Ironman Copenhagen, 16 Aug 2026

On Sunday 16th August I completed Ironman Copenhagen, my first full distance triathlon. This race has been the focus of a two-year project for me, starting with a last-minute entry into Outlaw Holkham Half in July 2024. Since joining Catenary Coaching in October 2025 I have really felt the benefit of a structured programme set-up, and felt confident going in to the race, having completed two 70.3s and an Olympic distance triathlon in the lead-up and learned something from each of them.

The alarm went at 03:20 so we could get to T1 when it opened at 05:00. I did a last-minute check of my bike and a very perfunctory warm-up “swim” of getting some water in my wetsuit to warm it up without letting myself get too cold before the start. The atmosphere was intense, more so than any other race I’ve participated in and I was excited to get started.

The swim felt strong; I was really comfortable with the route, having arrived early enough in Copenhagen to visit the swim site and complete a practice swim. I had placed myself well in the timing brackets and was swimming with similar speed athletes and could take advantage of legal swim drafting. I felt comfortable in the open water and thoroughly enjoyed the swim.

The swim is my strongest sport of the three so I knew the other two legs would be tough. The bike was much tougher than I had anticipated. I’ve cycled 112 miles several times before but this was my first time treating it as a race. Coming out of the swim in a relatively high position meant that there were quite a few speedy cyclists coming out of the water behind me and I found getting overtaken much tougher mentally than I had expected. The course was quite open so we were being battered about by the wind but luckily the way back into the city was blessed with a tailwind which was a relief!

Coming into T2 was a bit of a shock to the system but I was relieved to get off the bike! I had been a little bit worried about what was coming after the bike during the final few miles of the ride but I found the atmosphere of the crowds around T2 really helped me mentally reset.

The run is my weakest leg of the three but I knew I had fuelled well on the bike and my legs had been gently warmed up by the two previous legs of the event! The crowds were amazing and the atmosphere made such a difference to how the run felt. My race plan for the marathon was essentially “get to half way and then cling on” and that’s very much what happened! The first half of the run was not miles off my usual half marathon pace and I was pleased to have held that after the swim and bike. The last 10km was tough but I’m really proud to have completed the race.

I’ve really enjoyed the process of preparing for this event and following the structure of the programme set by the Catenary team has worked well for me. I’m excited to work on my aerobic base and my strength over the winter in preparation for next summer’s racing!

Carys Hâf