Daniela Ryf, Holly Lawrence
and Ellie Salthouse topped the
women’s podium (bottom).
IRONMAN 70.3
O CE ANSIDE
WHERE
Oceanside, California
NEX T RACE
April 2020 tbc
few weeks later, I crossed the finish
line at the LA Tri with such severe
cramps that I could barely stay upright.
I had crushed the bike course and left
nothing in the tank for the run – I hadn’t
got to run in my first race because of the
bike crash/injury/shame, so it was all
new for me.
The following years were much kinder
to me. I learned how to dish out the
pain more evenly. I achieved consistent
podium finishes in my age group, so I
started looking for a bigger challenge. I
found it in the IRONMAN 70.3 distance.
I broke the somewhat daunting sub-5
hour mark at a few of these, but I was
nowhere near the podium. Honu – the
IRONMAN 70.3 Hawaii – was my most
recent attempt at a podium, six years
ago. Even there, under the beautiful
island skies, I could not summon a
podium finish, or even a top 10.
The cost of travel and race fees,
combined with a good chance of me
not being able to get to the start of
a race because of lastminute work
commitments, dampened my interest
in pursuing the illusive 70.3 podium.
That is, until I was convinced to do an
early season IRONMAN 70.3, right on
my doorstep – well almost. Oceanside
in California is roughly 160km from
where I’m based, but it’s one of the most
beautiful races – and challenging bike
courses – on the 70.3 racing calendar.
Of course I’d heard of the Oceanside
race before – I’d even been down there
to support my girlfriend on the course
one year – but I’d always spent my
winters snow skiing in the local mountain
resorts, not training for a spring triathlon.
But this year I committed to the race. No
skiing and a new coach was all it took.
Come race day, I was ready, and I was
looking for a top 10 finish. I had decided
early on in training that the podium could
wait. My true race goal was to finish with
a solid run and feel good.
Now, the swim course, even though
it’s at the ocean, has in the past been
relegated to within the harbour walls
because of adverse ocean conditions
and wave size. This year, we were lucky.
The water was 16°C and we were
promised low surf (though race morning
proved the surf report incorrect and we
did had a swell). For those who don’t
know it, the Oceanside beach start can
be a bit tricky. There is a second sand
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