Ironman Kansas 70.3

Kansas is always an amazing place and one that always seems to surprise you with its beauty. If you ever get the chance Kansas City is well worth the trip and actually a fantastic place to train.

The Ironman Kansas 70.3 is just outside of Lawrence and with fond memories of my victory 2 years ago I was busting at the chops to finish off what has been a very busy, to say the least 6 weeks of racing. Kansas 70.3 was going to mark the end of a busy racing block: 3x70.3 events and 1x Ironman in 6 weeks.

This is a race that always draws a strong field and with everyone vying for World Championship points this year was no different. Knowing the legs were not going to have their normal ‘spark’ I knew I would have to rely on strength and the tactic of trying to sneak away early and keep a strong tempo.

With the lingering chances of thunderstorms and lightning off in the distance the race was started and all fingers were crossed for good conditions. The start is always a mad dash of flailing arms and legs for the first 500 before everyone settles into their position. Trying to save as much energy as possible by tucking in on the back of the lead bunch we made our way around course in surprisingly choppy conditions.

Entering T1 it was a matter of trying to make quick work of changing out of swim gear and scampering out on the bike and nudging the pace for the first 6miles/10Km to dispatch a few guys and establish an early lead. The theory was the fewer the guys the better as the tank was near empty!

As expected Paul Mathews had a similar plan and we were able to build a small gap over the remainder of the field. The bike course in Kansas is not what you would expect, with rolling hills through countryside and although it was quite breathtaking and so was the ugly wind at times!

Returning to T2 I had a feeling that Mathews was going to test me and as expect headed out like a scolded cat pushing 5.10-15mile pace. Pushing my limit as far as I could things were more feeling like and Ironman than a 70.3. The legs would just not go any faster.

Mathews ended up having a fantastic race and showed that he is on form with a blistering fastest run of the day and crossing the line for the victory. Kahn ended up making up the 1minute deficit off the bike to take 2nd while I crossed in 3rd just under 30 seconds after Kahn. Guillaume of France and McDaniel, USA rounded out the top 5.

With 4 races in 6 weeks it is time to give the body and mind a break and head off camping for a few days to see the sights, and the largest tree in the world “The General Sherman” in Sequoia National Park.

Ironman Kansas 70.3 - Men’s professional results

1 Matthews, Paul 3:49:44
2 Kahn, David 3:55:46
3 Bell, Luke 3:56:13
4 Guillaume, Romain 3:59:17
5 McDaniel, Joe 4:00:53

Take care
Luke