Not my first iron distance Tri, but first official Ironman race. The positives. Really well organised. Support is fantastic. Staff / volunteers are amazing. The feeling running down the red carpet at the finish you will treasure for ever. Good medal. Finisher Tee shirt was nice. I thought the split transitions was very well organised and not an issue. The not so positives. The course. It’s brutally hard. I’m a seasoned cyclist, OK runner and can swim. Many did not meet the cut off and DNF’d. The caveat to this was the weather. It was windy making the exposed lake choppy and the ride hellish and, while appreciate they want to challenge you I am not sure it really needs to be so hard. >10000 ft climbing is a lot and even with the many reported potholes fixed many of the descents were challenging. Maybe easing the difficulty would encourage more to sign up. Only 1100 of the 1500 athletes registered started the race. Overall I am very happy. I am an Ironman. Would I do it again? no. The high entrance fee and real possibility of not finishing, if the weather is rubbish or have a mechanical issue, is enough to have me look at a race elsewhere.

After completing various sprint, standard and three middle distance triathlons, as well as three marathons, it was time to go long and take on the the full ironman. I don't live too far from Bolton so it took a lot of travel stress out of it. First impressions of Bolton itself were awful: road works and long traffic jams, pretty run down in parts. Not the glamour you see in the brochure. I finally found a parking spot in a very expensive multi storey and walked up to register. The event village had a real buzz, Iron kids was going on and i started to feel the Ironman buzz. Registration was easy, no queues, though the free event rucksack was poor quality ( the one i got at Stafford 70.3 was great and very useful to this day). I was also given a postcard with a hand written message from a local primary school child. The message read: You Can Do This, signed Emma Y4. I like that, I really like that, and it became my mantra for the day. Next was a drive over to T1 and the lake to rack my bike. More queuing in traffic. Had a nice chat with other competitors at T1, though many seemed a bit mithered from the traffic too. Then a drive back to Bolton ( more heavy traffic) where i stayed at the excellent Bolton Macron Stadium. It took awhile to switch off and I only got 3-4 hours sleep, then up at 4am to drive back to Bolton, find an expensive parking space ( why not free on a sunday?) and then find the bus to take us all the way back to the lake. The Swim: Not enough toilets at the lake. I waited in a queue and by the time id finished i was at the back of the self seeding swim queue. This was my mistake. Consequently I was behind lots of slower swimmers and so had to battle past them on the first loop. The second loop I found clearer water. I thought the lake, the water, was lovely. Not choppy but very smooth and I enjoyed the swim. Next time I'll just pee in the wetsuit. The Bike. So, first thing to say is that the weather forecast was 15 degrees and sunny so I put on my full sun sunglasses, but it was actually rainy and very overcast so my memory of the bike is literally of dim, low light. The route is very hilly and hard though after many years of mountain biking i really liked that. Also, fancy time trial bikes will do you no good up in them thar hills so the odds were even! I struggled on the descents as the roads are just awful and combined with my sunglasses and low light made it difficult to spot the many pot holes. Some good support, those wrestler guys are awesome, shaking my head here and smiling at the thought of them, though the weather kept many away. The Run: This should be the highlight for Bolton, but I had a bad run. The crowd support along the road and in the park is amazing. Regular feed tables and toilets. Trouble was, I got bad stomach cramps 2 hours into the run and so it turned into a real battle for me. I do think the messing around the day before played a factor in my gut problems. I prefer the day before a race to chill, but I felt the hassle of the day before added to what is already a nerve wracking experience and I honestly think contributed to the gut problems. Earlier this year I did Mallorca 70.3 and there was just no hassle at all the day before or on the morning of the event. It makes all the difference. Anyway, I slogged on and finished. I had originally entered Copenhagen 2020, but Covid and other factors meant it never happened and I ended up registering for Bolton. So after all the set backs, injuries, a global pandemic, it was just THE best feeling in the world to finally run down that red carpet to the loud cheers of the fantastic Northern crowd and get that ironman medal. Thank you to the wonderful volunteers and supporters, especially to Emma, Year 4. I am an Ironman!

This event lacked any kind of Ironman buzz i have previously encountered. The whole weekend seemed lack lustre. Split transitions is a nightmare, start, T1, T2 and finish all in different places. If you are racking on your own be prepared to get frustrated. Race day start was very unspectacular, i was queuing up ready to race and wasn't 100% whether the race was underway or not. heard the Anthem and thunderstruck in the distance so i presumed it had. Swim was OK, two loops around the lake with an aussie exit to break it up. T1 was smooth in an out, with the exception of an overcrowded, and very small change area. Judging by the amount of people doing a complete kit change, maybe a bigger tent would be appropriate. Bike course was as expected...HILLY!!! What i didnt expect was the poor conditions of the roads. I was pre-warned, but was still shocked by the sheer danger aspect of the poor conditions. The support on the bike was quite poor compared to that of Wales or Weymouth, but the wrestlers made up for that...They were awesome. Due to illness, i had to pull out of the bike so i cant comment on the run, but by all accounts, it was challenging but the support was more evident than the bike. My biggest gripe of the day was as a DNF, i felt like i was abandoned by Ironman and let to fend for myself. I was not allowed access to my bike (despite having a wristband and race number still attached). My car key was in my saddle bag, and all my valuables were in my car. I was left wandering the streets of Bolton in my tri kit and cycling shoes for a few hours, with no phone, money or access to any food or drink. As i was on my own, i felt kind of neglected by the race organisers. Luckily, i had a run special needs bags which i walked to and managed to find my energy drinks that i had pre prepared. Would i do Bolton again? No!!! The split transitions have put me off ever doing a triathlon with this set up, the poor road surfaces were too risky for my liking and memory of feeling abandoned post race, needing food and drink has left an everlasting scar with ironman.

What an amazing experience! From registering to collecting my equipment I was kept informed and felt confident that I hadn't missed anything. Due to the cost of the event it was great to see that there was the opportunity to spread the cost across 3 payments. This made it more manageable for me personally. I received a number of emails leading up to the event with valuable hints and tips including transport links and locations which would be key on the days leading up to the race. The week leading up to the race was filled with communications including the race briefing which covered everything you need to know. There was also a Q&A session should you have any further questions. You will also receive a map via email listing the key locations such as the event village and transitions as well as parking. Upon arrival I parked in a local car park and as soon as I exited the multistory I was confronted with a sign that pointed me in the direction of registration which I followed and there was no doubt when I arrived. I made my way to registration and I was seen immediately having to provide my QR code and race license in order to receive my race pack. The entire process took no more than 5 minutes. In this pack you will receive everything you need including a guide to ensure you don't forget to put an critical items in your transition bags. On the Saturday before the race there was the opportunity to have a practice swim in the lake which I would suggest you do. You then know the temperature and what conditions you're going to swim in rather than being confronted by it on race day. Following that I went to the two transitions to drop off my equipment and collect my race timing chip. This entire process was simple and I felt confident that I had done everything. On race morning I arrived at the lake and after getting sorted I dropped my white bag which off with the event team. This bag contained anything I would need after the race and would be transported to the finish. The swim start required you to self seed and there were a number of timing markers to utilise to make sure you were in the water with swimmers of a similar ability. The race started at 0600 hrs but I didn't enter the water until 0620 hrs due to seeding myself in the 1 hour 30 min group. Upon completion of the swim I moved into transition 1 to get ready for the bike. There were plenty of benches to use and team members on hand to assist. Now it was onto the bike. Please do not underestimate how hilly this bike route is. Although there are no steep climbs there are plenty of long climbs but some really fun descents to enjoy too. There are 2 aid stations on the course where water, gatorade and bananas were available as well as toilets. The support was amazing with support along the majority of the route ranging from locals cheering to the famous wrestlers with a full sound system on the go. 3 laps of the course before coming into transition 2. Once out on the run the support is endless with crowds everywhere who didn't go silent. The course is hilly so don't go out to hard and remember it is a marathon. The route course requires you to complete 4 laps collecting a wrist band on each so you don't forget. There are aid stations roughly every 2 miles offering water, coke, gels, crisps and bananas. Make full use of these but be careful not to use a new gel as you don't know how your gut will react. So you have done the swim, bike and run, now it's time to run down that red carpet and hear those words. What an amazing feeling. Following this you are presented with your medal and move into the recovery phase where you're handed water, food and the option of free massage. I took this and had to wait for about 10 minutes to receive a 15 minute massage. On exiting the tent I collected my finishers t-shirt and then went to collect my gear. Although everything is located separately all your gear is moved to transition 2 which makes collecting it easy. You just need to find somewhere to park as the roads around the event will still be closed. This is an event that needs is challenging but rewarding and as long as you have prepared properly you will be successful.

This is my 3rd time at UK, think the new course has spoiled the event slightly, but to be fair it's only it's first year so it hasn't really bedded in yet.

Swim

As usual Pennington not the nicest place to swim but seemed a lot clearer this year

Bike

Same course up to Bolton then changed massively, there are no real steep hills just a hell of a lot of long drags, and short sharp descents some quite dodgy support wasnt half as good as usual on bike maybe because people are trying out new areas to spectate sure it will get better

Good thing is last 10 miles either down or flat so get a little relief before you start the run

Run

Just amazing support on the run us unreal, my top tip to anyone doing it is to engage the crowd they will remember you and it really helps mentally when your struggling

Finish 

Really good this year loads and loads cakes flapjacks etc and as much dominoes pizza as you could eat😊😊

My first Ironman and the hottest summer for 44 years! 🤦‍♂️ The pre-race info was great including a full race briefing the day before in the town hall. The swim in Pennington lake was fine, entered in waves of 10, albeit only 8 seconds apart, so choppy and busy to start with. Soon thinned out especially on the second loop (Aussie style out and back in). Good T1 with plenty of helpers for bags etc. (not easy with that many competitors). The ride was shortened slightly due to the fires on the Moors but still 100+ and challenging enough. Mostly flat but with 3 climbs on each of the 2 laps. One is pretty big, the other two are up through villages where the locals come out enmass to cheer you up, with cowbells and running alongside shouting encouragement! Felt like a world tour event!! 🤣🤣 The run was mostly flat but with a short sharp ramp up through the park at the bringing of each lap. There's 4 laps which takes a bit of mental strength once you've seen it 3 times before but lots of local support on the main road (pubs on either side) to cheer you on. 38° at 14:00 when I started the marathon was too hot for me, but they'd added extra water stations to help. The finish was great with commentating over the loud speakers ("you are an Ironman!!"), and the finish tent had all you could eat Dominoes pizza (and I did eat all I could!!) Slight drawback to have to walk a mile or so back from the finish to T2 to collect your bike, but overall this is a great event and (I'm told) one of the "easier" Ironman events for first timers!

I may be a little biased about Ironman UK seeing as I live on the bike course, but having been both athlete and spectator it is one of the best days of the year!!

Never been a fan of swimming, but the “Australian exit” certainly helped to break it up a little bit for me.

The bike course is a great one, lumpy and bumpy for the majority, but can certainly pick up a bit of speed on particular sections. The support through Adlington and up Babylon Lane is phenomenal! Babylon Lane in particular is an emotional moment when your friends and family are there to cheer you on, but also so is the whole village, lining the streets like a scene from TdF!

However, the support on the run is second to none. Even towards the end, there were still plenty of locals and local Tri clubs out there supporting everyone! 

Advice for anyone thinking of doing it - recce the course! Both bike and run. Sheephouse Lane and Hunters Hill are not for the faint hearted, especially twice! And there’s a couple of cheeky hills on the run that you don’t think of until race day.