-minute mile (if you’re lucky), but you’ll ask yourself, “Where did the whole day go?” You’ll be standing on the edge of two feelings - the desire to finally stop, and the desire to take these last moments and make them last as long as possible.

You’ll hit mile 25. Your Ironman will have 1.2 miles - just 2KM left in it. You’ll run. You’ll find your legs. You’ll fly. You won’t know how, but you will run. The lights will grow brighter, brighter, and brighter. Soon you’ll be able to hear the music again. This time, it’ll be for keeps. Soon they’ll see you. Soon, everyone will see you. You’ll run towards the lights, between the fences, and into the night sun made just for you. They’ll say your name. You’ll keep running.

Nothing will hurt. The moment will be yours - for one moment, the entire world will be looking at you and only you. You’ll break the tape at the finish line, 140.6 miles after starting your journey. The flash will go off. You’ll stop. You’ll finally stop. Your legs will wobble their last, and suddenly…be capable of nothing more. Someone will catch you. You’ll lean into them.

It will suddenly hit you.

YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!”

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This weekend London will once again welcome thousands of competitors pushing themselves to their limits as the Mazda London Triathlon hits town. This years event will be the event’s 12th anniversary and has become the largest triathlon in the world.

With an expected 30,000+ spectators lining the course, some of the world’s finest triathletes racing in the elite race, and over £1million raised for charity, the event has become an incredible experience for all involved.

The event takes place this weekend from Saturday 9th August – Sunday 10th August 2006. Events begin at 11am on Saturday and 6.30am on Sunday. Races start at the Royal Victoria Dock, Excel Centre.

Saturday 9th August AM

Youth Super Sprint
Male Super Sprint
Female Super Sprint
Saturday 9th August PM

Male Sprint
Female Sprint
Team Relays

Sunday 10th August AM

Junior Elite
Female & Female Elite
Male & Female Sub 230 (TBC)

Sunday 10th AM & PM

All other individual Olympic races – please note what order these races are scheduled is not decided until entries are closed!

The Triathlon Expo will be held at ExCel Centre, Docklands, from Saturday 9th August – Sunday 10th August.

It could be well worth a visit, if you’re not taking part in the event. The event itself is being broadcast on Channel 4 on Sunday 17th August at 8am.

Best of luck to all those taking part in the world’s largest triathlon !!! 

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The Club Relays again delivered top quality racing as one of the high spots of the triathlon calendar.

On Saturday 2nd August over 430 teams, some 1800 individuals enjoyed the closed road circuit of the current British Triathlon event of the year.

In a repeat of 2006 & 2007, 2XU TFN RT senior mens team took overall victory along with their junior male team winning their category. In second place in the senior mens was Wakefield Tri Club just overall 1 minute behind. Finishing the podium positions was Sigma Sport

The overall womens victory was taken by thetriathloncoach.com beating BRAT’s into second place by a margin of 2 minutes. In third place was Planet X’s female team, just 45 seconds behind BRAT.

In the veterans category, the overall male winners were again BRAT’s and Leicester Tri Club in the womens.

Click here to download the full results.

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