Search
shop

Lucy Charles-Barclay on injury return: “The specialists told me it was stupid”

LCB on her return from injury and proving the specialists wrong.
Staff Reporter
Last updated -
Get the ultimate guide to destination racing

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Looking back on the season Lucy Charles-Barclay has had on paper, it may appear as if the PTO World #4 progressed perfectly through the season to her course record win in Kona.

However, after hearing Charles-Barclay’s story on her journey to the IRONMAN World Championship, it becomes clear that it wasn’t all plain sailing, with a metatarsal fracture in May threatening to put her whole season in doubt.

Recounting how she returned stronger than ever from that injury, Charles-Barclay revealed that it really was ‘make or break’ on a recent episode of the The Greg Bennett Show, with the PTO Tour Asian Open a big litmus test on the road to Kona.

“It was ambitious to think I was going to be able to do it”

Going back to her first race after injury, Charles-Barclay had put the PTO Tour Asian Open in August on her calendar, but admitted that it was an ambitious goal that even her medical specialists were against.

lucy-charles-barclay-kona-2022-run
Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for IRONMAN)

“It always was the goal [PTO Tour Asian Open], but all the specialists told me it was stupid, it was too ambitious and I probably shouldn’t do it.

“I remember going out to Lanzarote to train and having an X-Ray on my foot and it was looking a lot better, which was when the specialist said I was safe to start running again, but in reality I had started to run again because I was confident I could get back.

“At that time, I had maybe three weeks until Singapore and so we knew we had to 1. be confident that it wasn’t going to break, so we did push it quite a bit to make sure it wasn’t going to break in the race and 2. we knew I needed to do a race before Kona to get the confidence back and that was the main goal behind Singapore, but it definitely was ambitious to think I was going to be able to do it.” 

Singapore to Kona via the indoor trainer

Having picked up a lot of confidence from her fifth place finish in Singapore, Charles-Barclay said that she felt more confident in her run and as things started to progress in the lead to Kona training at home, her run form started to surpass both her and her husband/coach’s expectations.

Lucy Charles Barclay wins 2023 IRONMAN World Championship photo credit Getty Images for IRONMAN
[Photo credit: Getty Images for IRONMAN]

“It was pretty much five and a half weeks from then to Kona and I did pretty much all of my training indoors at home, apart from one bike ride and two runs outdoors, so all of the training was on the turbo and all the training was on the treadmill.” 

“Reece had set where I wanted to be for Kona on the run on the treadmill for the block and in week one I had already hit it, so it was like ‘Oh right, we can reassess now’ and that came from running at what we thought would be marathon pace and getting my lactate below 1.0, which is when we knew I could run much faster than that.” 

In Kona, Charles-Barclay ran 2:57:38 whilst battling achilles issues to take her first Kona win in a new course record of 8:24:31.

Tomos Land
Written by
Tomos Land
Tomos Land is a triathlon & running journalist whose expertise lies in the professional world of short course & long distance triathlon, though he also boasts an extensive knowledge of ultra-running.
Discover more
Laura Siddall Challenge Roth 2025 finish line
PremiumLaura Siddall: 10 things I’ve learned from my professional triathlon career
Ruth Astle finishing IRONMAN Vitoria 2024
PremiumHow to cope with a DNF: Elite athletes share their stories
PremiumIs your evening workout routine wrecking your recovery? Expert physiologist on how to improve recovery and what NOT to do
Caroline Pohle Lena Meissner ironman 703 jonkoping sprint 2025
PremiumTriathlon’s mid-season report card: Tim Don on who’s raising the bar this triathlon race season
03/07/2025 - Tour de France 2025 - Grand départ Jour 2 - Lille - Présentation des équipes -Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike)
PremiumWhat triathletes can learn from the Tour de France pro peloton
latest News
lionel sanders wins oceanside 2024 [Photo credit: Donald Miralle / IRONMAN]
Lionel Sanders pinpoints the BIGGEST difference from Mark Allen era of triathlon
Sam Laidlow celebrates Challenge Roth win 2025
Triathlon superstar Sam Laidlow went from near DNS at Challenge Roth to epic glory
Alex Yee supertri Neom 2024 win Photo credit: Darren Wheeler | supertri
Supertri Toronto 2025: How to watch live as Alex Yee makes his triathlon return
Dan Lorang Head of Performance BORA - hansgrohe
Touching and heartfelt tribute from Anne Haug’s coach after she announces triathlon retirement
Sam Long - T100 San Francisco 2024 bike
‘No No No’ – culture shock and bike crash for American star Sam Long in Italy
triathlon on your terms
Never miss out with our triathlon alerts & digest. Get a dose of adventure & inspiration with Boundless.
The 247 Group

The home of endurance sports

TRI247-LOGO_Primary-Black_RGB-1

CHOOSE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TO BECOME PART OF SOMETHING EPIC

We’re on a mission to elevate the world of endurance sport, becoming your go-to resource for expert training tips and inspiration, unbiased reporting and creating a platform for grassroots voices. But we can’t do it without you on board! Choose a TRI247+ membership option below and become part of something epic.

£7.95/month

Unlimited access. No ads. A whole library of tips, advice and inspiration at your finger tips, and the chance to shape the future of triathlon journalism.

100+ new articles/month

You’ll also gain access to our other premium websites:

Have an account? Sign in

£47.95/year
£95.40/year

50% Discount

100+ new articles/month

Unlimited access. No ads. A whole library of tips, advice and inspiration at your finger tips, and the chance to shape the future of triathlon journalism.

You’ll also gain access to our other premium websites:

Have an account? Sign in

Share to...