60-year-old Hereford man preparing for first Ironman Triathlon
While many of us will be taking advantage of the bank holiday weekend for a bit of rest and relaxation, one man will be in training to push his body to its limits.Ian Russell, an airline pilot from Hereford, is preparing to run his first Ironman Triathlon - at the age of 60.Generally considered one of the toughest one-day races in the world, the event sees competitors swim 2.4 miles (3.9km), cycle 112 miles (180.2km) and then run a full marathon of 26.2 miles (42.1km)."They use to say life begins at 40. Now, 60 is the new 40," said Mr Russell.
Although Mr Russell was a keen sportsman when he was younger - he lists climbing Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn among his achievements - work and family commitments had an impact on how active he could be.He later took up running, before joining his local triathlon club.Inspired by some of his fellow members who had taken part, last autumn Mr Russell signed up to the Ironman event in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, this September."What I didn't realise was that, although it's local and easy to get to, it's actually one of the toughest ones going," he said.
Since then, Mr Russell has invested in a coach and trains "most days" - but has suffered a couple of setbacks."I've had a big operation on my hand," he explained, "which took a few weeks to recover from. And then I broke my foot out training with the triathlon club."That took a good six to eight weeks to recover from. "So I'm not starting from the best base."He said that, while he was training hard, he was avoiding pushing himself too much."You might end up injuring yourself, which I can't afford now," he said. "So the idea is just to nurse my old creaking bag of bones through to get to the start line."
No regrets
Mr Russell added he was worried about making a cut off, of two hours 20 minutes, to complete the swim."I'm definitely not a swimmer," he said. "If you don't make the cut off, you don't even get as far as the bike ride."All my main part of my training in my mind is revolving around getting through the swimming part. So at least I can get on a bike and… let Mother Nature and tailwinds take their course."Despite this, the athlete said he had no regrets."I'm proving that age is no barrier to setting bold goals and achieving them," he added.
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