July 27th 2025 – The Murgatroyd Chronicles – Part II
Here we are again, another IRONMAN journey and those who have enjoyed my journey to IRONMAN Wales 2023 can sigh a little relief in that this write up won’t be quite so long… but close!
When I’d entered IRONMAN Wales for 2023, I was certain it would be a “one and done” for me as my ultimate goal in triathlon was to complete what most regard as the pinnacle of the discipline, the long course, and I wanted it to be an IRONMAN event so I could get that infamous tattoo. These days most people have heard of IRONMAN but aren’t so familiar with the distances, once you explain it’s a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run they are most certainly convinced you’re bonkers.
The trouble with this sport, and in particular the incredibly slick and brilliantly supported IRONMAN events, is it can get addictive. The atmosphere, the buzz, the excitement and overwhelming emotions an epic race day can bring. So, it came as no surprise to me that I knew I’d want to do another IRONMAN as soon as I’d arrived and soaked up the atmosphere, even before I’d set one foot in the water at Wales, but the reality is they take a significant amount of money, and a significant amount of training.
Returning home from Tenby I was immediately looking for the next IRONMAN to enter, and whilst Michelle was also caught up in the buzz of it all we’d given serious consideration to IRONMAN California in 2024. But emotions calmed down, life took over again and having already got an entry to IRONMAN 70.3 Nice for 2024 decided to take things a bit easier… for just a while.
Well, that didn’t last all that long and soon enough there was chatter amongst some of the TTG members about entering IRONMAN Kalmar (Sweden). It was known for being a fast course with a point-to-point sea swim, a flat-ish bike course (2460ft) and flat run course (390ft) so given I was disappointed with my finish time in Wales I figured this would be an almost guaranteed awesome time. And with that, as soon as the event opened, I booked my slot for 2025, noting that it was actually a good chunk cheaper than the UK events thanks to a strong exchange rate.
With that done I set about looking into actually getting there, flights, trains etc. and accommodation. I’d also not really considered that for such a major race I really did want Michelle and Storm there to support and see me (hopefully) cross that line. This is where the wheels came off a little on the plan, it was going to end up costing a small fortune to take us all out there (no direct flights) and Sweden is notoriously expensive… it soon became apparent I might have jumped the gun on this one, so I waited and pondered…
Then a teaser started doing the rounds on social media about a new IRONMAN event coming in the UK. Since they stopped IRONMAN UK in Bolton back in 2023 they didn’t offer a replacement, however finally in September 2024 they officially announced the IRONMAN Leeds event which would be taking place on 27th July 2025. That was decision made, the chance to do an inaugural event in the UK, even though it was likely to be a tough course, was a no brainer, so once the window was open, I sorted out a transfer from Kalmar to Leeds. The race was on!
Training
The one thing that I absolutely knew starting this training cycle was I needed a coach. Whilst I’ve done this level of training before, for me it’s about having some flexibility, accountability and not having to think too much about “what session shall I do”. Sadly, the coach I used for Wales 2023, Andy Gardner, had retired from coaching in early 2024 (a reason for my dire performance at IRONMAN 70.3 Nice in June of that year), so I needed to find someone else… no easy task as you need a really good “fit” between athlete and coach which can take some trial and error.
In a huge stroke of fortune, TTG’s very own head coach Charlie had decided to take her coaching to the next level and work towards becoming a personal coach. To that end she needed to take on a few athletes to gain some further one-to-one coaching experience and ultimately pass the BTF course. This would be perfect for me and thankfully she was happy to take me on.
With such a big day to train for I’m a believer in you can never start too soon, especially as you get older (can’t rely on youth these days!), so set to work pretty much straight away with IMLW1D1 being the 4th November 2024… some 38 weeks until race day. This allowed for a nice long period of building up base training and slowly ramping up the sessions.
Over the next 38 weeks I generally hit all my training targets, rarely missing a session and with using Training Peaks as the Athlete/Coach interface it was easy to keep things on track. I won’t go into too much detail here but will pick out a few of the highlights across those 38 weeks, leading up to standing beside the lake in Roundhay Park at 6am on Sunday 27th July.
May 2024 to July 2025 any spare time I had left over from training, family and work I spent renovating a bungalow from top to bottom. Having never done anything like this before it was a steep learning curve and I learnt a lot of new skills. To say juggling everything was a challenge is an understatement, but I’m an absolute firm believer that you can always make time for the things that are important to you. Slight issue was that EVERYTHING was important to me, so somehow pretty much everything got done… no idea how!
January 2025 managed to pick up an absolute bargain of a TT bike in the form of an Argon 18 E-119 Tri with Dura-Ace Di2 and ZIPP carbon wheels. Did have to drive to Snowdon to get it one evening but for the price paid it was absolutely worth it. I’d longed to have either a Canyon Speedmax or an Argon 18 119 as a serious TT bike and thanks to Steve G sending over an eBay link one Sunday afternoon, that dream came true. I’ve since picked up a variety of wheels with some FFWD F9R’s and a Disc Wheel for the rear giving plenty of options depending on the weather and race.
Early May 2025 I’d been chatting with Steve G about race goals and target times, something I’d not really considered as yet for Leeds. My one ideal target for any long course would be to finish in daylight, a factor greatly helped with racing in late July rather than September! I set about roughing together a very loose target which I sent to Charlie to just keep a note of, we had zero discussions about targets other than to finish. These are what I noted down:
06:40 start
08:10 exit water (1hr 30min swim)
08:30 out on bike (20 min transition)
16:00 in on bike (7hr 30min bike)
16:10 out on run (10 min transition)
21:10 finish (5hr run)
Finish Time: 14.5hrs
Late May 2025 Chris A, James B, Pete S, Steve G and I headed to Roundhay Park for a recce of the bike and run courses (sadly not technically allowed to swim in the lake). Everyone else was on road bikes but as the plan was to ride the Argon 18 for Leeds, I’d taken that bike… and had the most miserable ride. For whatever reason I just did not gel with the route on the TT bike and although 2 laps were the plan, I binned it off after one and had made the decision long before then that I would be racing IRONMAN Leeds on my road bike, which I was OK with.
Early June 2025 raced the Cotswold 113 which was my B race this year. The goal had been to try and beat my 2023 time of 5:46 which I felt was doable. A few issues leading into the race and then some GI issues on the run, combined with some cramping, made for not an overly enjoyable race and ultimately a time that was 7 minute slower. However, once the dust settled I found solace in a few worthwhile points; I’d swum a 1.9k PB of 39 minutes, I’d matched my bike split time on a far windier day and with what felt like empty legs, and if not for having to stop a couple of times to use the toilet on the run, that would have been about the same too… I’d done the best I could on the day though, it was just a bit disappointing.
Early July 2025 having had a miserable time descending some steep routes in training I’d decided to look at getting a disc brake bike to replace my rim brake Cinelli Veltrix. Trouble was, I loved that Cinelli, having converted it to Di2 in the winter for 2023, it was a joy to ride. Then as luck would have it, an identical disc brake version Cinelli Veltrix was listed on eBay, even in the same fab orange colourway. A trip one evening to near Weston-Super-Mare was arranged and I came home with a disc brake bike, albeit running a mechanical 105 groupset. Now being heavily into bike tinkering I immediately picked up a hydraulic disc brake Di2 set from eBay, and nabbing a few other parts here and there I quickly stripped and rebuilt the bike with Ultegra Di2 and boom… I had myself a bike I loved just as much as my original Cinelli from 2020 but with disc brakes!
6 days before race day, on my last outdoors training ride, I managed to do the unthinkable and came off my bike riding through a ford near Eastnor Castle. I’d ridden through this ford only 3 weeks earlier with no issues at all, however I think it had rained the day before and I was running some slightly deeper wheels too, but either way I hit the deck low siding the bike. Whilst there was no major damage to either bike or myself, with road rash being immediately apparent, my left shoulder was now extremely sore and, in a few days, my left hip flexor would be super angry with me. Feeling hugely frustrated and disappointed in myself, having trained for 37 weeks without any kind of injury at all, I was now looking at a miserable day racing in pain or worse, a DNS. The latter wasn’t really an option so a trip to Farr Physiotherapy for a quick check nothing was seriously damaged, and some strapping of the left shoulder was about as good as it could get with only days to go.
After 38 weeks of focused training, here is a breakdown of time and distances:
Swim – 104 miles / 76 hours
Bike – 3187 miles / 211 hours
Run – 853 miles / 98 hours
Knowing how quick and rushed the couple of days before the race can be, we’d decided to travel up on the Thursday evening. This allowed us the leisurely time to register and enjoy the expo on Friday then after sorting the various bags out, take the bike for one last spin before heading to transition on Saturday to rack and leave bags. That last spin worried me a little, my hip flexor, which had shown popped up to shout “ouch” mid-week after a gentle 5k leg turner, was surprisingly uncomfortable… I was now looking at an unknown swim experience with the shoulder, a bike ride with an angry hip flexor and then whatever misery the run might bring me. To say I wasn’t overly excited to get to the start line in this condition would be an understatement.
Registration – Friday 25th
The host of the Airbnb we’d rented was super helpful and accommodating, allowing us to drop the bike off in the morning (before proper check in at 3pm) so we could go to Roundhay Park without leaving the bike on the roof. Once done we eventually parked up in the huuuuuuuuuuge free carpark IRONMAN had provided on Soldier’s Field, not always something they can provide but the location of the race was superb (other than the traffic pinch point, more on that later).
From the car it was a short walk up a little incline before the whole of transition, the finish line and expo opened out before you below. Yes, below… there was a very steep hill to walk down from parking, something that I knew would likely be a challenge at the end of the race in a few days!
As it was only Friday lunchtime they were still setting up some of the various bits for race day though the core of everything was there and looked very well thought out. It also meant it was fairly quiet as most people don’t take the extra day to register on the Friday, but for the money I want to soak up as much of the atmosphere and excitement as possible… plus they always have plenty of stock in the Merch tent as these events do end up selling out of race specific clothing so best to get it early.
After a little mooch about the stalls we headed into the Merch tent, and I was lost to all the awesome IRONMAN Leeds branded kit. The colours they had chosen for the logo and indeed the white Yorkshire Rose motif were nice and unique, and what I didn’t expect was how much of a deal they made about it being the inaugural event. I’m used to the usual IRONMAN branding but for Leeds they added an extra badge on things saying 1st Edition, a really cool unexpected touch.
Now when you’re at this kind of event, you need to just forget the price tag and buy what you fancy. It won’t be there in a day or two (certainly not after the race is over) and you’ll only wish you’d bought something if you hadn’t. So, with that attitude I picked up a hoodie, t-shirt, mug and cap which the cashier was only too happy to take £154 off me for. Leaving the tent there was a chap selling IRONMAN Leeds flags, which I passed on stating I’d just spent all my money… but you know what, I regret that now and wish I’d have just bought one. Not taking my own advice there eh.
Next it was time to actually go get registered. There had been what seemed like a little error on mine and Chris B’s entries in that our club Tri Team Glos hadn’t carried over when we’d both transferred our entries from IRONMAN Kalmar. I figured it was most likely fixable but needed to be done before I actually registered as that’s when they assign your number and print out the details with your name, number and club (if present). A quick visit to the Athlete Services desk beforehand was all it took to get that updated and they came over to the registration desk with me to ensure the club was then listed. Happy days, I was now registered as #619, so after a quick stop to grab the Run and Bike Personal Needs bags, walked out with my new IRONMAN Leeds backpack and the oh-so-cool IRONMAN wrist band.
Not long after registering, some of the others from TTG arrived to also register so we spent the next few hours milling about the Expo, grabbing what freebies we could get (not many), making a stop off at the Precision Fuel & Hydration stand for a few bits and bobs and generally just enjoying the day. We eventually headed off back to our Airbnb to check in, it was a really cool place about 10 minutes’ drive from the park and was a perfect place for us to settle into for a few nights.
Racking – Saturday 26th
As with all IRONMAN events, you have to rack your bike and drop off you Bike and Run bags in transition the day before the race. The first order of the day, though, was to take the bike out for a short spin just to make sure everything was good and get a bit of movement in the legs. That last spin worried me a little, my hip flexor, which had now popped up to shout “ouch” mid-week after a gentle 5k leg turner, was uncomfortable… oh joy.
For this race, IRONMAN had organised an official swim practice from 11 to 1, not something they do at many events, and knowing this I’d brought a second wetsuit to do this swim in so as to keep my race suit dry. Staying close to the park I’d decided to leave my bike and bags to be sorted later, so we went over to the park and made our way to the lake. We bumped into most of the other TTG’ers racing who were also going for a swim so as it happens 3 of us got in together which was nice.
The organisers had setup a small 400m loop with some water safety in place which was ideal, all I wanted to do was see how my shoulder was and to get a feel for the water. Well, the shoulder did seem OK, little sore but not a showstopper by any means, and I felt the water was decent. Pretty clear, didn’t taste funky and overall found it fairly nice to swim in. The other advantage of the practice swim was trying the swim exit, they’d extended a ramp with rubber matting a few meters into the water and I found it worked swimming onto ramp before pulling myself up, something that definitely helped on race day, especially when it was so busy with volunteers and athletes alike piling out of the water.
With the swim done we all went and had a chat with Joanne Murphy, one of the most iconic IRONMAN announcers IMO, wonderful Irish accent and she called me over the line in Wales so I might be a little biased. As the others were staying further out from the park they’d brought their bikes and transition bags with them, but I left Michelle and Storm in the park to play and headed back to the house to sort bags and bring bike back.
Weather for race day looked a little uncertain, overcast and with some potential rain, so I put in loads of options for bike clothing and a couple of options in the run bag, though you have access to both in transition so can grab something from either if needed. With the bags packed and bike loaded on the car it was a quick jaunt back to the park and down to transition to get racked.
The atmosphere was buzzing again, loads of activity as people setup their bikes, double checked bags and familiarised themselves with the flow of transition. This is always something you should take the time to do, pretty much walk transition from swim in, to bike out, to bike in and run out. As always it matters what your number is and therefore where your bike or bags are racked as the setup is designed so everyone has to travel the same distance. Happy that everything was good you pick up your timing chip on the way back out of transition and that’s you done (don’t lose the chip though!).
Rest of the day was largely just wanting to get off my feet and relax, we loitered in the park for a while before heading back home for dinner. It’s quite usual to struggle to sleep the night before a big race but I felt pretty tired and very ready for bed. As I was drifting off to sleep, I was looking at an unknown swim experience with the shoulder, a bike ride with an angry hip flexor and then whatever misery the run might bring me. To say I wasn’t overly excited to get to the start line in this condition would be an understatement.
Race Day – Sunday 27th
With the race essentially starting an hour earlier than Wales, I finally had to change my “Go be an IRONMAN” alarms from 4am to 3:20am. Fortunately I was exhausted from the day before and had managed to actually get some sleep. Once up it was tough ramming some breakfast in at that time, but I did my usual 2 poached eggs on toast and a coffee and set about sorting out my water/carb mixes and finalising the personal needs and street wear bags.
Storm was fantastic bless her; we’d left her sleeping until the very last minute and popped her in the car, setting off about 4:10am. On any other day we were staying only 10 minutes’ drive from the park, however now close to 2000 athletes were all trying to descend on Roundhay Park and the huge free on-site parking resulted in some long slow queues and nothing we could do but sit patiently and wait. Felt like a stressful start to the morning but everyone was largely in the same boat, so we crept forward slowly and eventually did get parked up.
The atmosphere was buzzing, so many people in the park now, all in varying states of excitement, anxiety or worry knowing what we’re all about to take on. As I walk into transition, I can see Sam Laidlow prepping the nutrition on his bike, the man is a monster, and it was very cool to have a decent field of Pro male athletes racing alongside us. Generally, the Pro’s don’t seem to race the UK based IRONMAN events, probably because they are amongst the hardest!
With my bike checked, tyres pumped up and nutrition mounted along with the bike computer it was time to get into my wetsuit and make my way down to the swim start. Michelle and Storm were waiting for me on the way down so after a natter and a few pictures I gave them both a kiss and hug then slipped into the “Athlete Only” area to get into a swim start pen.
Swim – 1:18:18
Despite the shoulder injury, I was contemplating getting in with the 1:15 group but as I walked down, eating a banana on the way, I could see it was 1:15 then 1:30 so figured I’d go towards the back of the 1:15 though in reality it’s not a huge difference once you’re in the water so I just plonked myself somewhere and quietly waited.
Once the Pro’s went off at 6am the announcers started getting the Age Groupers roused with various cheering and clapping until it was time for the infamous ACDC Thunderstruck to kick in and that is when you really feel the full IRONMAN vibe of “this is it”! And they are off… but nothing really happens, for aaaaages. With 2000+ athletes it takes a fair while for the queue to start moving and knowing this from experience I hadn’t even bothered putting my goggles and hat on (most others had).
Whilst waiting to move we were all amazed to hear the lead pros were just completing their first lap, in about 22 minutes!!! They are in a different world that lot, just unreal.
Eventually we did start moving and, taking onboard a gel, it was pretty quick to get down to the water. It turned out they’d given up on the 3/5 in at a time as due to the nature of a narrow ramp we had to walk down it thinned the athletes out, so they were encouraging us to hurry up and just get in. It felt a bit of a rush but suddenly I’m in the water and immediately my left goggle leaked, oh joy. Gave it a bit of a jiggle, slowed to empty it twice and eventually got it seated better and comfy… no more leaks, now let’s get into this swim.
Rowdy is an understatement, it’s not a very big lake and with athletes piling in as fast as they could get down the ramp it was arms, legs and bodies everywhere. Before the race Chris B had said “It’s going to be like a washing machine” and it turned out he was right.
However, I found my rhythm and got stuck in aiming for the first turn buoy. It was a little disheartening that within the first 10/15 minutes I was already thinking “what am I doing, this is ridiculous and you’re absolutely NOT doing this again”, but I’ve found that with a long swim ahead of you (hour+) you’ve a long time with just you and your thoughts and very little else to distract you so, it’s easy to think all sorts.
Something that helped as a distraction was a heap of us going a bit off course, when we turned the second buoy none of us seemed to know which way to aim for and headed towards a distant yellow buoy only to be rounded up by a kayak and directed back towards the correct yellow buoy and onto the orange turn buoy.
As with most busy races the turn buoys can get a bit physical and this was no exception, but managed to keep out of any major issues and despite a few narrow pinch points got the first lap done and checking my watch (thanks to pretty clear water) could see it was an astonishing 38 minutes! I really had no idea how the swim would go and was prepared for it to be ~1:30 or even longer if the shoulder gave me trouble, so to see this I was actually beginning to enjoy the swim.
Second lap was a repeat of the first but with a better sense of direction now knowing where to aim for. I felt I was still making decent progress and a peek at my watch after the last turn buoy before the finish I could see I was likely to be sub 1:20 which was my rough target, so pushed on and to the exit ramp, stopping my watch on a 1:18 which gave me such a buzz that the swim was not only over but it was a PB too.
Something else that has almost always blighted me with long swims is getting cramp in my legs (usually calf). It was a major factor in having a really tough time in Wales back in 2023 as got serious cramp in my calf and couldn’t do anything about it in the water so had to stay calm and just let it happen. That calf was a tight ball of angry the entire race and made it near impossible to run and even painful to walk. So, the couple of days leading up to the race I made sure I always had some water with electrolytes on me, and I was sipping away constantly. I think this really helped as despite my right leg feeling like it wanted to kick off even when just standing in the queue, nothing came of it, and I didn’t get a whiff of cramp the entire swim. Result.
T1 – 13:37
Leaving the water and starting the jog up to transition my hip flexor immediately said “hello” and reminded me of my second lasting injury from my unfortunate bike spill only 7 days earlier, it was going to be a loooong day with that hip I could tell.
It was about a 300m jog uphill to transition with heaps of supports shouting and cheering and this is where I first saw some TTG crew who had come to support which was brilliant. It makes the world of difference having friendly faces in amongst the throng of the cheering crowd. A wave, a smile and it got me up the little hill and into the tent.
Grabbing my blue bike bag, I stripped off my wetsuit and headed into the nude change area as I was doing a full change. With my experience of Wales, I knew it would be busy (it’s a very small area really) so I literally pulled off my swim jammers and pulled on my bib shorts and exited quick sharp.
Another great tip from experience (and seeing pros do it too) is just tip the entire bag out onto the floor, no time for picking through it. I’d packed a load of various layers as wasn’t sure on the weather/temperature and what I may or may not need. It’s far better to have something and not use it than wish you had it and not bring it.
A base layer was my plan but as I was still quite wet, I tried pulling it on but it just rolled up around my back/shoulders, so I quickly ditched that idea and decided on a gilet over my jersey. It had started to rain when I was jogging into the tent so rolled up the rain jacket and stuffed that in a pocket, pulled on my gloves, donned my helmet and re-racked the bike bag having shoved my wetsuit and everything else I didn’t use back in.
Heading out to the bike racking you pass some toilets, I felt OK but figured I’d just have a quick stop because I did at Wales, and it was quiet. It was a good call but did push my T1 time to over 13 minutes. Hmmm… probably need to work on that a bit but when it’s such a long day out it really doesn’t feel like you need to rush through transition.
Bike – 7:19:22
Trotting out of transition onto the bike course it had started to rain harder but wasn’t overly cold, so utilising another bit of race experience I ran about 10/15 meters past the mount line before getting on my bike. For some reason most people want to do it about 0.5mm from the line and fall over each other in a big mess… always run on a little into clear space and for a far easier mount.
Rolling back down through the crowds and along past where we’d been queuing for the swim start it just felt like a pleasant Sunday ride through the leafy park at this point, but soon enough you’re out on the main road and heading up a little hill to the narrow pinch point of a bridge and path up and over a dual carriageway. Everyone had been worrying about how this might work but they put a “no overtaking” section in along with some marshals and everyone was taking it easy, you weren’t going to win the race here, but you could crash out or get a DQ, so easier to behave and get through it.
Then you’re out into the countryside, through various villages, and one monster climb on a 3 lap course. The first village is Thorner and this was due to be a cracker, however on first passing (an out and back) it was fairly quiet with only a smattering of supporters, I figured most were still down in Roundhay Park or making their way out to the bike course as it was a little bit of a trek and even more so with the closed roads.
Thorner had one of the out and back segments and having recced it, didn’t give it much thought until racing it where you had a remarkably narrow section of riders going both directions, with one side descending at speed, and the actual turn point was really tight, having to almost come to a standstill. Managed that OK each time but I did see people unclip to put a foot down or take it super easy just to be on the safe side. Talking of safe, the only proper accident I saw was on the narrow two way section on this out and back, a rider was on the floor with his head/neck being supported, his bike in two bits on the side and blood all over his face… very sobering. He was being well tended to and have since seen him post on a Facebook group so injured but OK.
After more rolling countryside there is a second out and back section which is a lot wider (so safer) and that was pretty fun firing down as fast as you could though it did mean a fairly long hilly drag back up and eventually out to a big roundabout you turned back on and the personal needs bags were located there. With the course being an out, 3 laps, then back, it meant the personal needs bag was only ~21 miles in and having managed to carry pretty much all my nutrition I didn’t end up stopping there at all.
It was a sharp left and dropping down towards the reservoir, a funny little road that looks a bit like “access only” but took us up and around a huge reservoir with some even bigger potholes! This was another area that had long been discussed but the holes weren’t repaired though I personally found them easy to avoid and no real issue.
Next were some lovely fast rolling sections, somewhere I felt a TT bike would have been better but having done a recce of the bike route a few weeks before on my TT bike with Chris A, James B, Pete S and Steve G I’d decided against that and was happy to take my Cinelli road bike. That was absolutely the right decision, I went past plenty of people on TT bikes not having the best of rides, the course was quite technical with very few flowing sections so IMO more suited to road bike for comfort and handling.
Now things were getting serious, I knew THE climb of the route was coming up… Black Hill. Having ridden it before I knew it was a bit of a monster. About 1 mile long, it starts off with a gentle 4% but soon kicks into 11% then 15% before back to 11% and finishing off at 7% for a total average of 8% across the climb, that is steep!
This is where some more of the fab TTG supports had made their way to, which was perfect and just the right encouragement to get the job done. Knowing we had to do this climb 3 times was probably the hardest part of the whole day. Having done Wales in 2023 I would say this climb trumps any individual climb on that course, and you have to do it 3 times. Even the pros on Tour de France back in 2014 only had to do it once… just saying!
Anyhow, back to the ride and the first time up wasn’t too bad, far better than the recce on the TT bike, though I had given myself a kinder rear cassette, however only opting for 11-32 rather than 11-34 which might have helped a bit more on the last lap. The overall support up here was incredible, much as we’d all hoped. Lines of people right on top of you cheering and encouraging you up the final part of the climb and over the brow to what was thankfully a lovely gentle decent, perfect for some recovery.
With that out the way I knew the last section of the course was fast and flowing, again good for TT bikes but I just got on the drops with head down to keep the speeds up best as possible. Back into the crowds the support was again superb and there were some packed out sections on the route. With a final push I dropped down to the loop start with the big sign “Laps 2/3 left – Finish Right” so with a cheery smile at the spectators I headed left on my second loop.
Nutrition wise I was using Precision Fuel & Hydration (PFH) gels and chew bars which I discovered in my Wales training and got on with really well. I also had some mini pork pies and some roasted and salted potatoes in case I fancied something savoury. Well, I never really did fancy them, taking a bite of each just once during the whole ride and deciding I just didn’t fancy them.
Sticking with the PFH nutrition, this time I was trying out their flow gel, a slightly thinner version of their regular gel but comes in a 300g carb pouch you decant into a bottle and take as needed. This was brilliant and well recommended for ease of use and amount of carbs in a bottle, it was enough for over 3 hours riding. Using the flow gel and bars along with carb drinks on the first half of the ride which I eventually swapped out for one water and one electrolyte drink from the aid stations.
Here’s another tip I’ve learnt and put into perfect use at Leeds, on the bike aid stations just slow down to a sensible speed, then eyeball and clearly point to what you need and who you’re going to take it from, honestly doing that makes is so much easier for both you and them essentially ruling out uncertainty and error. You see people dropping bottles all over the place and ending up in a right mess, be decisive, clear and direct and it will be a good experience.
There were only 2 aid stations on the route, likely due to the short-ish laps, and the personal needs drop. They all had toilets but never enough and always a queue, so for me I chose to stop and go discreetly which worked out fine for me, and I saw plenty of others doing that too… however post-race I’ve seen a story of someone getting DQ’d on the spot for going in a hedge, and since heard there were several written on a board in transition. If that’s true it’s harsh as the rules do state if you get caught short be discrete and “no nudity” so I read that as it shouldn’t be a DQ, but I’m not the rule maker nor enforcer so perhaps I’m wrong and was lucky to get away with it. Something to think about for future races.
Much of the second lap was uneventful save for seeing the chap on the floor in Thorner, some more TTG supporters had made it out on the course too with Hannah M and her Mum in Thorner and the rest of the TTG crew had now positioned themselves up at the steepest point on the Black Hill climb. Tim H had also made it out to support and was further on the route towards the turn point, great to see him too.
Taking this climb for the second time was certainly more noticeable, I dropped it into the 32 gear and slowly churned my way up, to the shouts of encouragement from the TTG supporters. The second time felt even rowdier on the climb, clearly more supporters had made it out there knowing this was a prime spot to see everyone and the atmosphere was electric. As I made it over the top the second time my quads had started to cramp a little, I don’t know if I’d have tried a little less, or even jumped off and walked, if the TTG guys weren’t there… but they were, so I didn’t, and my legs were not happy about that!
Couple of miles later, and even including the nice steady decent, I needed to get some salt tablets in to help recovery. I was trying my best to sort this whilst riding but with cramping quads, another shorter steady climb and another corner with a big crowd I had to just stop and sort myself out. A marshal wandered over and checked I was OK, lovely young chap and doing an awesome job to looking after all the athletes. Smashed some tablets, clipped in and set off again, thankfully with some now recovering quads.
Onto the third and final lap, the one that hurt the most but also knew this would be the last time around. I’m not a fan of 3 laps, seems to just go on and on. With that said I never really felt bored or that the day was dragging, I paid no attention to the time of day at all, I could just see my total time for the bike and the map on my Garmin. Well, I did actually use a power guide on my Garmin but having never done that before I didn’t really understand it to be honest (had done zero research!) but did have a good understanding of what kind of power to use when and also to keep HR on the right side of things.
Finally, it was time to tackle Black Hill for the last time and secretly I was hoping the TTG crew weren’t still on the steep section in case I needed to walk, didn’t want to be caught! However, they were at the foot of the climb presumably just seeing us through then heading back to Roundhay Park to support the run. I threw them a grimace and off I went, with the intention of riding up. Well, that didn’t last too long, I did give the steep bit a go but my quads immediately said “Nope!” so I unclipped before I fell over and was more than happy with my decision to walk up to the brow of the hill and save my legs for the ride back to the park, I wasn’t the only one doing this by any means and it wasn’t all that slower than riding up (looking at the segment splits on Strava it was ~3 min slower to walk).
It was by far the right decision, no cramp at all and it allowed me to ride back with some reasonable pace and enjoy the last section of the loop, have a lovely chat with some chap for a few miles riding side by side, before dropping back down into Leeds and to Roundhay Park for transition.
T2 – 10:06
The awesome TTG crew were out in force again on the way into transition so a cheery wave and a sensible steady dismount, don’t want any dramas here. Trot the bike over to my rack slot and had already decided to take my top tube bag and food in with me (I knew I needed to eat something) and also took my shoes off. I’m yet to do the “leave shoes clipped into bike” option at dismount but also didn’t fancy a short jog on the grass and my feet were very much looking forward to being released!
As it was fairly quiet, I took another toilet stop before making my way into the tent and grabbing my red run bag. Plan was another full change into my tri suit as it’s super comfy to run in, has a pocket at the rear and looks great in pictures, so a quick dive into the nude change tent to don said tri suit. Chatting to others in there you can tell the mixed sense of relief for being off the bike but also the anticipation of now having to run a marathon… long course really is bonkers.
Knowing I could do with eating something I had a couple of the roast potatoes which were OK, but I still wasn’t overly keen. I grabbed my salt tablets and loaded my rear pocket with those, a gel and a chew bar, chose a hat (had a visor if it was super-hot, it wasn’t) stuffed everything back into the bag and hung it up on the rack… it was time to get this run started.
Run – 5:05:06
The crowds were deep both sides on leaving transition as you’re right by the finish area too, and immediately you’re jogging back down towards the lake, which was great, however I knew it meant a jog back up the hill shortly. Having done a recce of the run loop I knew the first loop had a little trail section around a lake and up the steepest part of the route, but it was super short so no real issue.
At the top end of the park you can start to really hear some large crowds and once you cross some cobbles out onto the main road you’re deposited outside The Roundhay Fox pub where 100’s of supporters right on top of you (literally, as it’s a non-barrier area) cheering and shouting. It was incredible, and a sign of things to come on the run route.
No sooner had you left the park than you collected your lap band, unlike Wales when you got the band around halfway on a lap, here you got it pretty much at the start. It’s much of a muchness I suppose but soon after the “lap band envy” starts, and never really goes away. It’s something that everyone talks about, what lap are you on, or you notice how many and what colour bands people have. Those with one or two more than you and you wish you were them nearly finishing the race. Natural I guess, but it’s something to look for and think about to while away the hours.
Having had a pretty poor run at Wales, and often blighted with cramp, this was the first time I had trained with a proper run/walk strategy to help keep the run structured. So rather than just “I fancy walking now” running to a time made it an easier target… run for 8 minutes then walk for 2 minutes, and repeat. I managed this for the first couple of hours pretty well, the only exception being I would additionally walk the aid stations.
Speaking of which, nutrition on the run… from the off I knew that I needed to drink water and electrolytes and eat something, so at each aid station (approx. every 2 miles) I would take a water and down that, then an electrolyte drink and down that, then half a banana and another water which generally went over my head or down my back. Thankfully it wasn’t a roasting hot day, in fact it was pretty ideal racing conditions (bit windy on the bike) but I was getting a bit hot running, so it needed to be done.
It was nearing the end of the first lap, just after you run back down the main road outside The Roundhay Fox, which incredibly seemed to be even busier, that I finally saw Michelle and Storm again. I’d not seen them since I said goodbye to them as I walked to the swim start so they were a site for sore eyes, and it was exciting and emotional to see them in that moment. They had been tracking me all day and knew that on the whole I was having a decent race and well on my target to hit my goal.
A quick hug and a kiss and then off to finish the lap, which turned out to mean I saw them again in about 10 minutes later as I went back up the main road and turned right back into the park. Here you were met with the lap split, left to continue another lap and right to head down to the finish. You could hear and pretty much see the finish, it was taunting you, but it also made you think that it’ll be your turn soon.
As I ran through the top end of the park Steve G suddenly appeared beside me for a “mid race interview” which was fun, but it also finally gave me the chance to ask about Chris B and James B who I’d not seen or heard of since the start of the race. I’d seen Pete S and Chris A multiple times on the ride, but never the others, so was a bit worried on how they were getting on. Steve informed me that Chris had not long got out on the run but sadly James hadn’t made the bike cutoff and had been pulled up in transition. That was really heartbreaking news, having known just how much effort he’d put into training for the race. It was always going to close, but I knew if he got in from the bike on time, he’d get the race finished no matter what.
With that news playing on my mind, I continued through the increasingly rowdy (drunk?) crowds and collected the next lap band. By now I was also thinking I might need to make a toilet stop, however one of the very few negative things about the race were the lack of toilets, both for athletes and spectators. There were 3 cubicles per aid station to cater for 2000 ~athletes, just nowhere near enough. And worse is they didn’t have any of the useful urinals for the guys like you get at other races/festivals, so everyone had to queue.
By the second aid station on the loop, I’d decided it was best to stop now and queue, definitely a good decision and at this aid station the volunteers were brilliant and very attentive, keeping their toilets super clean and stocked up with supplies. As I was queuing, I heard a shout and from across the road I can see Michelle. Storm, Hannah and her Mum waving. I’m merrily stood there with my tri suit half off to my waist (to save time) and waved back, signalling I’ll be there in a minute.
With myself sorted and re-dressed I grabbed the usual supplies of water, electrolyte and banana then walked over to see everyone. It’s so incredible how much seeing people you know and love there to support you, even more so later in the race when it’s easy to slip into darker moments as everything hurts and you question what on earth you’re doing and fighting the will to just stop.
However, it’s also in these moments when you don’t really notice time, and in a way unless you are really targeting some serious finish time then I figured it much nicer to try and enjoy the event as much as possible. For me that meant not rinsing myself too soon, leaving enough to get to the end and stopping to chat to friends and family who had given up so much of their own time to watch and support you doing your crazy events.
Onwards to lap 3 and as I’m passing the various TTG supports dotted around a few places I was being told that I’d nearly caught up to Chris B. By now I had changed my run/walk strategy to simply walking any inclines and running the flats/downhills which, given the rolling nature of the course, actually worked pretty well. It honestly felt like there were more downhill sections than uphill, but it had to equal out so maybe it was just how the elevation was delivered that made it feel how it did. I’m not complaining though, whilst the overall elevation isn’t far off the Wales route (~1500ft vs. ~1700ft) it did feel far more manageable.
Pushing on I eventually caught up to Chris B just after the last aid station which was about 1 mile from the lap split so we jogged together for a little bit, chatting how the day was going and what the next plan was. As we enter back into the park, the paths getting even busier now, we run into the entire TTG support crew who had all come together just by the big house in Roundhay Park, even James B had made his way over to add his support to the rest of us, an incredibly kind act and a true testament to his character.
Having waved a cheery hello to everyone I continued running but Chris B stopped to see his family, and with that it was the last I saw of Chris until he finished. This was getting close now as I was about to collect my last lap band which meant this was THE LAST LAP!!! It was the moment when I could finally say “Thank you” to all the brilliant volunteers who are so critical in helping make the event function so well.
It’s also worth mentioning all the incredible locals who came out of their houses and stood on the streets supporting all these insane people running past their homes. Some were just cheering, some were blasting out music and some had setup their own little aid stations with water, squash, sweets, bananas and all sorts. They really got stuck into things and it felt nothing like an inaugural event but more like one that had been on for years! Well done Leeds, you did yourselves proud on this one.
Other than ask Steve G what the time was a few hours earlier I hadn’t paid any attention to the time of day, how long was left until sunset and, more importantly, my overall time. Pressing a few buttons on my watch (carefully!) I scrolled to the overall time rather than the current activity time and was super chuffed to see a 12 at the start of it! I was on the last lap, feeling pretty sore and mostly done but at the same time knowing this was coming to an end soon so my head started working through the numbers.
With ~10k to go I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be making a sub 13 hour, which would have been beyond my wildest dreams to hit. I knew my running had slowed right down, I was walking a fair bit more (more than I should have) and figured that it was going to be a 14+ hours but I could try and make it as close as possible.
Hindsight can be cruel sometimes and when you add up all the little stops, toilet breaks, walking when you should probably be running, taking your time in transition etc. you realise it adds up to a fair bit and at the end you only needed a handful of minutes to tip yourself over that time barrier (lets be honest, we only care about what the time starts with, a 13:59:59 would have been enough!) you have to find your peace with how tough it was “in the moment”, that you did what you could on the day and need to accept the outcome.
That last lap my mind was whirring, and I was doing my best to keep the legs moving. Yeah, I do wish I’d have gone deeper into that pain cave, but I did what I needed to do at the time to keep it going, and after that last aid station I knew the end was so very close now. The last reserve of energy kicked in and I managed to pick the pace up a fair bit in that last mile or so to the finish, overtaking so many people along the way who must have been thinking “where did this fool get that burst of pace from?!”.
Into the park for the last time, on to the lap split and it was with a huge smile on my face that I got to turn right this time, towards the finish. This was down a winding path that had a barrier the entire way, and for good reason… it was rammed full of supporters all cheering, clapping and smiling as they watched you head towards completing your frankly ridiculous achievement. I smiled at the cameraman stood there and continued down the path (it was all downhill, another little treat for the finish) and rounded onto the finish straight and the famous red carpet.
There are so many people lining the sides, 4 or 5 deep all cheering and shouting, it gets really hard to pick out anyone in particular. Running past the first timers bell (not for me this time eh!) I spotted the TTG crew all shouting and waving their arms, and right there in the middle of them was Michelle holding Storm. Heading straight for them it was an emotional moment as I gave them a hug and a kiss.
Looking around to try and make sure the carpet wasn’t too busy with finishers (regardless, I still managed to mess that up!) I made my way down the red carpet and across the line, giving “The Voice” of IRONMAN, Joanne Murphy, a high five as I finished and she said the iconic words:
“Jon Murgatroyd, you are an IRONMAN”
Well, what she actually said was “From Ireland, Jon Murgatroyd, you are an IRONMAN”! Looking up at the names and finish times above the gantry one of the finishers was Irish and she must have clocked the flag but my name and called me out as Irish… ah well, a funny little ditty to end the race with really!
And that was it, the race was over… it was daylight (my main target) the time was 14:06 which was 24 minutes better than my May target and over 1hr 30min better than Wales! Other than my hip flexor crying out for mercy I was actually feeling pretty decent. Dare I say it, I finished pretty strong, glad to be done but by no means in a major bad way.
Recovery
With a medal around my neck, I walked over to get my street wear bag and then make my way into the recovery tent where the atmosphere is one of relief and happiness from everyone who has finished the race. There are various tables with drinks and food along with queues for hot food… burgers and chips!
James B was in there, so we finally have a chat about what happened in his race, and I’d clocked Pete S in the queue for food, so I grabbed a cup of tea, some watermelon and found a bench to sit on with Pete joining us soon after. It’s easy for things to be a bit of a daze at the end of such a long race, I recall in Wales being totally shot and not really knowing what I wanted/needed and just sat there. This time I was far more with it and whilst a little sore really didn’t feel all that bad. A few people fainted here and there too (and were well looked after) but just reminds you how much effort people had put in.
A table at the side had the finishers tops on so I wandered over and tried on the size I’d put down for (small, as the Wales top was huge!) but it was a little snug this time so swapped it for a medium and got myself in the queue for some hot food. Wasn’t sure I fancied it but knew I needed to eat something and TBH it was actually good to eat real food, even if it was a dirty burger and chips.
Time flies in the tent so eventually we headed out to find Michelle and the others who were waiting for us, and we wanted to cheer Chris A and Chris B over the line. Hugs and jubilation abound we were all nattering about the day from various aspects; everyone was on such a high from the incredible atmosphere and the excitement of finishing.
Chris A had finished whilst we were in the recovery tent, but I made sure we were on the finish line to welcome Chris B home which was a brilliant moment and awesome achievement given his previous mishap at IRONMAN UK at Bolton… he was finally a well deserved IRONMAN too.
And that was it, everyone home and we were done. We took a few group snaps (the only time we managed to get all 5 of us together!) then it was time to grab the transition bags and bike then make the somewhat hideously cruel climb up the steep embankment to the car park! That was fun, pushing all the kit up the hill, plus we had Storm asleep in the buggy. Highlighting again that I was feeling pretty decent, which really does come down to the training, without a doubt my endurance was a lot higher for Leeds than it had been for Wales.
Last challenge was leaving the car park, there was a pinch point at the traffic lights, same reason for the long delay getting in that morning, so it was a bit chaotic getting out and back to our accommodation but we were buzzing and Storm was asleep so we were all good and just enjoyed coming down quietly from a crazy packed day… the day that I became a double IRONMAN finisher!
Reflection – 1 Week Later
This time around I’m far more positive, having had pretty much a full week’s rest (largely in part to my hip flexor making me slow and walk with a hobble) the rest of my body was feeling remarkably decent. I’ve not long been out on a ride now, was supposed to be a gentle recovery but with the others who chipped up it ended up being a little spicy with an 18.5mph average, not ideal but was easily manageable which was nice.
One of the most common things from finishing a big race is getting the “post-race blues”, however I really haven’t had those this time, I’m so happy with my overall day. It went way better than I had expected going into it with the injuries and ended up basically smashing my goal which is just incredible, on what most seem to now regard as a pretty tough course. Yes, I do sit here and think about the “what ifs” in saving those 6 minutes to dip under 14 hours but nothing I can do about that now.
Right now, with no other races planned this year, I’m wishing I’d entered IRONMAN 70.3 Weymouth in September. Not only something to keep training for but IRONMAN are also giving people a “key” for when they do a IRONMAN and an IRONMAN 70.3 in the UK in the same year. Sadly, Weymouth has long since sold out and the charity entries are just bonkers (£590 to enter PLUS raising £1900!!). So, it will be just going to support this year, but I am on the lookout for another race before the season is over, its still so early really.
One thing I do know for sure is that I’ll be entering IRONMAN Wales for 2026, it’s always been the plan since finishing it in 2023, as I’ll be turning 50 and wanted to do that in style. Not going to talk about any targets for that yet but know that I will keep my current fitness and training on an upwards trajectory for September 2026 and any other races I do between now and then.
Thanks
With this race now done and dusted there are several people I would like to thank in helping me train, make it to the start line and more importantly cross that finish line.
Firstly, everyone at Tri Team Glos, who are wholly responsible for me being fully addicted to Triathlon. Everyone at the club is so friendly, helpful and supportive whenever you interact with them. I’ve had many members join me on my training rides/runs etc. and it means the world to me being part of our awesome club and having that support.
Next a shout out to the Leeds ’26 chat group and fellow members who raced at Leeds, namely Chris A, Chris B, James B, Lewis* and Pete S. As soon as we knew a few of us were racing Leeds we setup a chat group and we’ve been supporting and training with each other right up until race day. It’s been perfect and really do think having others to train with who are doing the same event helps massively.
Having to find a new coach wasn’t something I was looking forward too, however after a bit of a chat with our clubs’ head coach, Charlie agreed to coach me for the race, and I am eternally grateful. She’s done a superb job of setting sessions, taking feedback, revising bits here and there and with the added bonus of her coaching the TTG swim sessions, I’d see her twice a week so even if we didn’t chat, she was able to keep an eye on how I was doing/feeling. Whilst it’s the athlete that has to actually do the work, for me not having to think about what I should be doing or need to do next is priceless and I hope she will be happy to continue to coach me into Wales 2026.
The TTG Leeds Gang need a special mention, Steve G (and wife Mel), Hannah M (and her Mum), Katie B (and her friends from Trojan Free Fighters), Jame B’s partner Becci and the kids, Becky B and Chris B’s parents, John B and family, Aaron G, Adam P, Jish N and Tim H. Their presence on made all the difference, seeing the familiar faces, cheering and shouting was exactly what the day needed to help us all across the line. I know they had an awesome day too, as mentioned it was an incredible day for an inaugural event so I’m really happy they got to experience it too, just in a different way.
A special shout out to Jish, who very kindly leant me his beautiful Cannondale Hollowgram Knot SL 64 wheels to race with, a very kind and helpful gesture.
Finally, to my very long suffering wife, Michelle, who this time had even less of my time due to other life commitments (i.e. Bungalow etc.), life carried on, but we got to see and do very little together and I really do appreciate the effort and sacrifice she also had to make to allow me to train for this event. It’s no joke with long course training; it takes hours and time away from family and friends alike. Storm has taken everything in her stride as always, she knew what I was training for this time, being over 3, and I hope even though she is so young she can see the reward hard work, dedication and effort can bring.
No need to joke about and say, “when can I book another?” as I know when and what I’ll be booking… Wales 2026… bring it on!!
*Sadly, Lewis decided he couldn’t commit to the race due to family commitments, but he did train with us and has always been part of our little Leeds community.
