Most athletes spend months building towards a major race like Challenge Roth, carefully fine-tuning every aspect of their preparation so they are ready when the cannon fires. Lucy Charles-Barclay, by contrast, has barely had a week to prepare herself.
Her late inclusion was as much a surprise as it was welcome, with the British star more than filling the sizeable gap which had been left in the women’s field by local hero and defending champion Laura Philipp.
A Roth winner back in 2019, Charles-Barclay – who also finished as runner-up in 2018 – arrives in Germany insisting she is there to enjoy the experience and won’t be putting any additional pressure on her shoulders by setting specific goals.
‘I literally went for a run last Friday and felt pretty good’
Yes, it would of course be ‘amazing’ to win it again, but she has no expectations and is clearly relaxed knowing that she can turn up on Sunday morning and have some fun.
“I literally went for a run last Friday, felt pretty good, and I came home, and I said to Reece (her husband), ‘Why am I not racing Challenge Roth next weekend?’”, she revealed. “It is such an amazing race, and I have been seeing the hype building.
“It is one of those races where I felt good, and I just said, ‘You know what? The main thing is to come here, enjoy it and soak it all up’. So, it is special to be back. Yes, a bit spontaneous, but sometimes the best decisions are.
“It has been seven years since I came here last, which I can’t quite believe. Seeing the pictures of me winning, I am asking myself, ‘Who is that kid in the pictures?”
‘The road to Roth has been fast and furious’
She posted a big thank you to her team on Instagram on the eve of the race, grateful for the efforts that have been put in to make sure she could arrive ready and able to compete.
“The Road to Roth has been fast and furious,“ she wrote. “Feeling proud of the courage from myself and my team to take the shot, & so incredibly thankful for all the work that’s been put in to getting me to the start line in a record turnaround. 🌪️
“I can’t wait to finally be back on the iconic @challengeroth race course tomorrow. 🏁 It may have been a mad rush, but routine keeps me grounded. @im8health ❤️ We have all the details nailed; all that’s left to do is show up and go for it!!“
Lanzarote win gives LCB confidence ahead of Roth
Having undergone tendon surgery in January, LCB has faced something of a fitness battle to ensure that she can still compete in the final, crucial stages of the campaign. She will be at the 70.3 World Championships as the reigning champion, and she secured her Kona spot with an impressive win at IRONMAN Lanzarote.
Indeed, it was that win on the Spanish island which gave her the confidence to jump in and take the opportunity to tackle Roth for a third time.
“Because I ticked off IRONMAN Lanzarote in May, which is one of the toughest IRONMAN races, I’m thinking I must be in half-decent shape to have done a full-distance,” she confirmed. “I’ve had a good few weeks of training; I’ve won this race before, and it would be absolutely amazing to do it again, but I know what this race is all about, and I am here just to enjoy it.
“Although I did end up having my wisdom tooth out recently, and had I been preparing for this and had it been a long-term goal, I would have been really stressed about that impacting my training, but because I was ‘chill, everything is great’, it allowed me to come into this and think there is no pressure on me at all.”
‘Roth is special… special things happen here’
She may not be putting pressure on herself, but that does not prevent others from immediately installing her as one of the favourites to challenge for the title alongside fellow Brit Kat Matthews and possibly even hunt down a new course and world record time.
German Anne Haug’s 2024 time of 8:02:38 still stands as the one to beat, and while much will depend on whether the swim is classified as wetsuit-legal – water temperatures will be tested an hour before the race to see if they are 24.5C or lower for them to be permitted – LCB knows that sometimes Roth can write its own special headlines.
“You never know what might happen; Roth is special, and special things can happen here,” she said. “That race in 2019 was my PB (8:31:09) for a long time. My best now is 8:24:31 at Kona (in 2023), so it would be nice to go for a new PB, but I’m not putting any pressure on that.
“It will need to be a fast day to get the win here, and I’m always out there racing hard to see what I am capable of and whether I can get the win. We know that Annie’s record is super quick, but who knows, maybe it will get broken.”
