Who doesn’t love a race report?
Fresh from his success at Ironman Cork at the weekend, Matt Rutherford has given us his race report so put the kettle on, get a biscuit or two and settle down for a read.
From the moment we arrived in Youghal, we knew this would be a special weekend. Signs specially made from local and big businesses (even Lidl & Aldi!) lined the streets, welcoming Ironman. It became evident on the Facebook group for IM Cork, everyone was completely blown away by the support. Even a few months ago, accommodation bookings were cancelled due to hotels opening their doors to Ukrainian refugees. When anyone asked for help in the group, a local was there with a spare bed, sofa or tent pitched in their garden. That seemed to set the tone for the weekend.
No issues with our Airbnb and no issues with registering. Every interaction with a local turned into a conversation, even if I secretly didn’t understand everything they said.. The merchandise tent didn’t disappoint. My first IM in Estonia was right in the middle of the pandemic and there was always a chance it could be cancelled, so the whole IM experience was filtered down a bit. Ireland made up for that a lot.
After a bike route recce in the car, merchandise purchased and a short brick session, Saturday rolled around for Dani’s 70.3. A text in the morning from Dan advised me not to do much walking and save myself for Sunday. Good advice, but with the roads closed in town, the car was parked 1.5 miles away. I tried to keep the walking to a minimum, but obviously met Dani at various points around the course as well as racking my bike. Miles clocked: 14.5, whoops. Dani had a great race, finishing 4th in her age group and narrowly missing out on a world champs spot.
At 0300 on Sunday morning my alarm went off. What else would you rather be doing? I was a bundle of nerves. As this was my second IM, I felt more pressure on myself to have a good race and I was also very aware that my training hadn’t been very consistent in the last few weeks. But we made our way down to the town and got me to the swim start. Dani did a good job of taking control of my Instagram account and doing the social media stuff.
I stood in a sea of green hats, anxiously waiting for the start. First, the Irish national anthem was played, with smoke flares of the national flag set off from the kayaks in the sea. Next was a voice message from Mike Reilly (the voice of Ironman) played on the speakers. Then a group of Irish dancers did their thing on a stage built onto the beach in front of us. And then finally, AC/DC Thunderstuck started, the pro women were set off. I kept telling myself to relax, but the atmosphere was taking over at this point.
A few minutes later, we started to move forward down the ramp into the sea. I hate mass starts and being stuck in the crowd, which was exactly where I was. It took me a while to get to the outside of the group and finally get my breathing sorted. The water temp was good and there wasn’t much chop. All in all, very pleasant conditions for a swim! After some dodgy sighting and directional advice from some kayakers, I made my way up the ramp and along a short run into transition. A quick change (by my standards) and I was off with my bike. It seemed that the whole town had gathered outside transition and lined the first road of the bike route, but Dani had found a spot to shout hi as I ran out.
The first lap of the course passed relatively nicely. Mostly undulating and very scenic, with a couple of long slogs. The most notable part of the ride was the infamous Windmill hill as the route came back through Youghal. At roughly 400m long and 21% gradient, Ironman have said it’s the steepest climb in any IM race – but also the friendliest. During the 70.3 on Saturday, I watched as a stranger jogged up the hill alongside a woman who was struggling to ride up it, shouting words of encouragement. Awesome stuff. For every 5 people who completed the climb, there was one person who walked their bike up. Which was a struggle in itself. I knew all of this, but I hadn’t experienced the climb for myself. As you approach the hill, you have to slow down for a 90 degree turn straight onto the incline, losing all momentum you had. If you’re not in your lowest gear, you’ve had it. Fortunately, most people knew what to expect. I tried to stay seated, but there was no chance. It was a stand-up job all the way. I’d seen people fall off their bikes on the 70.3, so I didn’t want to be ‘that guy’.
A couple of minutes later and a lot of cheering from the insane amount of support, I was at the top and enjoying the beautiful downhill to start my second lap. At this point I realised my tri suit was looking more white than black, it appeared I was now wearing the salts that should have been inside my body. My stomach was also telling me it wasn’t happy, which caused me to lose my appetite. The only thing I could put up with was water. After about 75 miles the right side of my back started to ache, but wasn’t muscular pain. 5 or 10 minutes later and the left side started to ache too. Kidneys? Uh oh. Keep going, just take it easy and get to transition. Windmill hill attempt #2. I knew this would finish me off, I still had a marathon to run, so I made the decision to walk it. The support was exactly the same, if not better. Back on the bike and down the hill into transition. Phew.
The run started well. I knew I needed food, so aid stations were all you can eat buffets. Water, bananas, salty Doritos, Pepsi, another water.
My back still hurt and my stomach still wasn’t happy. I found myself walking to prevent the urge to throw up in someone’s garden. But I was able to muster a plod most of the time. Ticking off the miles was made easier when you knew what you were looking forward to. I knew where the buffets were and I knew where the next garden hose was to cool down. Kids were handing out little bags of ice around the course. It felt like you were part of their community and they treated you like one of their own.
Before I knew it, I collected my final wrist band and I had 2km to go. As I approached the junction for ‘laps or finish’, I proudly held my arm in the air so the marshal and crowd could see my 4th lap yellow band. The marshal stood aside, the 50m red carpet appeared and the crowd cheered as I entered the finish funnel. There weren’t loads of spectators at my first IM, so I made the most of it now, high-fiving people on the left, and then on the right. For those brief few seconds, I felt like I had ran a world record at the Olympics. An incredible feeling I won’t forget. As I crossed the line, a medic approached me and asked if I wanted to go to the medic tent or the food tent. Yep, food. I knew there was pizza in there.
IM Cork summary:
Great swim, tough bike but achievable, flat run. Weather and nutrition played a part today. Support to rival IM Wales, but people have said it’s better than Wales. 10/10.
