Josh Brown’s Ironman debut in Thun, Switzerland, 7th July 2025
The seed to do an Ironman was first planted when meeting Jon in September ’22 and him telling me he’s doing his 4th Ironman in Barcelona with his friend Dan.
Fast forward to summer ’23 I had just completed my first olympic distance triathlon doing slateman and wanted more. I joined Dan on a very wet Thursday morning bike hills session and we got talking about doing an Ironman, I remember his words, you can do that, book it and commit! He sold me on Thun, Switzerland. A beautiful picture was painted in my head of this stunning lake swim and bike course around the Alps, him even stating it was the most beautiful race he’s done (HA) and with me having a connection to Switzerland and spending a lot of time there already it felt only right to be my first.
Training started properly in January 24, I was already feeling fairly good after coming off a good stint from Ironman Weymouth 70.3 in the September but knew the real work was only getting going and on a reflection what a training block it was, as a person when I commit to something am all in, to the point where it becomes an obsession and I can honestly say I was obsessed, you only have to ask my wife Abi when I did 100 miles to Bala and back with Ben the day before my wedding!
The process and training didn’t come without a few hiccups, picking up a number of niggles with my running lead me to withdraw from Manchester marathon and then what felt like a bike crash every other week at one point all seemed like setbacks, but with the support around me I was always positive about making that red carpet.
As the race came closer the question of what time are you aiming for grew and became challenging to not obsess over, seeing fellow friends all having done IMs past or present smashing it made me think well could I do that if I hit this time and so on. I tried to just focus on myself and the given race course I was doing and so I had a few times in mind, the thought of achieving age group qualification is never impossible but would need an out of this world day performance with everything going right and so my main aim was between 10-11 & 11-12 hours but also tried to remind myself the unexpected can happen, it’s your first and just completing it is an achievement in itself!
Race Day
Swim 2.4 miles
I put myself in the sub 65 min group and positioned middle of the pack, the lake of all days wasn’t the most inviting but it was go time, once AC/DC Thunderstruck hit and the gun went off I ran in and started swimming, it started well, pace felt good and comfortable I had a nice rhythm for the first 1000 meters but as we turned for the long stretch I just seem to get engulfed with bodies around me with no way out. My goggles of all days decided to mist up and with visibility being minimal I couldn’t see a thing just feet in front of me, I tried to sight every six strokes but it was a challenge, I thought to myself the pace was mid 1:40s per 100 meters which I was happy with and not knowing how the body would react to the rest of the two disciplines at that distance to come I felt comfortable to not continue battling against those around me and just kept on the toes of the person in front. As I exited the water I looked at my watch and saw 72 minutes and thought well that didn’t go to plan! I quickly heard and saw my support crew cheering me on all of who looked more wet than myself, the time quickly dropped out of mind as I laughed and focussed to getting on the bike.
Bike 110 miles
25 miles in and the rain continued to pour it down, it was cold and I saw a number of riders call it a day as I went passed. I said to myself head down and keep going Brownie keep grinding, my legs weren’t giving me the 19/20mph avg I was looking for on the day, every time I pushed I was in the red zone of 200+ watts and was conscious of the impact it would have to the run. I knew sub 6 hours was then going to be difficult to break around 75 miles in but felt happy with a 6:22 coming into T2. The bike course had its challenges but was also fun, plus how can you not enjoy yourself and smile with the swiss crowds cheering hopp, hopp, hopp (come on) and I was personally very happy with the TT performance after deciding to race with it over the road bike 6 weeks out.
Run: Marathon debut
I Jumped off the bike, collected my gels and said to myself let’s go for this Brownie. I was confident with my runs, knowing I had a good time in me if everything went well, it’s definitely my strongest of the three disciplines, the first half I felt very good, kept to my target pace of between 4:30km/4:40km and was passing people, as mile 13 hit I did it in just over 1 hour 34 minutes, thought to myself if I keep this up am on for 3 hour 15ish marathon finish! As mid point of lap 2 hit the legs slowly dropped speed and I knew I was out of target zone but was holding for as close to the 3 hours 30 mark finish!
As the last 500 meters approached I filled with euphoria, remembering all fellow athletes/friends I’d trained with telling me to enjoy the red carpet so as I hit that beautiful last 20 meters I soaked in the cheers, rang that bell and crossed the finish line hearing those famous words of JOSH BROWN YOU ARE AN IRONMAN! 
Total time 11:24:38
72/185 Age Group
370/ 1,290 Overall
Post race thoughts
It’s taken a few days to reflect on what I achieved on Sunday and there’s a few things I think about. Will I do another one? Absolutely. Did I have the perfect race, no, but what a first full performance it was with a lot to learn from and that drives me for more.
I know I’ve got a lot more to give so let’s see what happens next.
Exciting times for Josh and we can’t wait to follow his progress.
