5 triathletes from Vectis Academy, 1 from Wight Tri and 1 from Isle of Wight Triathlon Club travelled to Calella, Spain to race the Barcelona Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events on Sunday 1st October.
This Ironman event consisted of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and finished with a marathon run, with the 70.3 covering half those distances.
Vectis Academy athletes taking on the half Ironman event included triathlon debutant Lizzie Pilcher, Giorgio Marinelli and Darren Cole. “Ironman Dads” Jake Brougham and Ben Fry tackled the full distance for the first time, with Craig Wilson (Wight Tri) & Dan Morgan (IOW Tri club) doing the full having previously raced over that distance. Altogether, over 4,000 athletes competed over the 2 distances.
Tricky currents made the swim hard for all athletes, but Lizzie put her swim strength to good use, coming out of the water in 5th place. Jellyfish dodged, the others swam well and soon made their way safely to shore, through the first transition zone and out onto the bike.
Months of preparation on the Island’s roads were put to good use with strong cycling performances on the windy coastal course, all riding well and setting themselves up for the final leg of the race.
30-degree heat and no shade from the sun made the mixed-terrain run course especially tough; the focus now was on keeping cool, hydrated and fuelled at every aid station along the route and managing the effort to make it to the end.
Despite hundreds of competitors pulling out from the race, all 7 Isle of Wight athletes toughed it out to the finish with incredible debut performances, personal bests and highest finishing positions achieved.
Ironman 70.3
Lizzie Pilcher 5:51:49, 16th in age group, 98th female
Darren Cole 4:34:33 6th in age group, 42nd overall
Giorgio Marinelli 5:14:02 50th in age group, 309th overall
Ironman
Jake Brougham 10:37:10, 45th in age group
Ben Fry 14:00:37, 210th in age group
Craig Wilson 13:27:56 169th in age group
Daniel Morgan 11:37:58 116th in age group
