I don’t think I’ve ever been excited for so long leading up to a race. Yes, there were waves of nerves in the weeks before—those horrible, stomach-churning ones—but the overriding feeling was pure, bubbling excitement. I just couldn’t wait to start. It had been a strange year: five weeks off with illness in February and March, which meant I didn’t manage any warm-up races before my A-race, Bolton 70.3, where my goal was to qualify for the Worlds. I missed out last year thanks

After years of racing, I finally made it to Kona, Hawaii the home of Ironman.  Stepping of the plane you are instantly hit by the most intense heat and humidity. The airport arrivals was like something I had never seen before it, looks awfully like the cafe and gifts shop area at Knowsley safari park just a little warmer.  We arrived, our luggage arrived all be it damaged but my prized possession and trusted stead was still in Seattle, on this occasion I was not panicking I h

Ironman number two for me was the biggest of them all, the big dance on the Big Island. My prep was going great: I was consistent in TrainingPeaks, feeling strong, and everything was coming together. But three weeks out, I rolled my ankle. I couldn’t run it off, and deep down, I knew I was in trouble. A scan and a few physio visits later, I ended up having a steroid injection to give myself the best shot at making it to the start line. That meant no training for a few days po

Pre-Race: The Calm Before the Cannon Race morning at the Ironman World Championships, Kona. The air was thick with nerves, humidity, and excitement. A brief stint of rain had rolled through earlier — just enough to add some drama to the sunrise — but spirits were high. Surprisingly, I wasn’t as stressed as usual. I felt calm, grounded, and genuinely ready to enjoy this race — a rare feeling when you’re about to take on 140.6 miles of suffering. I checked my bike thoroughly, d

The whole journey to the Ironman World Championships in Nice this year only really started in May!    I had not been to an Ironman Slot Allocation session since 2017 when Danny qualified for Kona, so I only had anecdotal information about how far slots were rolling in recent years.  I had never really been that concerned, as I had held the personal opinion, that I would only take a slot if I finished in an automatic qualification slot.   A couple of things happened this year

When Leeds was announced as the new venue of Ironman England 140.6 it was an easy decision to make this my tenth long distance triathlon....

It's 5 Years since I managed to get to an Ironman start line due to injury and that small episode called COVID lockdown.  Now I could...

Early 2024 and we decided we needed a girls trip to Nice to support Bex Smith and see what all this World Championships fuss was about.  ...

Unfinished business I had my first ever DNF at the European Champs in Almere last year, so this was unfinished business. After coming off...

So as anyone that read the IM Vitoria Gasteiz race report will know, we are currently making our way around Europe with our caravan for a...

After mine and Ann’s European Tour in 2023, I started to look for races that could be included in a similar tour in 2024. Ironman Vitoria...

Ever since being the support crew on Swissman last year, I had a desire to push myself on an extreme triathlon event.  Knowing I don’t...

Challenge Roth. Those who know, know🤯. My main aim was to enjoy this one and soak it all in. Challenge Roth is recognised as the biggest...

What do you like to do on your Birthday? Spend time with family and friends, maybe eat a bit of cake and drink a glass or two… For my...

Well, that happened - Cape Wrath Ultra – just under a week since I completed 400km with 11,400 meters of elevation over 8 days in the...

This race report begins a few days ahead of race day, it’s definitely worth setting the scene here… Wednesday - Arrival I travelled with...

Prior to Ironman Cork in August, I knew about Kona of course, but it had never even crossed my mind that it would even be a possibility. ...

Legend has it that Swimrun originated in 2002 in Sweden. The story goes that the brothers Matt and Jesper Andersson, Anders Malm and...

What would an 8 week European vacation be without a triathlon in it somewhere! 4 weeks in France and a week at the side of Lake Garda,...

In 4 years of doing triathlons I had steered clear of the Ironman brand viewing it as expensive and (if I’m honest) a bit scary – only...

On the back of the highs of LakesMan and 255 in 2022, I decided I wanted to tackle my first IronMan, and what better course than the...

Multi sport is such adventure, the nerves, the stress, the highs and the lows and taking it abroad heightens all of these. Why do we do...

Having previously completed 140.6 distance at Outlaw in 2021 and Lakesman in 2022, I was keen to try an Ironman-branded event. After...

Having come out of the Snowman 70.3 the week before feeling in decent condition (surprisingly decent given how hard that race was in the...

Lead by Nigel Swepson, one of only 6 people to complete all of the Outlaw Full races, SEC descended on Nottingham. Mark Bedford and...

Lakesman 2023 So the Lakesman weekend is a favourite of the SEC team, and this year didn’t disappoint. We had 11 athletes entered in the...

I signed up for Challenge Salou 70.3 after looking for a race to get stuck into in preparation for The Lakesman Full. Salou is a renowned...

Ironman Lanzarote- the world’s hardest ironman event. Siobhan Brewer Summary If you are short on time and can’t be bothered to read about...

500m swim (outdoor brine pool - interesting), 21k Bike (1 loop - nice scenery, shockingly bad road surfaces), 5k Run (4 laps - not fun)...

The closer race week was getting the more excited I was getting. For me this race was my first test of the year and first race in SEC...

Waaaaay back in 2016 at the London Marathon Expo I came across a little unassuming stall that had a display of the most amazing running...

Bangor Half Marathon (to start or not?) On an easy long run in October last year I got ‘caught up’ in the Bangor half marathon and...

After what felt like good night sleep (I couldn’t believe it either!!!) I arrived in transition in good time to re-inflate my tyres and...

So, spectator boots on again, missing the 3rd of my September 70.3s due to the old COVID, we headed off to Outlaw X. This would be Danny...

In 2019 I unexpectedly crossed the finish line of Outlaw X 2nd in my age group and subsequently qualified to race with team GB at the...

Weymouth was my end of season race, and at the beginning of the year I had no goals or targets connected to it. As the season went on and...

At the start of 2022 I sustained a knee injury which stopped me doing all my regular exercise. So at the grand old age of 57 I asked...

Ironman Wales 2022 race report – Siobhan Brewer The ‘A’ race. I always secretly like have to have the fear and the knot in the stomach...

Adaptability or just plain stupidity, only time will tell, but my final race leading into Bilbao Middle distance did not go to plan at...

Way back in March and in the midst of LakesMan training, I must have been on a rest day and bored or something because I got to thinking...

IM Vichy has been on my list for a long time. As a family, we have spent a good chunk of July and August in our caravan in France for...

Credit to SEC founder member William Galvin for the report and to his wife Kate for outstanding logistics management and an awesome pasta...

After such a disappointing Lakesman weekend I wasn’t even sure I would get to the start line for the Classic, morale and motivation...

Challenge Roth is truly incredible! The support and event are completely out of this world and I would 100% recommend this race to...

Way back in 2019, after I had done Roth in 2018, me and Dan decided to play the lottery game and try to get a place for 2020. For those...

Me again…… not entirely sure where to start this time……. When I signed up with Coach Paul in March 2021, I told him that I firstly needed...

The Lakesman is one of my favourite weekends in the calendar. This being my fourth time racing the event, two fulls and this would be my...

This is a race that I’ve always fancied doing, but have always favoured Outlaw 70.3 Notts as my 140.6 prep race, because its generally a...

Where to start! First event of the year and my first in the SEC colours! Training has been great through the winter and into the spring...

For the last 5 or 6 years (apart from the obvious Covid restrictions) I have been over to Lanzarote with others from my Tri club around...