Disclaimer: I’m not recommending my training approach to anyone. Most people spend years building up to a full IRONMAN distance event, and there’s a reason why they finish many hours before me. There’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and luckily I just about got away with it.
Background
IRONMAN Wales (IMW) has always been on my bucket list, but since finishing uni in 2020 life always got in the way. 2025 was the first year I had with no distractions, so rather than try and build my way up the distances, I thought the best idea was to put pretty much everything else in my life on hold for 9 months and give it a go. My only goal was to finish, 16:59 would be a massive success. If I didn’t finish then I was also ok with that, I thought I’d learn more from a failed IMW attempt than a successful 70.3.
I have a very different background to most triathletes attempting an IRONMAN – I’m not really a triathlete. At the start of the year I was a relative beginner in 2 out of the 3 disciplines. My previous experience was:
- Swimming – I had lessons at primary school but hadn’t swum properly in 20 years.
- Cycling – I bought my first road bike (Specialized Allez) a couple of years before, rode it twice, fell off, and hadn’t been back on since. I was scared of using cleats and had never heard of aero bars.
- Running – I had run a few ultras (100km around the Cotswolds was the furthest) and I had a habit of making cutoff times by a few minutes. I think ultrarunning was the only reason why I thought an IRONMAN was possible.
Planning
I signed up to IMW on the day registration opened online in September 2024, I did it in a bit of a rush at work and misunderstood what ‘Open Division’ meant (I thought it was for anyone who wasn’t a professional athlete). Don’t make the same mistake as me!
2024 had been a very busy year for me (I got married in September and had achieved my Civil Engineering chartership in July, both of which had taken a lot out of me). October – December I only did a minimal amount of training (mostly in the gym) with the intention of recovering energy/motivation levels and then going all in from January onwards.
I didn’t have the budget for a coach so I created my own training plan. I did have support from a friend at work (Dan) who had competed at Kona and a friend from uni (Chris) who had done IMW in 2023, both of whom helped me a lot.
Joining TTG was also one of the best decisions I made. The group swimming sessions helped a lot (thanks Chris A and Jon for letting me try and keep up with you), as did being in a group chat with experienced triathletes. A lot of people helped me learn about the sport without realising it. The 2023 and 2024 IMW race reports from Jon and Steve were also an excellent source of knowledge.
When planning the year I made the (questionable) decision not to do any other triathlons before IMW*. My thinking was:
- If I didn’t do very well in one of them it would hit my motivation for a while – it was better to pretend to myself for 9 months that an IRONMAN was possible.
- If it’s your first race then there’s no pressure or expectation.
- There’s something funny about attempting IMW as your first race.
- It’s a great story to tell.
*I did use Long Course Weekend (LCW) to judge whether I was being too ambitious, if it didn’t go well then I was going to defer IMW until 2026.
Training
Swimming seemed to come back to me relatively easily. After a few tweaks to my technique (thanks Charlie) and some help with pacing (thanks Jon, Chris A and Hannah), I managed to make reasonable progress in the pool.
Running I didn’t give a lot of thought to as it’s the only discipline I had previous experience in. The only run longer than 10km I did was Manchester marathon in April. It probably didn’t fit in with the training plan, but my best man from my wedding (Sion) was doing his first marathon, so there was no way I wasn’t doing it with him. It was a hot day for April and resulted in a marathon personal worst. It was still a nice day out though.
Cycling was always going to be the biggest issue for me. An added challenge was that I went on my honeymoon in March and didn’t want to risk falling off my bike beforehand, so I only properly started cycling outdoors in April. January to March was spent using a stationary bike in the gym.
I had only briefly looked at the IMW cutoff times when I signed up, but I quickly realised the bike one wouldn’t be easy. I completely understand why they have to do it for the road closures, but the cutoff times do massively favour cyclists. You could miss the bike cutoff but still finish the run with plenty of time to spare.
At the start of April I was struggling to cycle a flat 20km route in less than an hour. The first time I tried to cycle to the top of Haresfield Beacon I had to stop 4 times to catch my breath. The second time I ran out of power and fell over. Cycling in cleats still really scared me, let alone using aerobars. 180km of hills in 5 months time seemed a long way away.
At this point I decided to reduce my running to 10-15km a week and focus all my energy on the bike. If I could make the 10:30 cutoff, then although it wouldn’t be pretty, I knew I could plod my way around the marathon and make it on time. There was also no point training too much for the run if I wasn’t guaranteed to make it that far in the race.
The only group ride I did was at the TTG members day in May, everyone else seemed like they were out for a leisurely Sunday ride, whereas my heart rate was in the 170s. In hindsight not doing more group rides was my biggest mistake, but realistically I was never quick enough to join them.
I did manage to make a small amount of progress in the next couple of months, but the game changer was having a bike fit (massive thanks to my cousin-in-law Andrew at the Bike Shed in Exeter). A few adjustments to the saddle, handlebars and cleats made a massive difference, as did being told that 30psi (the maximum I could get to with the hand pump) wasn’t the correct tire pressure. We all learn this at some point, most people aren’t doing an IRONMAN 3 months later though.
Blackpool Sands Sea Swim
For preparation for LCW I did a 3km race at Blackpool Sands. By that point I’d swum in the sea once at Lyme Regis, which was relatively sheltered in a harbour.
This was completely different though! It was a stormy day (sorry mum and dad for making you drive 2 hours each way to stand in the rain) and the beach was a lot more exposed and steep, meaning it was really choppy. The race was 4 laps of 750m so you never really got out of the chop. The first 3 laps I swam breastroke as I couldn’t manage to catch my breath when swimming front crawl. At least on the 3rd lap I stopped being lapped as most other people had finished. I finished second last, but it was a really worthwhile experience.
Long Course Weekend
I can’t recommend LCW as preparation for IMW highly enough. The weekend is split up into the swim on Friday evening, cycle on Saturday and run on Sunday. You can choose which of the events and distances (either full or shorter options) you do.
The swim is exactly the same course as IMW but in the opposite direction (more on that later) and 80% of the bike course is the same. The run is completely different (I didn’t do it), but you could easily do a lap of the run course on your own if you wanted to. It’s also a great way of familiarising yourself with the roads, parking, and shopping in Tenby (all of which can be challenging).
I got lucky and found Becca and Molly from TTG at the start line of the swim which helped with the nerves. I think I surprised myself with how well it went. The conditions were much more pleasant than at Blackpool Sands, and I managed to swim 99% of it in front crawl. Tenby’s north beach is shallow and well sheltered by the headland, and swimming bigger laps of 1900m makes it easier when you’re further away from the shore. The only challenge was sighting as there were no intermediate buoys, but overall it was a much, much more positive experience.
After the race I realised I’d completely forgotten about dinner – Dominoes was one of the only places left open, unfortunately half of Tenby had the same idea so it was a late night waiting for pizza!
The 180km bike was a big step into the unknown as I’d only cycled 100km for the first time 2 weeks before. Luckily the weather was almost perfect for it though. It was a long day but an enjoyable one, and it was nice to know that none of the hills are as intense as the Cotswolds. The end of the race meant my longest bike was longer than my longest run on Strava for the first time ever, I doubt many people have been in that position!
My combined swim and bike time of 10:20 meant I needed to make up at least 30 mins when including T1, and the likelihood of worse weather in September. With 3 months to go I was happy with my progress though, there was no need to defer IMW until 2026.
One side effect of making progress on the bike is I developed a problem with my hands – after 100km I would lose the majority of the strength in them. Braking and changing gear were a struggle, which made me nervous as there are challenging descents at the end of the IMW course. I tried cycling gloves, thicker bar tape, and wider tires which all helped to some extent, but didn’t fully solve it.
Remaining Training
The last 2 months of training were steady and included a few more 150km+ rides.
I had planned to go to IRONMAN Leeds to support everyone from TTG (and hopefully learn a little bit about transitions), but unfortunately I couldn’t make it at the last minute. Seeing all the videos gave me major FOMO!
My attempt at tapering turned out to be a bit of a disaster. What was planned to be 3 weeks of decreasing volume ended up being 3 weeks of almost no exercise. For various reasons I was absolutely exhausted, and for once I decided not to fight it. Avoiding illness and injury outweighed the risk of feeling sluggish on race day.
Race Weekend
Gen (my wife) and I left home on Thursday night and drove the majority of the way to Tenby to stop in Llanelli to see some friends. We had planned to register on Friday afternoon but we couldn’t get away from work in time, not the end of the world though. We made it to our Airbnb (ideally located at the top of the run course) and managed to go for a walk by Wisemans Bridge before it was dark. There was a sprint triathlon going on in Saundersfoot, apparently some people use it as a warm up for IMW 2 days before.
Saturday morning was a busy one, and the weather was absolutely horrendous. Knowing we’d need 2 trips from the car to register and drop things off in transition, we tried the multistorey by Sainsburys – no chance, I think the other 2000 people also had the same idea. Salterns was our next choice, still a 20 min walk each time but that was as good as it was going to get.
Registration was soon done (they said they’d change me from Open Division to my Age Group and add TTG as my club, neither of which happened but ah well), otherwise it was a very efficient process. I managed to escape the march tent without too much damage (I bought a hoodie, coat and hat) – and had to desperately hope I was going to finish the race so they wouldn’t be on Ebay by the end of the weekend.
The main downside of registering and dropping your stuff off on the same day is you have to pack your bags in your car, not ideal when you’ve got a Peugeot 108 and you’re in a storm!
Check-in for the transition area was also very smooth, and the volunteers were very happy to answer all my stupid questions (which way do you go in the tent, can I bring a bike pump etc).
I know an IRONMAN costs a lot but I do think it offers value for money – everything is well organised. I once paid £30 to run Leicester marathon and they didn’t even close the roads to cars, so I’ve always found you get what you pay for.
On the way back to the car I stopped in a shop to get a drink, everyone in the queue was either buying lucozade or a 10 pack of lager. That was a sign of what was to come.
Later in the evening we met my dad and one of my cousins and his girlfriend in Saundersfoot for some food, before attempting (and somehow succeeding) to fall asleep before 9pm.
Race Day
My alarm went nice and early at 5am, although I was too excited and had already been awake for a while. I forced down as much food as I could, but in hindsight it was nowhere near enough.
My dad picked Gen and I up at about 5:40 and they dropped me as close to transition as possible before parking in the school car park much further away. That was the last I saw of them for a while.
Even though it was still dark, Tenby was absolutely buzzing with people already. Straight away you could tell this was a completely different event to LCW (well organised, but not well supported).
A quick check of my bike and bags and everything seemed good to go. Packing a spare toilet roll for the portaloos helped make some friends in the queue.
You’ve then got the 1km journey you do in T1 in reverse, which is a useful time to warm the body up and get some more food on board. My nutrition was probably a bit unconventional, gels never agree with my stomach so a combination of malt loaf, cereal bars, rice cakes and flapjacks are my go to.
Before the swim I didn’t really feel any nerves. Having stood on the same start line for LCW definitely helped, as did my plan for not doing any other triathlons before. I had nothing to lose, if I didn’t finish the race that was fine, it would still be a nice day out and a useful experience to try again in the future.
Arriving at north beach is absolute carnage. There are people absolutely everywhere and you’ve got to fight your way down to the beach. I timed it pretty well and didn’t stand around waiting for too long when I made it to the starting pen.
My plan for timing was to record each of the activities separately on my forerunner (I hadn’t used the triathlon mode before so I didn’t want the risk of it going wrong). This was a good idea in theory, as long as I could remember the time I entered the water.
Listening to the Welsh national anthem whilst the sun comes up is a bit emotional. I went to uni in Cardiff and normally associated it with England losing in the Six Nations, but I’ll have to admit it is a very inspiring tune. Looking up from the beach all you can see is people lining the beach and cliffs on all sides, and the noise echoing around. After the iconic startline music from AC/DC it was time to get going!
Swim – 1:28
As I was about to enter the water I noticed Welsh rugby and IMW legend Shane Williams ahead of me. That was the last I saw of him though, he was nearly done by the time I got off the bike.
LCW lets you go in the water to adapt to the cold but that’s not the same for IMW, so for a large part of the first lap you’re fighting your body’s reaction. That said, I managed to get into a good rhythm early on (I only breath on one side until I’ve fully adapted and can keep my head under water for longer), the only initial issue was there was a strong taste of diesel in the water, not pleasant at all.
I’d heard a lot about the current on the back straight and how swapping the direction of the swim from clockwise (as it is for LCW) to anticlockwise a few years ago made it harder. It means that you’re swimming the long back straight into the current, but it does mean that you’re swimming with the current to the first buoy and the final leg you’re swimming with it back to the shore. Maybe it is slower, but mentally I found it a lot easier – easing yourself in and then getting the hardest part done earlier is beneficial.
Anyway, the biggest problem on the back straight is not the current, it’s the jellyfish! I lost count of the number of times I was stung, although I was very lucky that my feet took the majority of the punishment and my hands and face mostly got away with it (I heard of people that had to DNF due to stings on their face). When you get stung you’ve got no option but to ignore it and carry on, the first time I got stung I stopped and had a couple of kicks to the body to add to it.
I’m not sure exactly what type of jellyfish they were (unfortunately/fortunately I didn’t see any of them in the water), but walking along the beach the next day the shoreline was littered with these big guys. I’ve still got scars on my feet from them.
I managed to maintain an even pace across the 2 laps, but by the end I was starving, and feeling a bit weak. Good thing I’d packed a small feast in my pink bag to get me going again. My swim time was 5 minutes slower than LCW but that was ok, there was no need to push too hard too early.
Transition 1 – 0:28
T1 didn’t really go to plan though. It took me an age to get my trainers out of my pink bag and on my feet – my hands really didn’t want to function. The changing tent was also absolutely heaving, and you had to fight to get a space on a bench. Doing a full change also cost further time (there was a queue for it), but for the extra comfort of cycling shorts it was worth it.
The run from beach to transition is another highlight of the day. The crowds for the 1km run are amazing, and it was great to see James, Pete, and Jish for the first time.
I did manage to eat a few slices of plum loaf and some more rice cakes when I was running, and some haribo and a Gregg’s chicken roll when I was changing. In hindsight I probably ate too much, but I honestly was starving.
Bike – 8:13
I’d calculated beforehand that if I made it out of T1 in 2 hours then I’d need to average 21.2km/h. This was the only metric I used, keep the average speed above it and I’d make it. Although I remembered getting in the sea at 7:40AM, I somehow managed to convince myself it was 7:30 later on, meaning I incorrectly thought I needed to average closer to 22km/h. This might sound easy for most people, but 5 months earlier I couldn’t hold this on the flat for 1 hour.
The bike didn’t get off to the best of starts, about 1km in I realised I’d forgotten to put more lubricant on the drivechain in the morning (the rain had washed it all off overnight). Nice one Will.
The course consists of a larger loop and then a smaller loop twice. The first portion is gentle, and a great way of banking some speed with little effort. It’s mostly flat to Angle with only a few rolling hills, and there are some fantastic views at Freshwater West on the way. At this point I was really enjoying it, although struggling to get any solid food in me. I’d stashed 6 sachets of High5 carb mix in my jersey and had to rely on these as my only source of carbs.
The aid stations are also much more efficient than LCW. Although they’re a bit confusing the first time, not having to come off your bike saves a good amount of time.
Coming back from the Angle the route starts to get a bit more tasty, and things started to go downhill for me. Arriving at the Narbeth aid station the first time was probably the lowest point of the course. All the way from Lamphey there had been a solid northerly headwind, and there are also 2 steep hills in quick succession before Narbeth with very few spectators (and these climbs aren’t in LCW). I’d watched my average speed tumble to the point where I didn’t have much left to play with, and the lack of calories was becoming a big problem. At this point I was really worried that I wouldn’t finish the bike in time.
Sometimes you’ve just got to stay in the fight though and hope it gets easier. Which luckily it did. You can never underestimate the power of the crowds, and seeing familiar faces.
The rest of the smaller lap takes you back towards Tenby, passing through Wiseman’s Bridge and Heartbreak Hill at the end. Before you get to each of them though you’ve got a couple of nasty downhills, in the shade and often with leaves on the ground. There’s ambulances stationed there for a reason.
Wiseman’s Bridge is the steepest hill on the course (but it doesn’t last very long) and Heartbreak Hill is the most famous. The crowds are Tour de France style at the top and bottom, and you almost forget you’re riding up a hill.
Waiting at the bottom of the final pitch of Heartbreak Hill was James, Pete, and Jish. They’d walked a long way from Tenby (and driven a very long way from Gloucester) to be there. Absolute legends. Seeing 3 familiar faces made a massive difference to my morale.
The second lap was slightly slower, but much more enjoyable. It starts off with a flatter section to gain a bit of speed back, and you’re still running on the adrenaline from the crowds. I’d managed to fight through the low point and finally get more food inside me.
I did walk up Wisemans Bridge the second time (no shame), I knew I had enough time to spare so it wasn’t worth the risk of running out of power, not being able to unclip, and falling over and injuring myself. Much to my delight the issue with losing grip strength never materialised on the day, so the descents at the end were also manageable.
When you’re at the top of Heartbreak Hill the second time you’re 99% of the way there, and that was probably the first time when I was confident of making it. The road down back into Tenby alongside the run course you can carry a lot of speed, but there is one last kicker underneath the railway line that’s easy to forget about.
I completed the bike 40 minutes quicker than LCW which I was over the moon with. LCW is a slightly easier course (you miss out Narbeth) and the weather had been better in June. The aid stations do save some time though, as did an upgraded set of tires and inner tubes.
Transition 2 – 0:12
Making it into T2 within the cutoff time was such a release of pressure – the 10:30 time limit had stressed me out every day for the past 9 months. Constantly worrying about the time for the whole bike course also uses a lot of energy. In reality I was always a puncture away from not making it. I did cry a little bit when getting changed.
Thankfully the changing tent was a lot quieter this time, so this transition was a lot easier. I didn’t take my arm warmers off (I couldn’t be bothered), which turned out to be a great decision when the sun went down and the temperature dropped a lot. Half a bag of haribo later and I was good to go.
In my mind, T2 was the finish line for me. Everything was in my control now and I knew I’d make it, and the only part left was the most enjoyable part.
Run – 5:35
Running is my happy place. I’ve always done it because I enjoy it, not because I’m any good at it (my marathon PB is 3:50). But I’d pretty much neglected running this year to focus on the bike (the 10km at members day was my second longest run of the year), so this wasn’t the time to do anything stupid.
My only goals for the run were to beat the final cutoff time and to enjoy it. The best way to enjoy it is to run an even pace, which for me meant walking the hills and running the flats and downhills slowly. I spent quite a bit of time stopping to talk to family and friends as well. You’ve spent a lot of money signing up to the race, what’s the rush to finish it!
I honestly think the crowds are better than at any major marathon. Yes there are more supporters for them, but the support (especially when running through the town) just feels so much more personal. The streets are narrow and the crowds feel right on top of you. Sometimes you run past 20 people and every single person shouts out your name. Random drunk people ran with me for 100m on multiple occasions. Every pub has a DJ, and lots of people had their own karaoke setups on the streets. It feels like a festival. Everyone is having a great time.
The course includes 4 laps made up of a few kilometres running around the town (and going past what feels like every pub in Tenby) before an out and back loop, most of which is uphill. This is where a lot of tri clubs had stationed themselves – I have to give a shout out to Merthyr Tydfil Tri Club, their support was incredible all evening. Each lap you also collect a wristband at the top of the hill.
The first lap consisted of unsuccessfully stopping at every portaloo to try and find one with toilet roll left in it. That was a problem I was going to have to solve after the race.
The one thing I had been confident of at the start of the day was being able to eat during the run. Ha, not a chance. A couple of sweets and a cup of coke was all I could manage at each aid station. Electrolytes and cereal bars had absolutely zero appeal.
The second lap was a bit more comfortable as my stomach managed to settle a bit. Knowing the route also meant knowing which parts to push a bit more in.
The third lap was probably my favourite. The crowds were at their peak between 13-15 hours, my legs were feeling much better than during the bike, and everyone was in good spirits. I do think the people right at the front of the course miss out on the best part of the day, when the sun goes down the atmosphere goes to another level.
The fourth lap my main emotion was sadness that it was coming to an end. I just really, really enjoyed the marathon. The majority of the year I hadn’t really believed I would make this far in the race, so to me the run was the reward for finishing the bike on time. It is a really satisfying feeling collecting the last wristband though.
Towards the end of each lap you get teased by running down half of the finish line. Running down the esplanade for the final time it was time to ring the bell, and then hear the famous words ‘You are an IRONMAN’. In fact, as Gen and my dad had managed to find a spot right by the finish line, I got to hear it twice!
The last thing after that is to get your money’s worth of pizza and energy drinks from the finishers area, get changed into some warmer clothes, and suffer the long walk back to the car park.
The next day we came back into Tenby for a well earned pasty and ice cream. Even then the town was still buzzing, I think most people didn’t want to leave.
The Future
Will I do another IRONMAN? Most likely, but not straight away.
There are very few things in life that compare to the high of running down the red carpet. I’m proud of myself for doing something that was a long way outside my comfort zone at the start of the year.
But there are also a lot of sacrifices that you (and your family) have to make to get there. I think to do an IRONMAN you have to be completely obsessed with it.
I’m also realistic about my cycling ability – if the race had been held the day before I wouldn’t have made the cutoff time. Maybe I could get a better bike (always a good idea) or pick an easier course (where’s the fun in that). Spending a few years building up my cycling fitness would probably be the most sensible option though.
Hopefully I’ll come back in 2026 to cheer on all 17 people from TTG. Seeing James, Pete, and Jish on Heartbreak Hill really did make a massive difference when I needed it most.
Finally I’d like to say thanks in particular to chairman Jon, you were a great source of knowledge throughout the year and more importantly you always believed in me.
