Ironman Bolton 70.3, 30 Jun 2024

The aim for this race was to qualify for the 70.3 Ironman World Championships in New Zealand this December.

This was a grey, drizzly Sunday morning in June. It had rained overnight and we had not been allowed to cover our bikes. 

Setting up my bike computer in transition I managed to break my garmin mount which left me attaching it with borrowed cable ties and praying it would stay put.

After a lot of tension building and the national anthem, the swim was very well marked by huge buoys in a pleasant lake. I swam at 1.50/100m which is a lot slower than I would have liked, but realistic given my lack of commitment to swimming this year.

Out on the bike there were 2x laps of the lake then 2x laps of Bolton town centre. It was a bit windy, rainy, a few hills and I couldn't feel my toes. I held the power I was aiming for but overall was disappointed with my speed and in retrospect felt I could have held a higher power. Also I should have done an FTP test with my power pedals to check it was similar to the indoor trainer.

Finally onto the run, my legs felt fine, there were more supporters in Bolton town centre and the slightly hilly, technical course was to my advantage.

I finished 4th female overall, 3rd in my age group. I did manage to get a spot at the WC in NZ in December and have some work to do to be more competitive there, especially in the swim.

Becky Wright