Ironman Kalmar, 15 Aug 2026

Ironman Kalmar has got to be one of the best full distance races out there.

The swim was fast, I had the best swim of my life. It was very scrappy from the outset which seemed to bring out my inner scrum half. Despite the physicality, I settled into a good rhythm and swam through the jelly fish, one by one. The final 1.5 km was awesome, as we turned for the final leg, the crowds lining the sea wall were cheering several deep. I finished with an IM swim PB of 7 minutes. I thought someone had hit my watch and paused it - I was very surprised at swim exit!  It was a strong start to the day and gave me plenty of confidence heading onto the bike.

The bike course was beautiful, starting with the ride over the Öland Bridge and onto the island. The conditions made it a challenging day, with strong headwinds on the way out and difficult crosswinds across Öland. The tailwind on the return towards the bridge was very welcome and made for some very enjoyable fast riding. With around 20 miles to go, the wheels started to fall off and the final section became a real effort. I was very grateful to reach T2 and get onto the run. The work on the island landed me a 7 minute IM bike PB.

The run course is 3 laps with amazing crowds everywhere you look. Going into the race I knew I was carrying an injury and I agreed with my physio I would run walk. The main objective was simply to make it to the finish line, so having a plan that I was comfortable with helped massively from a mental perspective. I have never been so happy on an IM run! The plan clearly payed off as I ran a 34 minute IM run PB, Tim's run sessions pre injury have clearly been working in the background.

Overall, it was an awesome race. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to give IM a go or if you're particularly looking for a PB - it's a great day out for everyone!

Chloe Simper