So, I just went and qualified for Kona at Ironman UK 2021!

Getting to race at the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island has been that big long term goal. The type of goal you throw out there as an aspiration, maybe one year you will achieve it but you could just as likely never do it. A goal that challenges you to your limit and probably beyond your limits.

When I began running in 2015 I set myself one of those big long term goals of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, something I achieved in 2019 but never got to race Boston due to the pandemic.

When I raced my first triathlon in 2017, a local GoTri, I said I wanted to race in Kona. To achieve a goal like that you have to break it down into smaller more achievable goals. For me that was to firstly race a sprint distance, then 70.3 and then a full Ironman which I did at Ironman UK 2018 where I finished 158th in my 35-39 age group, a long way off that Kona slot but the first steps towards that end goal.

There is a video on YouTube posted by Ironman called IRONMAN — Anything is possible, I can’t tell you how many times I have watched this video and got pumped about an event or training block, getting excited about the prospect of taking more steps on the road to Kona. I love watching videos like this to motivate and inspire me.

I went into Ironman UK 2021 off the back of a 16 week injury layoff, only being able to string together 9 weeks of run training before race day. In fact, even just 6 weeks prior to race day I was still deciding whether I would even start this race. Then during the race, the bike leg was hit by a massive rainstorm, I don’t think I have ever been on the bike in such heavy rain. That rain made my hands go numb, I struggled to change gear and brake, I was shivering so much it was difficult to control the bike. I considered pulling over and dropping out so that I could warm up under a foil blanket.

In T2 my hands were so cold I had to ask someone to tie my shoes for me, the run was a struggle, I walked parts of the second half but I finished the race. I PB’d the swim, the bike, the run and the race overall. I improved on that 158th in my AG back in 2018, I moved up to 14th in the 40-44 AG.

Now I know that 14th in your AG would not normally get you a Kona slot unless it’s via the rolldown. I feel so lucky to have secured a Kona slot for 14th place. 2021 is no normal year so to have raced my best race in the year when extra Kona slots were available due to fewer qualifying races going ahead makes me feel like one of the luckiest guys alive.

Of course, I am not going to turn down the opportunity of a lifetime and achieve my long term goal of racing in the Ironman World Champs. I accepted the Kona slot!

Now what I don’t want is a repeat of what happened to my Boston Marathon dream. That race ended up being cancelled and when rescheduled for 18 months later with a reduced field size, my qualifying time was no longer sufficient to qualify me.

My concern with Kona is, I have qualified from a position that would not normally get me a slot. The race probably looks set to go ahead this year, however, the current US travel ban on people from the UK entering the states means I cannot get to Hawaii. My gamble is this ban will be lifted or eased before I am due to travel to Hawaii in early October. As someone who is fully vaccinated and with a Pfizer vaccine I believe this will put me in a more favourable position when/if restrictions are amended.

If I am not able to travel then there is no deferral to 2022, I will have to requalify and having only just scraped a 14th place it could be a long long time until I qualify again, if ever.

For now, it is time to train ready for 9th October and plan my travel (fully refundable) to Hawaii.