Ironman Wales race preview 2015

Ironman Wales is just around the corner and Team WhittleFit there again on Sunday 13th September to support and cheer on all the amazing athletes! What can we expect at Ironman Wales? Here's a quick race, course and event preview of Ironman Wales 2015.

Ironman Wales has been called one of the toughest and least-forgiving Ironman races in the World. Is that true? Well, I've swam, rode and run enough on the course to say………….yes!!! It is a TOUGH course! And that's what attracts so many triathletes back to Tenby every year. 

Ironman Wales will have some world class triathletes racing again, with notable racers being Jesse Thomas, Andrej Vistica, Nick Baldwin, Anja Beranek and newly crowned Powerman duathlon World Champion Emma Pooley. Local athlete Olly Simon looks set to do well again this year after having a good season so far, and he'll have plenty of that famous Tenby support out on the course!

The race has quickly gained a reputation with a challenging bike and run courses, but also for the enthusiasm of the local residents in hosting the event. Whatever the weather, the crowds turn out in huge numbers for the race, from the start on Tenby’s North Beach to the many tiny villages dotted around around the bike course, this race is one not to be missed! 

Ironman Wales, like all the long distance races in the WTC Ironman series, consists of a 2.4-mile (3.8km) swim, a 112-mile (180km) bike and then a 26.2-mile (42.2 km) run (yes, that's a marathon!) At Ironman Wales, the swim is in the sea, the bike is in/up/down the challenging hilly countryside of Pembrokeshire, and the run isn't exactly a walk in the park, either (check out my bike and run course review here). The run course has changed several times, but it never gets easier! Add in the famously unpredictable weather and temperatures of Wales in September and you can see why Ironman Wales is considered a real challenge.

What are the biggest challenges at Ironman Wales? Is it the challenging 2.4 mile swim in the cold (see my swim course review here), often rough, waters off the Pembrokeshire coast? Or the dash up the beach and long run to T1? Or maybe it's the many hills of the Ironman Wales bike course? Or perhaps the wee jog (sorry - marathon distance run) on undulating roads in and around Tenby?

Whatever the challenges presented by Ironman Wales you can be sure of a fantastic local reception and incredible support. The beach start is packed (even at such an early start time) with enthusiastic locals and that support continues throughout the day and around the course.

To everyone racing Ironman Wales this weekend, best of mechanical luck and have an amazing day!