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Ironman World Championship Triathlon
by SGT Scott Hill 2.4 Mile Swim – 112 Mile Bike – 26.2 Mile Run. Destination – Hawaiii
10th October 2015 was the day I competed in the Ironman World Championship Triathlon in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. This event is the mecca of triathlon, the main stage that all triathletes at some point in their life dream of getting to, many even go, just to spectate this spectacle of the world’s best, battling it out in what I can only describe as extreme conditions against world- wide athletes at their best.
As far as I am aware I am the only RAF Regiment member to qualify for this event and third RAF member to attend and complete it.
Opportunities
I had heard about the Ironman event via a couple of friends bragging! So In 2014 I decided to take up the sport of Triathlon. This was all new to me, but I was determined to do an Ironman. I entered both Ironman UK (Bolton) and Ironman Wales (Tenby) for 2014. These were 7 weeks apart.
July 2014 came around fast and I was excited to get the job done but also very nervous. Ironman UK I finished in a respectable time but it was an experience I underestimated, the marathon was a battle of the mind. I had never ran a marathon before either,
I remember talking to myself, saying what have you done, another in seven weeks are you mad!! I quite possibly was at this point; this event affected me physically and mentally. I remember collecting my kit from transition after the event and was getting confused with basic numbers.
Seven weeks on and I knew what was coming – the 14th September 2014 was upon us in no time. The night before I was not so nervous as I had no expectations, all I wanted was to finish and I knew I could now do a long distance triathlon. Tenby’s sea swim was brutal; the waves were not
22
Envoy Winter 2015
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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