<?xml version="1.0"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>Long Distance - Tri247</title><link>http://www.tri247.com/index.html</link><description>Latest long distance articles from Tri247</description><item><title><![CDATA[Norseman Triathlon and blueseventy announce partnership]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9624.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[The  Norseman Extreme Triathlon, one of the world&#039;s most difficult triathlons, and  blueseventy, the worldwide leader in open water swimming wetsuits and equipment  is announcing a three year partnership in which blueseventy will be the  official wetsuit and goggle of the Norseman.

&amp;ldquo;We  couldn&#039;t be happier to be working with blueseventy,&amp;rdquo; said Norseman General  Manager, Dag Oliver.  &amp;ldquo;Our competitors require the absolute best equipment  for our gruelling event, and blueseventy manufactures the best wetsuits and  goggles on the planet.  Even better, they are a company that truly  understands the sacrifice our athletes make to train for and complete our race  and the passion they have for the sport of triathlon.&amp;rdquo;

Tim  Moxey, CEO of blueseventy, was equally excited about the partnership.   &amp;ldquo;The image of athletes jumping from a boat into the misty fjord at the start of  the Norseman is one of the most iconic in our sport, and we&#039;re delighted to  partner the event. We are confident that our triathlon range will help athletes conquer the elements and extreme conditions of the Norseman.&amp;rdquo;

Norseman  is the world&#039;s most northern triathlon, at the same latitude as Anchorage,  Alaska. The point-to-point race takes competitors through some of the most  beautiful parts of Norway, starting in a fjord and finishing at the top of  Gaustatoppen Mountain for a total ascent of 5,000 meters.  Noreseman is owned and organized by the 20 members of the Hardangervidda Triathlon Klubb.  Competitors are required to complete the race with a support crew and the prize  to the winner is the same as to the last to finisher at the top of the  mountain: a coveted black T-shirt.  For more information, visit the  website at www.nxtri.com.

blueseventy, aptly named to suggest 70% of the earth covered in water, is the world leader in triathlon and open water wetsuits, swimskins and goggles. Since 1993, the  company has designed, tested, refined and crafted products using superior materials and revolutionary details that equate to comfort, freedom from restriction and ultimately a competitive advantage in the water. blueseventy products have instilled confidence in beginners as well as carried world-class athletes to countless Olympic and World victories. For more information, visit www.blueseventy.com.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Buff to sponsor Enduroman again]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9621.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[The Enduroman UK is the largest gathering of ultra-triathletes on the planet. It is a 10-day extravaganza incorporating eight separate races and takes place at the at the Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Centre, in the New Forsest, Hampshire between June 1st and 10th. Each &lsquo;Enduroman&rsquo; is held over the standard ironman distance of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile marathon run. During the 10 days there is a half, full, double, triple, quintuple and deca Enduroman race as well as a 100 mile ultra marathon.

The triple is the longest continuous event where triathletes have to swim 7.2 miles, cycle 336 miles then run 78 miles (a triple marathon).

The deca is the blue ribbon event where each day for 10 days triathletes complete a full Enduroman race. Finishers of the Deca will have completed 24 miles of swimming, 1120 miles of cycling and 262 miles of swimming. Out of the 20 Deca starters in 2011, only three triathletes finished all 10.

Athletes experienced extremes of weather with some suffering from heat exhaustion on day 1 and hyperthermia on day 10 coupled with some of the worst
weather ever recorded in for the month of June.

It is imperative that Enduroman athletes are fully prepared for the challenges ahead including cycling on open roads in the New Forest in pitch darkness in middle of the night and jumping into an ice-cold lake the following morning. To do this, they must possess the correct equipment to them on their journey.

Steve Haywood, Event Director said, &ldquo;Enduroman are extremely proud and delighted to announce that Buff&reg;, the headwear and apparel brand will continue its support and sponsorship of The Enduroman UK in 2012. The Original Buff&reg; has proved to be the &lsquo;must have&rsquo; piece of equipment and is used by every competitor. It&rsquo;s amazing to see the versatility of these items as athletes use their Buff&reg; headwear to prevent chaffing around their necks, under their wetsuits, as a warm head cover for exiting the lake, around their necks to minimise exposure during the bike ride, for protection from the sun&rsquo;s harm on their faces whilst on the run stage as well as the more usual sweat bands and hair ties.&rdquo;

This year&rsquo;s the sponsorship is extended to include the provision of technical t-shirts which will almost certainly be tested to the limit.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Fastest British Iron Men]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9514.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Regular readers of Tri247 will be aware that your Editor does have more than a passing interest in triathlon statistics, especially of the iron-distance variety. Here is a brand new addition to my portfolio of iron-distance data.

I&#039;ve had this one almost put together for a while now, but recent events have somewhat delayed its completion and publication. With a new year, it was time to get it finished and published. Ironically, I must have had three separate enquiries in recent months from British professional iron-distance athletes about where they might fit into this type of ranking...now you know guys!

Having previously written, and subsequently updated, the Fastest British Iron Ladies article (charting every sub-nine hour 15 minute iron distance finish by British female athletes ever recorded), I wanted to do similar for the British men. I also left that article with the thought &amp;quot;If Chrissie Wellington has an 8:18:13 finish to her name, and the British men&#039;s Ironman record is 8:01:29, where would Chrissie&#039;s best sit in the British men&#039;s ranking?&amp;quot; Here is the answer to that one too...



Starting in 2009 and expanded throughout the last few seasons, I embarked on a project to pull together a variety of iron distance statistics and records. Links to all of the current reference articles can be found at the foot of this article, which variously cover both an International and a British perspective, finishing times and podium positions.

Part of this was for personal desire - I have a natural affinity to numbers, lists and records. When it comes to sports, I generally seem to have pretty good memory for facts and figures too. However, in relation to some of the information I was keen to find, I was surprised to find that I couldn&#039;t find data sets that I thought surely someone must have done this already? Apparently not. So, I went off and did it myself...

Having already looked at &#039;fastest times&#039; on world level within the Sub-9 (women) and Sub-8 (men) articles, I was keen to investigate that a little further with my British hat on to produce a comprehensive list of the fastest British iron-distance times.

For the British ladies at least, I expanded that HERE to incorporate a complete historical British sub-9:15 analysis.

And now for the British men. Well, the men and one particularly fast woman. What is collated below is my attempt to list every sub-eight hour 30 minute iron distance finish by British athletes ever recorded. 

British Iron Distance Finishes &amp;lt; 8 hours 30 minutes

  
    Count
    Name
    Event
    Year
    Swim
    T1
    Bike
    T2
    Run
    Total
  
  
    1
    Paul Amey
    Arizona
    2011
    00:48:47
    00:02:48
    04:22:37
    00:01:22
    02:45:55
    08:01:29
  
  
    2
    Tom Lowe
    Austria
    2011
    00:52:06
    00:03:16
    04:29:04
    00:02:15
    02:44:47
    08:11:31
  
  
    3
    Tom Lowe
    Arizona
    2010
    00:56:37
    00:02:53
    04:22:51
    00:01:12
    02:48:11
    08:11:44
  
  
    4
    Stephen Bayliss
    Austria
    2008
    00:46:03
    00:01:44
    04:39:38
    00:01:55
    02:44:33
    08:13:53
  
  
    5
    Julian Jenkinson
    Jumme/Detern
    1995
    00:50:36
    
    04:32:19
    
    02:52:26
    08:15:21
  
  
    6
    Spencer Smith
    Brazil
    2002
    00:45:29
    
    04:40:46
    
    02:49:25
    08:15:39
  
  
    7
    Stephen Bayliss
    Austria
    2011
    00:46:41
    00:02:27
    04:35:08
    00:02:00
    02:50:28
    08:16:48
  
  
    8
    Stephen Bayliss
    Austria
    2009
    00:47:32
    00:01:43
    04:32:32
    00:01:59
    02:53:20
    08:17:06
  
  
    9
    Scott Neyedli
    Western Australia
    2009
    00:47:24
    00:01:50
    04:35:41
    00:01:36
    02:51:16
    08:17:48
  
  
    10
    Stephen Bayliss
    Western Australia
    2007
    00:48:18
    
    04:35:09
    
    02:54:23
    08:17:51
  
  
    11
    Chrissie Wellington
    Roth
    2011
    00:49:49
    00:01:56
    04:40:39
    00:01:17
    02:44:35
    08:18:13
  
  
    12
    Stephen Bayliss
    South Africa
    2008
    00:47:29
    00:01:26
    04:36:54
    00:01:32
    02:51:02
    08:18:23
  
  
    13
    Chrissie Wellington
    Roth
    2010
    00:50:28
    00:01:56
    04:36:33
    00:01:25
    02:48:54
    08:19:13
  
  
    14
    Julian Jenkinson
    Almere
    1999
    00:54:19
    
    04:34:11
    
    02:52:00
    08:20:30
  
  
    15
    Spencer Smith
    Florida
    2001
    00:49:26
    00:02:10
    04:36:28
    00:01:22
    02:52:07
    08:21:30
  
  
    16
    Spencer Smith
    Arizona
    2006
    00:48:41
    00:02:24
    04:37:37
    00:01:39
    02:52:35
    08:22:56
  
  
    17
    Simon Lessing
    Lake Placid
    2004
    00:47:08
    00:03:03
    04:44:23
    00:02:00
    02:46:39
    08:23:12
  
  
    18
    Graeme Stewart
    Roth
    2009
    00:50:30
    00:01:50
    04:34:14
    00:01:09
    02:55:58
    08:23:39
  
  
    19
    Paul Ambrose
    Arizona
    2009
    00:48:15
    00:02:42
    04:34:43
    00:01:09
    02:58:07
    08:24:54
  
  
    20
    Julian Jenkinson
    Wolverhampton
    1998
    00:53:25
    
    04:43:05
    
    02:48:52
    08:25:22
  
  
    21
    Julian Jenkinson
    Wolverhampton
    2000
    01:00:42
    
    04:30:08
    
    02:55:26
    08:26:16
  
  
    22
    Graeme Stewart
    Barcelona
    2009
    00:53:39
    00:02:23
    04:33:20
    00:02:16
    02:54:57
    08:26:35
  
  
    23
    Scott Neyedli
    Port Macquarie
    2010
    00:44:35
    00:01:58
    04:42:06
    00:01:32
    02:57:47
    08:27:58
  
  
    24
    Tom Lowe
    Hawaii
    2011
    00:58:55
    00:02:09
    04:26:28
    00:02:37
    02:58:55
    08:29:02
  
  
    25
    Scott Neyedli
    Arizona
    2011
    00:51:37
    00:02:37
    04:32:15
    00:01:29
    03:01:07
    08:29:03
  
  
    26
    Paul Ambrose
    Louisville
    2010
    00:48:39
    00:02:18
    04:31:36
    00:02:17
    03:05:09
    08:29:59
  

# of Iron Distance Finishes &amp;lt; 8 hours 30 minutes by athlete

  
  
  
    Stephen Bayliss
    5
  
  
    Julian Jenkinson
    4
  
  
    Scott Neyedli
    3
  
  
    Spencer Smith
    3
  
  
    Tom Lowe
    3
  
  
    Chrissie Wellington
    2
  
  
    Graeme Stewart
    2
  
  
    Paul Ambrose
    2
  
  
    Paul Amey
    1
  
  
    Simon Lessing
    1
  
  
    (10 athletes)
    26
  

Fastest British Iron Distance Athletes (Best Time) 

  
  
  
  
  
    Rank
    Athlete
    Best Time
    Event
  
  
    1
    Paul Amey
    08:01:29
    Arizona 2011
  
  
    2
    Tom Lowe
    08:11:31
    Austria 2011
  
  
    3
    Stephen Bayliss
    08:13:53
    Austria 2008
  
  
    4
    Julian Jenkinson
    08:15:21
    Jumme/Detern 1995
  
  
    5
    Spencer Smith
    08:15:39
    Brazil 2002
  
  
    6
    Scott Neyedli
    08:17:48
    Western Australia 2009
  
  
    7
    Chrissie Wellington
    08:18:13
    Roth 2011
  
  
    8
    Simon Lessing
    08:23:12
    Lake Placid 2004
  
  
    9
    Graeme Stewart
    08:23:39
    Roth 2009
  
  
    10
    Paul Ambrose
    08:24:54
    Arizona 2009
  


British Male Iron Distance Record Progression


Commentary
Before we start - and just for absolute clarity (!) - finishing times in any triathlon, and in Ironman/Iron-distance in particular only tell part of a story. Courses are different, conditions are different and depending on who you believe, distances can vary too. Thus, work such as these listings is only part of an overall story. That said, times are a part of that story! Importantly, time is something that everyone &#039;gets&#039;, and being the fastest is a common theme among many sporting disciplines.

At the very top of the speed charts, the British record has been taking a bit of a bashing over the past 18 months. Tom Lowe broke the then British record of Stephen Bayliss in his first race at the distance in Arizona (2010), and then subsequently knocked few seconds from that in his second attempt (Ironman Austria 2011). With his third Ironman resulting in the fastest British men&#039;s performance at Kona to date, you would have to think that Tom has the potential to go faster still in 2012. And, if he wants to be the top of this list, he&#039;ll have to following Paul Amey&#039;s second place at Ironman Arizona 2011. Will Tom or Paul soon be &#039;upgrading&#039; to the Sub-8 listing?

While no longer the British record holder, Stephen Bayliss does have the most &#039;sub 8:30s&#039; on this list with five, and having won Challenge Vichy in 2011 will still have plans for more fast times and race wins in 2012 and beyond.

Julian Jenkinson held the British iron-distance record for 13 years from 1995-2008, describing his race in Detern, Germany at the European Iron-Distance Championships as &amp;quot;physically I had the best race of my life. This coincided with undoubtedly the fastest ironman course in the world on a cool deathly calm day that time trialists dream about&amp;quot;. And Julian is still racing. These days it&#039;s cycle time trials, but he&#039;s probably faster than ever - in 2010 he won the National 12-hour Championships (with a whopping 292.49 miles), and collected the British Best All Rounder (BBAR) title.

And what of Chrissie Wellington? Her 8:18:13 time from Challenge Roth 2011 is currently the 11th fastest British time recorded and makes here the seventh fastest British athlete ever. Can she go even faster?

There are two Scots on the list, and both are still racing. Scott Neyedli recorded his third best Ironman time at Arizona (2011), while Graeme Stewart combines racing alongside the day job as a full-time cancer research scientist. That hasn&#039;t stopped him setting a PB of 8:23:39, plus an 8:26:35.

Tri247 Iron-Distance Statistics Library 

  Sub-9 iron ladies: a history
    the definitive list of sub-nine hour female iron distance finishes
  Sub-8 iron men: a history
    the definitive list of sub-eight hour male iron distance finishes
  
  British Ironman success: Ladies
    the definitive record of  Ironman&amp;reg; podium finishes by British female athletes
  British Ironman success: Men
    the definitive record of Ironman&amp;reg; podium finishes by British male   athletes
  Home Nations Iron Distance Records
  the fastest ironman distance times achieved by each of the Home Nations   (England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales)
  Fastest British Iron Ladies
  every sub-nine hour 15 minute iron-distance finish by British female athletes ever recorded.
  Fastest British Iron Men
    every sub-eight hour 30 minute iron-distance finish by British male (and female...) athletes ever recorded


Do you believe there is a performance missing here? If so, please do let me know   via editor@tri247.com. ]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Tri247 Iron-Distance Statistics Library]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9592.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Welcome to the Tri247 Iron-Distance Statistics Library
This collection of data has become something of a labour of love for your, at times, statistics obsessed Editor over the last few years. And thanks to plenty of athletes &amp;quot;raising the bar&amp;quot; of late, it has been almost as tough a job to keep it constantly updated as it was to produce this analysis in the first place. But, to the very best of our knowledge and research, all of these features are complete and we do our very best to keep them that way.

The latest addition to the library has been published today (1st Feb 2012) for the first time, which focuses on the Fastest British Iron Men. Specifically, I&#039;ve pulled together an analysis of all-time British sub 8:30 iron-distance finishes. Which of course, provides an interesting statistic itself - because not all sub 8:30 British iron-distance finishes have been achieved by men!

Have you ever wondered how Chrissie Wellington&#039;s best finishing times compare, relative to the British men? CLICK HERE for the answer.

Links to the full archive of the iron-stats articles can be found below. 

Tri247 Iron-Distance Statistics Library 

  Sub-9 iron ladies: a history
    the definitive list of sub-nine hour female iron distance finishes

  Sub-8 iron men: a history
    the definitive list of sub-eight hour male iron distance finishes

  British Ironman success: Ladies
    the definitive record of  Ironman&amp;reg; podium finishes by British female athletes

  British Ironman success: Men
    the definitive record of Ironman&amp;reg; podium finishes by British male athletes

  Home Nations Iron Distance Records
  the fastest ironman distance times achieved by each of the Home Nations (England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales)

  Fastest British Iron Ladies
  every sub-nine hour 15 minute iron-distance finish by British female athletes ever recorded.

  Fastest British Iron Men
    every sub-eight hour 30 minute iron-distance finish by British male (and female...) athletes ever recorded


Do you believe there is a performance missing here? If so, please do let me know via editor@tri247.com. ]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Joanna Carritt: Going really long]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9473.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Never one to shirk a challenge or the hard work needed in order to achieve it, Joanna Carritt has set herself a new target. Not content with Ironman, in early January she will be taking on the double iron-distance at the second Enduroman Lanzarote Festival of Triathlon (www.enduromanlanzarote.es).

The interesting additional challenge? Training for it while getting over a recent case of overtraining... Here is how she plans to do it.



Going really long...
Despite the fact that my partner Steven, the other half of EverydayTraining, coaches the reigning Enduroman Champion, preparations for my first double Ironman race is very much a voyage into the unknown. Even though I do have access to the secrets of Paul Thompson&#039;s ultra-distance triathlon success, the differences in our age, size, gender, athletic history and lifestyle &amp;ndash; not to mention specific personal strengths and attributes &amp;ndash; make the information as potentially harmful as it is useful. Embarking on my first real &amp;ldquo;very long&amp;rdquo; distance race&amp;hellip; off the back of three hard seasons of racing Ironman and recently an undeniable fall into the hole of overtraining&amp;hellip; has been described by not just a few as &amp;ldquo;madness&amp;rdquo;. Well, who can argue? Whilst it certainly presents a challenge it&#039;s also an opportunity to implement some new training ideas that I have been discussing with my coach.

Firstly, given the short time that I left myself to prepare, and my relatively recent &amp;lsquo;burnout&amp;rsquo; I am placing a fair amount of faith in the high volume of training that I have banked since signing up for my first Ironman in 2006, and our ability to monitor my response as I focus on BIG sessions over the next six weeks - without overdoing it and slipping back into the danger zone.

No matter how many Ironman races I&#039;ve trained for, there&#039;s no escaping the fact that the Double is a whole different level of endurance &amp;ndash; both physical and mental &amp;ndash; and the need to do some very big training days, during which one gets very tired. Without this challenge how can one be mentally prepared and learn to anticipate the needs that might arise on race day? What food works best? What clothing? How can I minimize discomfort on the bike/wetsuit/run shoes? What can I focus on to get me through this bad patch?

It&#039;s fortunate for me that from the very start of my &amp;lsquo;serious&amp;rsquo; racing career my training has been geared towards steady volume. I&#039;ve clocked a lot more hours than the average age-grouper between 2006 and 2010, and maintained an equivalently high training load through the two years since as a professional. 16 Ironman races, several halves and constant summertime/season have taken its toll, and this was manifest in my racing through the back half of 2011. It took long enough (and a DNF at Ironman Florida) for us to realize what was going on and really take steps to address the problem with three weeks off training and time spent re-assessing my training behaviours and beliefs. A somewhat frightening prospect with the biggest challenge yet looming just a couple of months over the horizon but I believe that I have the resources to meet this challenge and that situation has forced me to be smarter than my old ways of simply cranking out the hours to get there.

The starting point was to evaluate what I think I can handle at this point. Historically I have an average training week of 25 hours, with about 50-60% of that consisting of weeks with over 30 hours. Periods with very high volume interspersed with races over a 3-4 month period has proven detrimental &amp;ndash; however, my history has shown that I can sustain the 25-30 hour week for a long block and race well afterwards if allowed sufficient recovery time or taper. In this instance, a long taper is not an option &amp;ndash; so it&#039;s a question of taking that 25-30hr week and being smart with it. Historically I have been negligent of the need for recovery, until I get to a point where I&#039;m so bombed I have no option. Here, the plan for Feb 4th-5th is to have recovery periods interspersed in my week.

I do have the flexibility with my coaching work to include a big day in the middle of the week &amp;ndash; this enables me to structure my week around two high-volume blocks: Saturdays will be my longest ride (because I don&#039;t swim on Saturday mornings) followed by a short pace-oriented run. Sundays will be a short ride followed by a long run. At peak this should amount to 12 hours riding and 3.5 hours running over the weekend. I anticipate that Sunday&#039;s run at the end of this big weekend will be very, very challenging for me and as such the focus of that session will be how to get through it rather than pace or distance run. Mid-week will be a continuous swim-bike-run day, and as the race approaches and I become more familiar and confident with the long sessions, I&#039;ll look to include some Ironman intensity into this session. The other four days of the week will be very short training days with workouts focused on stability, flexibility and keeping my &amp;lsquo;top end&amp;rsquo; active in the pool. I will also include one full day off each week which is something that I have never done previously.

From 3rd January I will be based at La Santa in Lanzarote, which will enable me to get these long days (and nights!) done without fear of freezing or iced roads, or too many other distractions.

That&#039;s another advantage that I have over Enduro-Champ Paul T :-) ]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Ironman goes all Scandinavian]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9424.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[We stumbled across the Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote event a couple of weeks ago, something that still isn&#039;t confirmed by the WTC, but at least they have announced the Ironman 70.3 Haugesund in Norway which will be taking place on July 8th 2012.

But wait, there&#039;s more! Also lurking in the background of the WTC&#039;s website are details of the Ironman Kalmar, a new full distance race for Sweden! This one&#039;s set to open for registration in a week&#039;s time on December 20th.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Outlaw triathletes get Buff in 2012]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9352.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[The Outlaw Triathlon will be supported by Buff for the third year running in 2012. The Original Multifunctional Headwear brand will partner the Outlaw on 1 July as 1000 athletes aim to complete a 2.4mile swim, 112mile bike ride and 26.2mile marathon run around Nottingham. The partnership will see customised gear available to buy and win, as well as the largest club winning unique Buff&reg; headwear prizes.

As an official partner of the event, Buff will produce a limited edition customised Outlaw Buff, which will be designed and produced over the winter ready for sale in the new year. Buff will offer an extra special prize to the club with the largest number of entries in the Outlaw by making a customised design incorporating the popular Outlaw logo and the winning club&rsquo;s logo. This will be produced free of charge and given to every entrant from the winning club.

Founded almost twenty years ago, Buff is now the tubular headwear market leader providing athletes and outdoor enthusiasts with innovative and stylish headwear and technical clothing - perfect for both indoor and outdoor conditions.

Sarah Gowans from Buffera, the UK distributors of the brand said: &ldquo;The Outlaw is building a fantastic reputation as one of the best triathlon events in Britain, so we&rsquo;re delighted to be sponsors and to have the opportunity to produce bespoke headgear for the event. The Outlaw logo will work well and we&rsquo;re looking forward to starting work on the designs.&rdquo;

The Outlaw Triathlon, which has just been recognised by British Triathlon as the Event of the Year, will start and finish at Holme Pierrepont National Water Sports Centre. Competitors will aim to complete a 2.4mile swim, 112mile bike ride and 26.2mile run inside the 17 hour time limit. Entries have been open since August, and just 300 remain available.

Buffera has also confirmed support for all One Step Beyond events in 2012, including the popular Club Relays held at Holme Pierrepont National Water Sports Centre on August 25 and 26, as the Original Multifunctional Headwear brand further positions itself at the forefront of multi-sport events in the UK.

Individual (&pound;225) and Relay (&pound;250) entries are still available for the Outlaw, visit www.onestepbeyond.org.uk. The individual entry price will rise to &pound;245 on 1 December.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Cave wins in Arizona, Amey takes second]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9349.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Well, if one person can break the 8-hour barrier then so can another! Just two weeks ago Ronnie Schildknecht became the first official sub-8 ironman on North American soil at the Ford Ironman Florida and at today&#039;s Ford Ironman Arizona Eneko Llanos went a whole four seconds quicker! For a while it looked as though Paul Amey might take the victory but in the second half of the run Llanos proved the stronger and despite a last minute surge which brought him up to within five seconds Amey dropped two minutes in the closing couple of miles which although it only gave him second and put him just outside the magic sub-8 is, subject to the statistics meister&#039;s confirmation, now the best Home Nations time beating Tom Lowe&#039;s 8:11:31 by a whisker over ten minutes. And, Scott Neyedli had an excellent race as well turning in a 08:29:03 which gave him 11th 
Leanda Cave ran a solid race which saw he second in off the bike behind Amanda Stevens who she rapidly dropped on the the run and then shrugged off all potential challenges from Linsey Corbin and Meredith Kessler to notch up the first official Ironman win of her career in 8:49:00 - good enough for 25th overall. More updates will be needed in the statistics pages there as well! Fraser Cartmell continued the great British day out in Arizona finishing just behind her in 08:50:14. Corbin also went sub-9 but Kessler missed out by just 14 seconds with her third place.


	
		Pos
		Male
		Female
	
	
		1
		Eneko Llanos (ESP) 7:59:38
		Leanda Cave (GBR) 8:49:00
	
	
		2
		Paul Amey (GBR) 8:01:29
		Lindsey Corbin (USA) 8:54:33
	
	
		3
		Viktor Zyemtsev (UKR) 8:14:36
		Meredith Kessler (USA) 9:00:14
	
]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sudrie confirms season start at Valencia]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_9341.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Sylvain Sudrie, third placed at this year&#039;s Long Distance World Champion and World Champion in 2010, will be in Valencia on 4th March to compete in the Valencia LD. He confirmed his participation in the race after his return from Las Vegas: &ldquo;I will go to Valencia to prepare for the Ironman season in the best conditions&rdquo;. More info at: www.valenciald.com]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Fastest British Iron Ladies]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_8225.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[[Updated after Ironman Arizona, 20th November 2011] 
Starting in 2009 and expanded throughout last season, I embarked on a project to pull together a variety of iron distance statistics and records. Links to all of the current reference articles can be found below, which variously cover both an International and a British perspective, finishing times and podium positions. 
Part of this was for personal desire - I have a natural affinity to numbers, lists and records. When it comes to sports, I generally seem to have pretty good memory for facts and figures too. However, in relation to some of the information I was keen to find, I was surprised to find that I couldn&#039;t find data sets that I thought surely someone must have done this already? Apparently not. So, I went off and did it myself...
I&#039;ve already looked at &#039;fastest times&#039; on world level within the Sub-9 (women) and Sub-8 (men) articles, and was keen to investigate that a little further with my British hat on. Now, at least as far as the ladies are concerned - thanks to Chrissie Wellington, Bella Bayliss and Catriona Morrison - part of my work was already done. However, I wanted to look deeper than that, and beyond the barrier of a sub nine hour iron-distance finish, to try and compile a comprehensive list of the fastest British ladies iron-distance times.
What is collated below is my attempt to list every sub-nine hour 15 minute iron distance finish by British female athletes ever recorded. 
British Female Iron Distance Finishes &amp;lt; 9 hours 15 minutes 


  
    Count
    Name
    Event
    Year
    Swim
    T1
    Bike
    T2
    Run
    Total
  
  
    1
    Chrissie Wellington
    Roth
    2011
    00:49:49
    00:01:56
    04:40:39
    00:01:17
    02:44:35
    08:18:13
  
  
    2
    Chrissie Wellington
    Roth
    2010
    00:50:28
    00:01:56
    04:36:33
    00:01:25
    02:48:54
    08:19:13
  
  
    3
    Chrissie Wellington
    Roth
    2009
    00:50:28
    00:02:10
    04:40:28
    00:01:23
    02:57:32
    08:31:59
  
  
    4
    Chrissie Wellington 
    South Africa 
    2011
    00:51:40
    00:01:56
    04:45:23
    00:02:03
    02:52:54
    08:33:56
  
  
    5
    Chrissie Wellington
    Arizona
    2010
    00:51:56
    00:02:48
    04:47:06
    00:01:28
    02:52:55
    08:36:13
  
  
    6
    Catriona Morrison
    Roth
    2009
    00:51:46
    00:02:09
    04:48:55
    00:01:25
    03:03:57
    08:48:11
  
  
    7
    Leanda Cave 
    Arizona
    2011
    00:52:08
    00:04:50
    04:51:07
    00:02:05
    02:58:52
    08:49:00
  
  
    8
    Bella Bayliss
    Klagenfurt
    2009
    00:54:04
    00:03:31
    04:49:41
    00:02:35
    03:00:20
    08:50:13
  
  
    9
    Bella Bayliss
    Klagenfurt
    2008
    00:53:11
    00:02:42
    04:48:12
    00:02:21
    03:04:49
    08:51:17
  
  
    10
    Chrissie Wellington
    Frankfurt
    2008
    00:48:34
    00:02:45
    04:57:17
    00:01:04
    03:01:44
    08:51:24
  
  
    11
    Chrissie Wellington
    Hawaii
    2009
    00:54:31
    00:02:15
    04:52:06
    00:02:05
    03:03:05
    08:54:02
  
   
     12
    Chrissie Wellington
    Hawaii
    2011
    01:01:03
    00:02:05
    04:56:53
    00:02:26
    02:52:41
    08:55:08
  
  
    13
    Chrissie Wellington
    Port Macquarie
    2009
    00:50:48
    00:02:01
    05:03:01
    00:02:05
    02:59:15
    08:57:10
  
  
    14
    Catriona Morrison 
    Texas
    2011
    -
    -
    05:51:15
    00:02:22
    03:04:14
    08:57:51
  
  
    15
    Leanda Cave 
    Hawaii
    2011
    00:53:54
    00:02:03
    04:58:41
    00:02:15
    03:06:36
    09:03:29
  
  
    16
    Chrissie Wellington
    Port Macquarie
    2008
    00:53:27
    00:01:52
    05:06:43
    &amp;nbsp;
    
    03:01:53
    09:03:55
  
  
    17
    Chrissie Wellington
    Hawaii
    2008
    00:56:20
    00:02:06
    05:08:15
    00:01:58
    02:57:44
    09:06:23
  
   
     18
    Rachel Joyce
    Hawaii
    2011
    00:53:56
    00:02:00
    04:58:56
    00:02:11
    03:09:54
    09:06:57
  
  
    19
    Bella Bayliss
    Florida
    2008
    00:54:54
    00:02:44
    04:59:05
    00:03:00
    03:08:07
    09:07:48
  
  
    20
    Rachel Joyce 
    South Africa 
    2011
    00:51:06
    00:01:44
    05:02:29
    00:02:34
    03:10:30
    09:08:23
  
  
    21
    Chrissie Wellington
    Hawaii
    2007
    00:58:09
    00:02:21
    05:06:15
    00:02:03
    02:59:57
    09:08:45
  
  
    22
    Julie Dibens
    Hawaii
    2010
    00:53:50
    00:01:56
    04:55:27
    00:02:39
    03:16:12
    09:10:04
  
  
    23
    Bella Bayliss
    Florida
    2007
    00:55:31
    00:02:35
    05:00:53
    00:02:38
    03:11:57
    09:13:34
  
  
    24
    Leanda Cave
    Arizona
    2010
    00:51:13
    00:02:50
    04:59:55
    00:01:40
    03:18:12
    09:13:50
  
  
    25
    Bella Bayliss
    Florida
    2009
    00:59:49
    00:04:27
    04:56:19
    00:02:10
    03:11:07
    09:13:52
  
  
    26
    Bella Bayliss
    Western Australia
    2007
    00:55:33
    &amp;nbsp;
    
    05:05:14
    &amp;nbsp;
    
    03:13:38
    09:14:25
  

# of Iron Distance Finishes &amp;lt; 9 hours 15 minutes by Athlete 

  
    Chrissie    Wellington
    12
  
  
    Bella Bayliss
    6
  
  
    Leanda Cave
    3
  
  
    Catriona Morrison
    2
  
  
    Rachel Joyce 
    2
  
  
    Julie Dibens
    1
  
  
    (6 Athletes) 
    26
  

Fastest British Female Iron Distance Athletes (Best Time) 

  
    Rank
    Athlete
    Best Time 
    Event
  
  
    1
    Chrissie    Wellington
    8:18:13
    Challenge Roth 2011 
  
  
    2
    Catriona Morrison
    8:48:11
    Challenge Roth 2009 
  
  
    3
    Leanda Cave
    8:49:00
    Ironman Arizona 2011 
  
  
    4
    Bella Bayliss 
    8:50:13
    Ironman Austria 2009 
  
  
    5
    Rachel Joyce 
    9:06:57
    Ironman Hawaii 2011
  
  
    6
    Julie Dibens
    9:10:04
    Ironman Hawaii 2010 
  

British Female Iron Distance Record Progression
 
Commentary
Before we start - and just for absolute clarity (!) - finishing times in any triathlon, and in Ironman/Iron-distance in particular only tell part of a story. Courses are different, conditions are different and depending on who you believe, distances can vary too. Thus, work such as these listings is only part of an overall story. That said, times are a part of that story! Importantly, time is something that everyone &#039;gets&#039;, and being the fastest is a common theme among many sporting disciplines. 
So, what does this tell us? Well, you don&#039;t need to be a rocket scientist to have predicted that Chrissie Wellington dominates this listing with twelve of the top twenty one fastest British iron distance times ever. Indeed, only once ever (Ironman Korea 2007, her first Ironman), has Chrissie not finished in a time of under nine hours and ten minutes. Given that men&#039;s race winner that day (Raynard Tissink) was the only male under 9:15 shows that her performance didn&#039;t reflect a &#039;slow start&#039; to her Ironman career either! Perhaps the only worrying Chrissie stat I can find is that in her thirteen iron distance starts (and wins), she has actually suffered punctures three times. In Korea she arrived in T1 to find a flat that needed fixing, Kona 2008 was CO2-gate (!), while even when setting her blistering 8:36 in Arizona, the final miles of the bike were nursed home with a flat tyre. (Even Ironman South Africa 2011 required a tube change in T1 the day prior to the race...). 
These figures also show just how consistent Bella Bayliss has been over the past decade, with six Ironman finishes below 9:15. This also included what were at the time British record figures in 2008 and 2009, both at Ironman Austria. Interestingly, in 2008 Austria fell one week after Ironman Germany, meaning that Chrissie&#039;s new GB best figures of 8:51:24 only lasted a week until Bella improved them by seven seconds. In 2009 the tables were turned, with Bella improving the British record again to 8:50:13, only for that to be smashed seven days later as Chrissie set not just a British, but a world best at Challenge Roth 2009. Was that a surprise? No - I&#039;d (almost!) predicted it.... Of course, even that has been resigned to history after Challenge Roth 2010 - and was beaten AGAIN a year later.
Following Ironman South Africa 2011, four other female Brits have broken 9:15 for iron-distance, bringing the total to six. 
Catriona Morrison&#039;s iron-distance debut of  8:48:11 at Challenge Roth in 2009 was, at the time, the fastest debut ever  and at the time of writing that is still the eleventh fastest time ever. 
Two athletes  - both multiple World Champions - to join this group are Julie Dibens and Leanda Cave, and both joined this list during 2010, after one of the finest seasons of their long and distinguished careers. Julie recording 9:10:04 in Kona at her first attempt at the distance surely suggests she has more to offer in 2011 and beyond too. Her Ironman Coeur d&#039;Alene (2011) winning time of 9:16:40 just missed this list! 
Leanda improved her Ironman PB by over 10 minutes at the 2011 Ford Ironman World Championships - no easy task - and her time in Kona of 9:03:29 made her (at the time), the fourth fastest British female ever. Not content with that, just a month later she smashed her previous best - and won her first Ironman - with a fantastic 8:49:00 finish at Ironman Arizona. That meant that she leap-frogged Bella Bayliss, and is now the third fastest ever Brit having started 2011 with a best time of 9:13:15 and finished over 24 minutes faster. Very impressive. 
The most recent addition to the top British females here is Rachel Joyce. Her 9:08:23 for second place behind Muppet in Port Elizabeth might have been overshadowed by what was happening in front of her, but it was still a huge PB for the fast improving Team Abu Dhabi member who now sits in fifth place on the British all-time list behind Chrissie, Cat, Leanda and Bella. Her marathon time of 3:10:30 was hugely encouraging for an athlete previously thought of as primarily a swim-biker, who will also have gained confidence now from being an Ironman champion. That confidence clearly went a long way - fourth place in Kona was achieved,  in a personal best time while weeks later she became ITU World Long Distance Champion!
Six athletes then, all of whom are either past or present world champions - four of them more than once. Cream rises to the top, whether you are looking at results or times.
Of course, there was also one other good reason for doing all of this research. If Chrissie Wellington has an 8:18:13 finish to her name, and the British men&#039;s Ironman record is 8:01:29, where would Chrissie&#039;s best sit in the British men&#039;s ranking? The answer to that one is... coming soon!

Tri247 Iron-Distance Statistics Library 

  Sub-9 iron ladies: a history
    the definitive list of sub-nine hour female iron distance finishes
  Sub-8 iron men: a history
    the definitive list of sub-eight hour male iron distance finishes
  
  British Ironman success: Ladies
    the definitive record of  Ironman&amp;reg; podium finishes by British female athletes
  British Ironman success: Men
    the definitive record of Ironman&amp;reg; podium finishes by British male   athletes
  Home Nations Iron Distance Records
  the fastest ironman distance times achieved by each of the Home Nations   (England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales)
  Fastest British Iron Ladies
  every sub-nine hour 15 minute iron-distance finish by British female athletes ever recorded.
  Fastest British Iron Men
    every sub-eight hour 30 minute iron-distance finish by British male (and female...) athletes ever recorded

Do you believe there is a performance missing here? If so, please do let me know   via editor@tri247.com. ]]></description></item></channel></rss>
