Larissa (below) loved the fi rst
IRONMAN 70.3 Greece, which
took athletes through the
unspoilt countryside of the
Peloponnese peninsula.
transitions. Perfect! That makes things
so much easier.
Aft er a warm-up swim in a 16°C sea
– so clear you could literally see the
bottom – I took my bike for a short ride
to assess the route. Given that I hadn’t
really read much about the course, there
were a few surprises in store… The bike
course was on a newly tarred road but
was very hilly. One rolling hill followed the
next! On top of the very fi rst steep hill, my
chain broke! I managed to push my bike
to the mechanics, who told me that the
62
issue wasn’t actually with the chain, but
with my electric gears. I could see in their
faces that this was a serious problem!
However, aft er a long and nervous four-
hour wait they managed to fi x it. I was
so relieved. A big hug, big smiles and a
huge tip for them followed.
On race morning, I met a fellow
competitor at breakfast who told me how
nice and calm the sea was, and that we
had nothing to worry about. My lucky day
I thought... but the race organisers had
announced that they were expecting the
weather to change, and change it did.
I headed from breakfast to the
transition area (open from 6am until
7.30am – what a treat) for an 8.20am
race start. By the time I’d put on my
wetsuit and made my way to the beach,
all I could see were huge waves and
scared faces. I was sure that the swim
would be cancelled. The waves were
high and powerful, and there were white
horses spread across the bay. But the
start siren sounded and off we went.
Somehow I managed to complete the
“SUPPORTERS LINED THE
STREET, RINGING BELLS,
WHICH WAS AMAZING”