IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships

As sport goes, the multi-sport events are those which are often held in the highest esteem by professional sportsmen and women. The range of disciplines needed to perform at the highest level for Decathlons, Heptathlons and Triathlons, demonstrate such an array of talent and physical and mental strength. And of the multi-sport events, not many strike as much fear or garner the same respect as the IRONMAN competition.

The single-day endurance event now known as IRONMAN was the brainchild of Judy and John Collins, a couple who moved from California to Hawai'i in 1975. Their goal was to create something for the endurance athletes—those who favoured events such as rough water swimming and Marathon running. They added a cycle leg in 1977 and raced each other, famously stating to one another "whoever finishes first we'll call them the Iron Man."

Since 1977, IRONMAN has grown to a world-wide phenomenon, often with varied distances, gradients and difficulties for a variety of experiences and ages.

Isabelle's Story

“In November I travelled to Marbella Spain for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships, thanks to CSSC’s Elite Sponsorship Fund supporting entry fee costs. Travelling abroad for races is expensive, especially with a bike, nutrition and all the bits and bobs you need for a race. I work full time, alongside training 10 times a week, so having some support has really helped!

The Event:

It consists of a sea swim of 1.9km, a bike ride of 90km, followed by a run of 21.1km. It is a qualification only event, for both amateur and professional athletes, and is viewed as a massive achievement to qualify and compete at, as earning a place is extremely competitive. The amateur event works through an ‘age group’ system, where you are ranked and start on the start line with your age group 5-year cohort. I earned my qualification at 70.3 Tallinn, Estonia in 2024 where I came 4th in my age group 25-29 years for women.

My Experience:

This was my first time qualifying for this race, after competing at short distance previously; therefore, I was very excited and nervous. The hype around this race is massive, but even more for the 2025 event due to the challenging bike course that totalled 1,900m of ascent, which is bigger than any UK racecourse or standard training ride.

The Swim:

My age group start time was 09:14 am on Saturday morning, with 280 other starters. We were sent into the sea, six at a time, for the one lap swim course, which was challenging due to waves being quite choppy. However, I swam as fast as I could, past others and trying to draft off the faster swimmers by swimming next to them, or behind them. I had to stop kicking halfway through, as my left hip flexor muscle began to hurt, but I completed the swim in 36:06 minutes.

The Bike:

The bike is my strongest leg, so I was looking forward to seeing what I could do. As I was cycling out of the town and into the mountains, I went over a speed bump which caused my rear water bottle to fall off my bike, which has never happened before, meaning I only had one water bottle for the course. Luckily, they were handing out water bottles on the bike course, so I collected one later on. I powered up the nine hills that made up the course, which was very challenging, but did have very pretty scenery. I enjoyed passing lots of people, and sprinted on the downhill parts, where my top speed was 66km/h! The downhills were a bit scary as it was very windy, which caused my bike to wobble slightly. I completed the bike in 3:17:28 hours.

The Run:

I had done limited running prior to the race for a few weeks due to my hip flexor muscle being inflamed. Therefore, I started the run at 05:10min/km, which was slower than my normal race pace, in order to mitigate for the dropping of run fitness. Just after I started the run, I saw my two supporters at the side, and it was amazing to see them. They followed me around to different parts of the three-lap run course to cheer me on, which was so lovely. It was hot on the run with the mid-day sun being out, so I cooled down regularly through running with a water bottle and collecting ice from the aid stations to put down my back. I managed to hold a mostly consistent pace around the course and enjoyed the great supportive and party atmosphere. I finished the run in 1:48:05.

My Result:

Despite my injury and the tough conditions, I placed 131st in the 25-29 Age group category and 617th Women overall, in a time of 5:49:26 hours. I was extremely proud of my achievement, and it was a great experience all round!

I’d like to thank CSSC for their financial support, without which I may not have realised my potential.”

Achieve your potential with CSSC funding

If you’d like to follow in Isabelle’s footsteps and represent your nation or attempt an inspirational challenge, you can request funding from the Elite Sponsorship Fund throughout 2026.

Alternatively, learn more about our Financial Support or Disability Support Funds.