Brian Fogarty went over to Lanzarote in confident mood and good form for the Lanzarote Ironman on Saturday May 25th. The conditions – described by the Race Website as ‘Extraordinarily tough conditions made this year’s edition of IRONMAN Lanzarote a bigger challenge than usual’ – but that didn’t stop Brian from performing at the top of his game, finishing 18th overall and taking 3rd place in his Age Group Category. What a performance and just reward for the work that he puts in at training.

11351875_10153399531428383_122712182_n(Spent at the end of the Race having given everything)

Located on the northern edge of the Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa, this race is considered by many to be one of the toughest IRONMAN events in the world.

The swim course takes place at Playa Grande, Puerto del Carmen, the main tourist resort of the island. It is a two-lap course with a short running passage between the two laps.

The bike course, well known for challenging athletes with strong winds, takes you all around the island with over 2551m of climbing. Participants will enjoy amazing views and will have lots of support from volunteers along the way.

Finally, consisting of 3 laps, the run course leads you along the flat sea front of Puerto del Carmen, towards the airport and back. You will enjoy beautiful views of the ocean under the intense Lanzarote sun, while feeling the impressive support of thousands of spectators lining the streets.

 

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(3hr 14 for a Marathon in those conditions and after 2.4 mile Swim and 112 mile bike ride)

Full Results HERE

The Club asked Brian for his thoughts about the event and the conditions he encountered and this is what he said:

“Going in to the race I have never been as confident of a good performance, I knew I had done the hard work over the cold wet winter months and I was ready to put it together on what is the toughest Ironman in the world. The conditions on the day meant it would be even tougher than usual but I felt this would work in my favour.

My main aim was to qualify for the World Championships again in Kona and I believed if things went to plan I could get a top 20. So to come 18th, qualify and get a PB marathon of 3:14 in those conditions I am over the moon. This definitely is my best result to date and I still know there is so much more to come. I just need to be patient, keep listening, learning and training hard, with the right people.

I can now go into the UK Ironman Championships with no pressure and confidence of an even better performance”.