Wight Tri member Marianne Su-Yin took on her first ever triathlon recently, going straight in at the deep end as she took part in the Zell am See Ironman in Austria.
As a triathlon novice in the female 50-54 age group 50-54, she chose the Ironman 70.3 in Zell am See, Austria, 1 of the toughest bike routes available on the 70.3 Ironman schedule.
Prior to September 2021, Marianne had never been on a road bike or ran further than a 10km run, so to complete the event in 7hrs 47min 17seconds is a remarkable achievement for a novice triathlete. Her split times were: Swim 46.08 – T1 8.56 – Bike 4.10.23 – T2 7.36 – Run 2.34.16.
The event took place around the stunning Austrian resort of Zell am See, which is approx. 2,500ft above sea level, with the 1.9k swim in the lake which was of drinking water quality.
The 90k bike was one loop incorporating a variety of flat and very steep mountainous roads, climbing 2000ft up the mountain pass with the last 3km being a 14% incline, before descending back downhill with very technical descents through Alpine meadows and villages with tinkling cowbells to then finish through the urban town of Zell am See.
The half marathon run followed the lakeside footpath, up through Zell am See town, and continued with a 2-lap loop around the top of the lake, then finishing in the middle of the town.
Marianne had an exceptional experience in her first-ever triathlon and went through several emotions in the process to finish one of the toughest middle-distance triathlons. She had set herself targets on each of the disciplines and finished very close to these in all three. She had stuck to her scheduled pace throughout the bike in order that she could still have the energy to complete the run.
After the event, Marianne said:
“So, from zero experience to IM70.3 completion, with structured training and focus plus realistic expectations, I believe it is possible for anyone to achieve their goal whatever it is. Realising I was at the back of the pack and spending all those hours on course solo was mentally tough, but knowing family and friends were live tracking me was a great motivator and the athlete and spectator support was incredible.”
