Next on the list of race reports for our crazy month of May, Brian Darnell competed in Ironman World Championship Ironman St. George on May 7th. This is Brian’s 4th full distance Ironman.
“The IRONMAN World Championship is an IRONMAN race like no other. The competitors are different, the swim waves are different, the transitions are timed, the difficulty of the course, bags are clear and can’ t be marked but with your number. The challenges, they're all there. I think from competing with other athletes in my age group that were mostly qualifiers this was a huge mental game and I reminded myself to do my race and not worry about time just finish. Seeding with my age group right behind the pros was another mental game but again I didn’t let that bother me once we started.
The swim was cold, it was cold for the 70.3 it was cold for the World Championship. The bike, OMG. That was far more difficult than what I had expected. It was hilly, hot, and windy but ultimately it was a championship course. Unless you were the best of the best, completing the bike with the time cutoffs was going to be difficult. I have completed IRONMAN Boulder, Wisconsin, Tulsa and now St George. All of them are elevation gainers on the bike and some of the hardest on the circuit but St George I would put in another league of its own.
Once I got to the run mentally, I was good. I kept track of time but didn’t push. Talking to a couple of folks on the course some said this is much harder than Kona and others said they both had their own challenges but equally difficult. IRONMAN World Championship is an experience and I truly loved every minute of it no matter how nerve racking it was.”
Amazing job once again Brian, it’s so great to have you leading our foundation and always giving a great example of what being an endurance athlete is all about.
Comments