Nick Saunders, Tri247's 'Ironman at large', raced Hawaii at the weekend and kindly sent us this report from the US on his way home.

I am sure most people with a keen interest in triathlon have seen all the results and splits from the Hawaii Ironman over the weekend. Over years gone past I have always looked at these and seen how close the times are and always thought, "Surely you could have taken the guy ahead of you, it's just a few seconds!" Not that easy!! At Kona every second counts so if you ever do this race remember that, it could cost you a few places.

I qualified for this race at Ironman New Zealand where I came a respectable 5th; on Saturday I came 37th overall and I am really chuffed with the result. Until you do this race it is hard to explain how hard it is. It is not just race day itself, most people arrive about two weeks before the race and there are a lot of egos running around Alii Drive, where I think the average pace is about 3.40 per km and everyone looks like a sun bronzed pro,except for me, of course. I think a lot of people get caught up in it all and then they go and smash themselves with all the extra training and come race day wonder what the hell hit them when they ride into a wall of wind and feel like they are running into hell itself! I had John Mergler and John Hill (both English, but living in Australia) staying with me and they held me back and advised me on race tactics, they are both veterans of the lava fields and have seen it all before having done 22 Konas between the two of them!

The day started for the pros at 6:45am in calm seas, until the gun went off, and then it felt like judgement day had arrived. This year most people were using the new swim suits, I had my new Orca SR1 which will be on sale in the UK for next season. I went as hard as I could to try and get behind a good pack but seemed to get knocked around a bit, once you get caught up in that you start losing feet. I stuck with the group I was in, which was the third main pack, and it had a lot of the lead girls, Scott Nyedli and Rutker Beke. We came out in just over 58 minutes to fantastic crowds lining the transition and the roads out to the Queen K Highway. I felt good and set out to try and hang onto Rutker Beke which lasted for about 5km and then I felt the pace was a bit fast for me and I might pay later in the race.

I settled into a small pack, I remember hearing I was in about 53rd place coming out of transition, and we had a slight headwind going out to the turn off to Hawi and then we were hit by a stronger headwind up to the turn around. By this time we were close to two hours into the bike ride and it was getting hot and the sun was almost at full strength. At each aid station I made sure I cooled off with as much water over my head and legs as I could, as well as taking in fluid for hydration. The turn around was a welcome sight and again was lined with spectators. It was then down hill to the Queen K and to face the crosswinds on the Hawi downhill section, at times you really had to hang on and lean into the wind coming from your right, you can see that the wind is strong when you look at the ocean and see the whitecaps from the wind.

I was careful to pace myself on the bike and went on heart rate, I let a few guys pass me as I did not want to blow heading back into town. Scott Neyedli caught me at about the 70 mile mark and we rode together until we got to the airport and then I dropped off the pace a bit and worked on getting some nutrition and fluid in. By this time it was really hotting up, my lower back was beginning to ache a bit and I started to prepare myself mentally for the marathon. Coming into transition is awesome, you forget about the pain until you get off your bike and then you realise you have just cycled 180km and you have to run all around the transition to get to your run bag. I stopped off to have a pee which, in hindsight, I could have done while out on the run. I was in there for at least a minute (remember, every second counts). My lower back was really hurting but once out running it seemed to improve and after the first mile I settled into a comfortable rhythm.

You loop out for an 8km out and back, then head back out of town to the infamous Natural Energy Lab. My plan for the marathon was to run three hours and I tried to hold 6:30 per mile for as long as I could, knowing I would slow down on the Queen K and then planned try and hold on for the last 10km coming back out of the Energy Lab. Once out on the Queen K the heat really hits you! At each aid station I tried to cool off with as many sponges and water/ice cups as I could. I made it to the Energy Lab have been passed twice, although I also passed a few guys that were either walkng or having a bad day. Heading back into town with just over six miles to go I made a real effort to hold onto seven minute mile pace.

Alii Drive was more than a welcome sight and it gives you the energy to get past the line, it is lined with screaming spectators one of which was my girlfriend Alexa. It's emotional to say the least, after all the hard work, not just in the race but in the journey that gets most people there. There are so many inspirational stories and people at this race. Amputees, wheelchair athletes, blind athletes, cancer/accident survivors and of course Chrissie Wellington!

How good was she! She shocked the Ironman world and it's great for British triathlon. Her speech at the awards was brilliant. Good luck to her, it just goes to show you don't need sponsors and federation backing to make it at the biggest race in the world. On a personal note this race was everything I ever wanted to do, I'll keep coming back, I'll be more agressive in future races here, train harder and be inspired by the people that do this race. If you do Ironman try your best to qualify and when you get here be happy just to finish.

Thanks to my sponsors; Profeet, High Five and Orca for the support during the season. The goal for next season; to qualify for Hawaii again and improve on 37th in the world. Well done to all the British pros and age groupers that made it here and to Chrissie and Scott for a great season.