Ironman and me

Side boob - The classic 1989 race

In 1977 what we now know as 'Ironman Triathlon' was dreamt up by a group of - quite possibly pissed-up - athletes at an award ceremony in Hawaii. Members of the various sporting clubs were debating which athletes were the fittest; swimmers, runners or cyclists. One suggested that this could be settled by combining the three existing long distance races on the island under the fairly new concept of a triathlon. The first to finish would be called the Iron Man.

On February 18th 1978, 15 men took to the line to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 and run a full marathon distance of 26.2. 12 finished and the world (or at least a small part of it) had witnessed its first Ironman event.

Picton, NZ

I was far from creation when this happened, and it would take until 2003 for me to first hear of such a thing. Whilst travelling I found myself in Picton, New Zealand hiking along the coast when this guy (let's call him Jack) zoomed past in a sweat sporting the most impressive running clobber. Upon his return much later he came to a halt where I nabbed him for some 'yes-I'm-from-England-and-I'm-here-in-New Zealand' small talk. When congratulated on his athletic prowess Jack explained that he was in training for 'Ironman' and just what exactly that entailed. Blown away by the sheer distance and so far removed from my travelling lifestyle, I thought little of it other than "wow, what a lunatic".

Maybe it was having some marathons under my belt or maybe it was the years I'd spent chained to my desk as an accountant, that when I next came across the sport I would be inspired to become an Ironman myself. Flicking through a sports magazine aimlessly one lunchtime I came across an interview with a certain Chrissie Wellington, I was transfixed. This woman not only raced Ironman, but was in fact the world champion and world record holder, and British too. Her training programme, discipline and drive was incredible. It appealed immensely. 

There were a couple of problems though. I couldn't actually swim 'proper' and I hadn't ridden a bike since my childhood. I set to it to rectify these omissions and trained like a trooper to get up to speed physically, and to overcome the great procrastination of gear purchase and event entry. In September 2013, 10 years after meeting 'Jack' I entered Ironman Wales for 2014.




Images: Pinterest

Welcome to Run Norris Run

I think about running most of my waking life and the people around me know this so I therefore talk about running most of my waking life.  It was time to start sharing my thoughts and stories on running (and triathlon) within the blogosphere.

Running was where it all began for me but I now doth venture into the land of swim, bike, run - inspo Chrissie Wellington, more to come on that.

After spectating for a couple of years, my first marathon was Beachy Head 2009.  I remember thinking it seemed the ultimate challenge and was seriously nervous about what lay ahead.  The weather was atrocious and my running get-up was basic to say the least, but I finished respectfully and bloody loved it!

Before I found lycra

Being a Londoner of course I've run the Flora Virgin Marathon a couple of times and it is there that my PB lies at 3:14.  I've never run another road marathon preferring the trail and the serenity it offers.

Was tempted to run home

The marathons racked up but it was one in particular that showed me just how much more of a challenge there was out there - The Picnic.  Billed as the 'toughest' marathon in the land, it was and is insane and I think only those that have run it can possibly understand its sheer joke of a route.

The start - 6000ft of height gain/loss

It was around this time in 2011 that I came across the term ultramarathon.  I was looking into joining a running club and whilst checking out the Serpentine website I came across James Adams who was running the breadth of America...jeez.  His endeavours inspired me to do a couple of 50s and eventually my first 100k from London to Brighton - this year I finished in 12:02 and placed 25th.

And it was still light

In addition to all the running, the past year has seen me put in some serious hours in the pool and on the bike all a result of an Ironman dream I've harboured for a few years.  More on triathlon later, but this happened last month and it is now official 'Craig Norris you are an Ironman'.

Warning: Triathlon ain't cheap

So what's next?

Well, for 2015 I have entered my first 100 mile ultramarathon - the South Downs Way 100.  Should I finish that in one piece, I'll be hoping to enter one of the big races; (and it seems odd to put my name to these) GUCR, Spartathlon, UTMB, Badwater (if they allow it back).  There is so much out there and I am in absolute awe of the ladies and gentlemen who partake in these races that make my efforts look like a Parkrun.

I'll be racing Ironman Wales again, and being 'only' 2 hours off Kona qualification in my first attempt, maybe Hawaii one day may be a thing...

Images: Pinterest