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10th September 2011 -Ironman comes to Ireland

Last weekend almost 2000 athletes from Ireland and 42 other countries took part in the first Ironman branded race to take place in Ireland with the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Galway which included a 1900m swim, 90k bike followed by a 21k run.  Huge work had gone into the preparation of this race, which was based in Salthill, with hundreds of volunteers helping to man the closed roads and many aid stations on the bike and run.  Also, instead of athletes leaving their shoes, clothes, etc. at their bike in transition as they would for any other race in Ireland, there were 2 tents in which they had to leave all their race stuff in allocated bags, one for their bike stuff and one for their run stuff. Here, race volunteers helped them to find their gear and help them get organised if needed.  This was a totally different race to anything that had taken place in Ireland before.

No amount of preparation can prepare you for adverse weather conditions of the west of Ireland though as the 7am start saw rough seas, rain, wind and bitter cold.  For safety reasons, the swim was shortened to 1000m but was still very difficult with large swells.  There was a long 600m run to transition then to collect the bike etc.  The cycle was an out and back course to Maam cross which was not very sheltered.  Anyone who opted to wear just their skimpy tri-suit suffered with the cold, wind and rain, with some ending up in an ambulance with hypothermia.  For the sake of losing a few seconds of time, the sensible cyclists put on a few more layers of clothes.  The run was quite technical with many sharp twists and turns which brought the runners into Galway city, with 3 laps.  Despite the weather, thousands of spectators lined the course to offer encouragement which helped everyone along.  The finish area was very spectacular as per all Ironman events, with all finishers getting a fabulous Ironman 70.3 medal. 

Brian Flynn, after enjoying a few weeks rest after his full Ironman debut in Germany during the summer, was the first club member home in 5.02.11.  Colin Fanning found the bike cold and had to get help to get his socks on for the run but finished in a brilliant time of 5.02.48.  John McDonald really found the bike cold (and later admitted to club members that when he saw them on the bike with jackets on, he wanted to take them off them!).  He lost of lost of energy trying to keep warm and by the time he got to the run he did not have the same power as usual so his run suffered a bit.  However, he was happy with his first half Ironman race to finish in 5.07.24.  Noel Ryan has also been enjoying a few weeks rest after his full Ironman in Germany a few weeks ago (probably enjoying it a bit too much!) but was happy with his race to finish in 5.10.45.  Padraic Connolly stepped up his training this year as this was his first time to do this distance and was looking to do well back in his home ground so was delighted with his time of 5.31.51.  Kieran Eaton looked happy throughout the race as he crossed the line in 6.06.20.  Olive Costello was very nervous about this race as it was to be her longest distance to date but she put in a lot of hard training over the past few months, doing two training sessions a day sometimes!  She was probably most nervous of the swim but took on the swells of the Atlantic Ocean no problem.  She was sensible and put on a jacket for the cycle so did not get too cold although said it was hard to see at times with rain and hail in her face.  She enjoyed the run more than she though she would, falling into step with another runner so they motivated each other to the finish.  There were a few tears as she crossed the line in a brilliant time of 6.17.51.  Liam Power has also come a long way from when he joined the club 2 years ago when he could barely swim and did very little cycling or running either.  His hard work also paid off as he finished in 6.35.04.  Derek Nolan, who enjoyed a few weeks rest after his full Ironman in Austria during the summer, was thrilled with his race.  We had one team in the race with Ann Hennebry doing the swim, Siobhan Kennedy on the bike and Norma Goggin doing the run.  There was lots of slagging and joking before the race as to who had the easiest part to do but with the day that was in it, all 3 disciplines were tough in some shape or other.  They finished 34^th out of 80 teams in 5.30.10.  It was a great day despite the weather, which only made everyone’s result more of an achievement.  Ironman 70.3 Galway was a definite success which will be even bigger next year.

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