Head of Geography, Anya Starling, and former student, George Monk, embarked on what was arguably the biggest challenge of their lives so far: Ironman Wales.
The event was held in the coastal village of Tenby in Pembrokeshire and comprised of a 2.4 mile sea swim, a 112 mile bike ride with a total climb of over 7100 feet, and a 26.2 mile run.
Conditions on the day of the race were near perfect, except for a deceptively difficult swim later described as 'uphill' by the organisers due to the big swell and choppy water. The bike route is widely acknowledged as the toughest on the European Ironman circuit, with the majority of the climbing in the final 60 miles. The run uses one of the hilliest road marathon courses that you will find in the UK.
Of the 2,000 people that took part, fewer than 200 were women and 172 were defeated by conditions on the day and failed to finish. George came home in an impressive time of 13 hours 33 minutes, placing him 22nd in his age group and ahead of many more experienced athletes; Anya's time of 13 hrs 57 minutes was equally impressive. She was 8th in her age group and 59th woman overall.
Both raced hard, finished within their target times and enjoyed the experience.
.png&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "A Fantastic First Week Back!")
