Ruth Astle has confirmed that she is willing to ‘give it a go’ at IRONMAN Wales this weekend, despite admitting that she is the ‘most underprepared’ she has ever been for a competitive race.
Having already decided not to push for qualification at next month’s World Championship showdown in Kona, the British triathlon star says the lure of ‘facing the dragon’ and experiencing the unique atmosphere of one of the tour’s most popular events is too good to ignore.
With a nightmare run of injuries behind her, Astle’s lack of training left her with little option but to drop out of the Kona running, explaining in June how the emotional and financial impact of travelling without any real hope of success was too much to bear.
Lack of training is a concern
Calf and hip issues mean she has swum just once in eight weeks and only been able to complete four weeks of running since returning from her latest setback. This will be the first time post-COVID pandemic that she has not been at the season’s biggest and most important race.
Such has been her struggle in recent months that she has even admitted to thinking about ‘throwing the towel in and applying for real jobs’ as she juggles with professional competition, recovery and the challenges of everyday life.
However, writing on her Instagram account this week, the athlete says she is looking forward to experiencing all that the Pembrokeshire coast course has to offer, having heard from colleagues just how much the atmosphere matches that of her favourite event of Challenge Roth.
IRONMAN Wales is known for its legendary Tenby crowd with an emotionally-charged race start marked by the Welsh national anthem, and roaring crowds of spectators who cheer the athletes on as they climb the Saundersfoot and negotiate the iconic zig-zag run course.
“Race week… I am the most unprepared I have ever been for an Ironman,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Haven’t swam other than Helvellyn for 8 weeks, have done 4 weeks of running since another break due to the hip. I am racing because I can.
“Because people talk about IM Wales with the same look in their eyes as Roth – and that is my favourite race experience to date. I want to experience that amazing atmosphere and face the dragon.
‘Life is too short to miss out’
“I am racing because I have loads of friends who will be there, and I know they will carry me through. I am racing because we keep getting reminders that life is too short to miss out on opportunities.
“I am racing for all the AGers for whom life gets in the way whilst preparing for these events but they show up and give it a go anyway. I am racing for fun. It is why I started triathlon, and with the injury challenges the last few years I want to get back to my ‘why’.”
She also paid a heartwarming tribute to her friends Vic Schofield and Sam O’Shea, both of whom were part of her close-knit group who have travelled around the world with her while she has trained and competed, but who have tragically both passed away this year.
“I will be carrying so many great memories of Sam and Vic with me through the day (particularly Sam telling me what a terrible idea it was to race such a hard IM in probably awful conditions for fun) and all the support they have both given me through the last few ropey years,” she wrote.
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