Earlier this year, age group athlete Russell Cox reported on his race at Ironman Australia. Despite racing at Quelle Challenge Roth only three weeks previously, Russell was racing at Ironman UK in Bolton and looking for a Kona slot, his last chance at it this year. Could he produce the result he needed in his fourth iron distance race of the year?

I questioned the wisdom of my Ironman UK entry on the drive up to Bolton. Regular waves of heavy rain lashing against the car did nothing to encourage me or my travel mate Toby Radcliffe. We'd both avoided the cold UK winter by training in Australia and now we'd be racing in this?

Originally I'd entered Ironman UK for fun and to race long course back home after so much time abroad. In the months since that entry it had taken on a lot more significance. My bids for a Hawaii slot had so far failed. This was the last chance. Not that there were many slots to go round - I was well aware that I needed a top performance to take one. Still, I'd prefer to be warm and dry in the process!

The last few days made it quite clear that mud and probably rain would be the defining features of this race! Transition reminded me of the flooding that occurred at Ironman Australia earlier in the year. It's not just us who get these problems! I watched weather reports obsessively, but knew it was out of my control. With a long season of races behind me I'm well practised at staying calm in the build up.

Calmness remained until I was floating in Rivington Reservoir a few minutes before six waiting for the start. The water seemed colder than it had during the Friday swim practice. Feeling more confident about my swimming I positioned myself up the front. It was pleasant to be less crowded than most Ironmans I've done, UK athletes must like to space themselves out in the water. After a slightly delay to get everyone in we were off.

From the start I felt good. Able to hold a comfortable pace and apparently keeping my ground. Exactly what I wanted. The swim isn't my strength, but I've been working away at it and slowly improving. I was hoping to break the hour without having to overwork myself. As I rounded the second buoy, there was a familiar tap on my feet, followed by an unfamiliar pain in my calf. A cramp! I didn't panic just relaxed the leg, but the shock paused me in my swim. It was interesting to look back and see all the swimmers coming at me, I certainly appreciated not being in much of a bunch right then it could have got ugly! Oddly the guy who tapped my feet paused to tell me the direction I should be swimming in.

Almost immeadiately I set back to swimming, driven on by frustration. Settling back into my stroke I think I started to make a bit more headway up the field. All the time I was very aware of the little twinges coming from the calf. Worries about whether it would impact the bike or run filled my head. I pushed them back reminding myself to wait and see what happened. My swim exit was tentative and slow, carefully putting weight on the leg and learning it wasn't going to be too bad. Once I'd established I could stand on it I started on the up hill run to transition.

As I crossed the timing mat I glanced at my watch and saw 1:08!

Swimming isn't my strength, but I'm not that slow! More worries, but again I calmed myself remembering it was the number of bikes still in transition that was important. I took my time, partly being overly cautious about the cramp and partly because I didn't prepare my arm warmers well and took ages to get them on cold, damp arms. For future reference carefully rolling them could save a minute in T1! Dashing through the mud it was clear that plenty of bikes were still racked so nothing to worry about yet.

My only experience of the bike course had been driving the lap on the previous Thursday. Funny how a course seems from a car is quite different to on the bike. Sheephouse Lane for example is much tougher to ride than to drive up! My plans for the bike were based on controlling my heart rate. That started by letting it settle before raising the effort to proper race pace. Having the route's major climb right outside transition put pay to that. Add the crowds of spectators cheering you on and it was easy to over do it. I put in a relatively strong climb, going a little harder than I wanted, but nothing to really concern me. Mostly I was relieved that it wasn't too long or hard. The descent afterwards gave plenty of opportunity to relax and recover.

At Belmont you turn onto what was potentially the fast section of the course. To be fair it was the fastest section, but with the wind in your face some of that potential speed was curbed. I discovered that once again my 11 tooth cog was skipping despite my efforts to fix it. I made a mental note to really get that sorted next time. With only that minor irritation I got on with the work at hand and started to enjoy the bike course. I have to say I really liked the route, suitably challenging without being silly. The marshalling and traffic control worked well too with no delays.

Over three laps things thinned out a little and at times it felt almost lonely out there. I hoped this was a good sign I'd moved up to the pointy end of the field. I had one or two athletes for company and we would exchange positions as the course played to our strengths. With the final 30 kilometres to go I was feeling good and made a big push leaving those companions behind. I rode at the harder pace all the way back to transition, but did wonder if perhaps it was too much.

I arrived back to T2 with a bike time of 5:36. Nothing to set the world alight, but a good indication of how tough the route is. It certainly isn't a PB course as that time now had me in the top fifty.

Another relatively sedate transition taking my time to put on compression socks. Fortunately I have learnt to roll them for quicker access! Then out onto the run to find my legs felt pretty good.

Whilst I've spoken about remaining calm my whole race had an underlying tension. I would constantly question what I was doing. Riding too hard or too easy? Eating too much or too little? I was scared a silly mistake might cost me the race I wanted. Once I was out on the road I could see five or six athletes not far ahead of me. Though I was keen to pass them I knew there was a few more hours to do it and controlling my pace was more important.

About eight minutes into the run I was pretty sure there was no marker for mile one. By sixteen minutes it looked like mile two was unmarked as well. Much as I wanted to track my pace there was nothing I could do, but keep running and focus on effort. A lack of familiarity with the course led to a lot of surprises mostly in the form of hills. There were far more steep little climbs than I'd expected. I'm sure it was undulating, not hilly! Still, stick to the mantra of controlling my effort and it would be fine. Clearly it was working I'd overtaken a few people already.

With the course looping back on itself I could roughly count my position. I now knew I was probably in the twenties. Once more athletes were running it became impossible to tell. When a young guy came moving past me on my return leg I could only hope he was on his first lap and feeling fresh! My legs were aching as I guessed I was about 25km in. I thought my nutrition was fine though so whilst the worries were there I kept reminding myself to hold on. Just trust in your plan.

Running back down to the canal path a woman came flying past. You'll have to forgive a brief moment of sexism when I thought a woman shouldn't be out running me! (Two women beat me in this race and by a decent margin.) It kicked me out of a slump though. Looking at my watch I was around 2:30 into the run. Assuming I was on pace that would mean 40 to 50 minutes to go. I felt good, well OK not good, but I had reserves. It was time to push.

I raised my pace and tried to catch her. It wasn't happening, I was going faster, but could only match her speed. The main objective was achieved though I was now making good progress. The final few miles were hard work and a lot of concentration. I focussed on keeping the pace high and moving forward not worrying about the distance to the finish line. It worked well and a few more places fell.

Finally out of Queens Park and onto the back streets of Bolton. At this point I was going full out and just hoping it wasn't too far. One final corner and there was the Town Hall, the giant screen and a spectacular finish chute. I did the best impression of a sprint that I could manage to cross the line.

With no firm idea of placing I was still delighted with my performance. It had been a tough day and I was sure I'd done well. As I collected my finisher's shirt I realised I could estimate my position by counting how many names were ticked off! A quick scan and it looked like I was third in my age group and on the podium for the first time at an Ironman!

There was the small matter of two Kona slots though, that was still up in the air. You have to really appreciate the advances of mobile phones. Once in the recovery area I used mine to check my e-mail. Sitting in my inbox was a mail to let me know that Alex Brooks, second in my age group already had a Kona slot so a roll down spot should be mine! I'm not one to count my chickens before they've hatched, but still I couldn't wait for the Awards Ceremony. As it happened during the rolldown my age group ended up with a third slot anyway. The important thing was I got my slot! After a year of trying it finally happened at my last chance race. I've not entirely come down from the excitement of the race and my Kona slot. I have to say a big thanks to all the friends who've supported and congratulated me. Also thanks to my supporters and sponsors. Jaggad (www.jaggad.com) for helping me with my kit. It did a great job on the day and from the number of comments about the Kangaroo on the back certainly got noticed! Also to the guys at mysportingtimes (www.mysportingtimes.com) and the blueseventy Open Water Swim Centre. I'm still not the fastest swimmer, but their support and facilities have helped me improve.

I'm taking a couple of weeks rest to recover from the four Ironman races so far this year. Then I'd better think about getting ready for Kona!

You can keep up-to-date with Russell and his progress via his excellent blog: www.trainstravels.co.uk