There’s no stopping Matt Rutherford. Just 1 month after completing Ironman Hamburg, he’s at it again, this time doing Ironman UK in Bolton and racking up his 4th Ironman event. Another great race report from Matt, and always some points to learn from for any aspiring Ironman.
Ironman UK 2023
I’m not sure where to start with this report. What did I know about Ironman UK before sending them my money? It was the only full Ironman course in England; it was hilly; and it was in Bolton.
I had gotten used to the familiar feeling of excitement and holiday vibes when previously embarking on Ironman journeys. A trip to the historic medieval town of Tallinn during the back drop of a pandemic. A get away holiday to a coastal town on the Emerald Isle. A road trip through Europe for the European championships and currywurst. But Bolton? The swim start was 17 miles from the front door. When I received my entry confirmation roughly 9 months ago, I didn’t get that same buzz of excitement. It was the ‘convenient’ Ironman. Bolton was an ‘add on’ event, to supplement my race calendar after Ironman Hamburg 4 weeks prior. I still regarded it as an ‘A race’, but maybe didn’t give it the respect it deserved.
Training was a bit adhoc. Cycling was about mileage with some Zwift sessions thrown in. Run training was about trying to stay injury free. Occasionally I’d increase the intensity in a run session which would bring on pain in my (insert joint here). Swimming on the other hand, was the only aspect of my training which was getting any structure. 
After reaching a new swim PB of 1:07 at Hamburg, I was approaching Bolton with the goal of beating that and going out to ‘enjoy’ the ride and run. My only other goal was to focus on bike nutrition and make sure I didn’t suffer from another bonk like in Hamburg and Cork. I felt these were reasonable goals and I liked the feeling of taking the pressure off myself.
After Hamburg I took some time to recover. Then I recovered some more. Then I thought about tapering for Bolton, but before that I’d do some more recovering. I finally got round to tapering and just like that, registration was open. I drove down to Bolton on a very wet Friday morning to collect my number and bag. I now have a different coloured ironman rucksack to match every outfit. I saved some money by only buying a mug and got out of there before I changed my mind.
The next day I racked my bike at Pennington Flash. The weather had changed considerably, there were average wind speeds of 18mph with gusts up to 33mph. A taste of things to come as this was also the forecast for Sunday. There was an opportunity to have a practice swim, so I’d brought my old wetsuit along, got changed and jumped in. It was like swimming in the sea, fighting against waves. I completed one 300m lap then got out, thinking I’d be better off saving my energy for tomorrow.
0315 alarm, breakfast, tri suit on. Dani’s having a lie in, ‘you know we’re leaving in 15 mins?’. Apparently her alarm was set for 0530. Luckily, Dani can get ready in 15 mins. Sure enough, we were heading out on time. I was feeling fairly relaxed in a blissfully ignorant kind of way. Transition admin done in record time, we bumped into a few familiar faces from triathlon swim squad and killed some time.
Finally, it was time to say our goodbyes to partners and make our way down to the growing queue for swim start. I strategically placed myself between the 50-60 minute markers. The water was looking calmer than my practice swim the day before. I secretly thought I might be able to pull off a PB, especially with my Hamburg swim giving me added confidence. I had the pleasure of swim squad member Garry’s company at the start. This was Garry’s first Ironman so I like to think I passed on some words of wisdom while we waited. We soaked up the atmosphere as the National Anthem played, followed by the old favourite, AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. The queue started moving forward, we each said good luck as I was absorbed into the stream of athletes.
Leaky goggles! Easily fixed with minimal fuss. I felt strong and the water was smoother than anticipated. I began overtaking people, remembering to sight every 6 strokes. Usually my sighting isn’t the best, on reflection I made more effort on this swim to keep a direct line between buoys. The Aussie exit was cancelled for this year, and instead there was a timing gate we had to swim through. I liked this because I knew Dani would see how I was getting on and after the race I’d be able to see my lap splits. Lap 1 was 32:31 minutes and lap 2 was 33:07 minutes. New PB of 1:05, happy days. Now to relax and enjoy the rest of the day…
I took my time in transition, I was well aware a lot of people still swimming would pass me on the ride. As I collected my bike, I was surprised to see all the other bikes around mine still there! This was a very surreal experience for me, a sign that I really did have a good swim. The ride started off with a quiet 10 mile stretch up to Bolton. Once there, the 3 laps began.
The first lap started well, I’d practiced the route in training so there wasn’t supposed to be any surprises. Taking notes from Martin Shaw in Nice, I had written down the mile points for aid stations and taped this onto the stem of my handlebars. I found this really beneficial as it broke the ride down and would give me something to look forward to.
The hills and wind were relentless. Towards the end of the first loop I was starting to feel it. My legs were starting to ache and feel heavy. I was becoming slightly concerned that I may not actually finish. If I did make it back to T2, would my legs be able to function and get me running? I was keeping on top of my nutrition, so I knew I wasn’t bonking. I also didn’t feel as though I was pushing it too hard. I was beginning to doubt everything and pick apart my training. Maybe I didn’t practice enough hills? I was starting to play mind games with myself.
Through Bolton and back out on the second lap. I was fed up with my nutrition now and looking forward to a Mars bar and can of coke in my personal needs bag at 79 miles. This lap was a slog, all I could do was keep pedalling and ticking off the miles. I ate half an energy bar from an aid station which seemed to help. Maybe I was starting to bonk. It was nice to see Garry again as he flew past me on one of the last hills of the lap. Finally, after all of the hills and wrestlers, I descended into Bolton and saw the Oompa Loompa aid station near the city hall. I pulled over for my personal needs bag and stood next to a guy eating a picnic out of his bag. Mars bar and coke finished, I set off hoping that would make a difference.
Sure enough, about 10 minutes later I was feeling better. The third lap was tough, but at least I was in a better head space. Reaching the top of the
last hill was a huge relief, I felt like the hard part was done. 8 hours and 4 minutes. That’s like a full day at work without a lunch break! In transition I became navigationally challenged, which happens more often than I’d care to admit. After racking my bike, I saw the familiar face of Ian Wright from Swim Squad in a marshals vest. He was kind enough to guide me to my run bag and have a chat with me while I wrestled with my shoes. It was at this point Ian told me I’d done well to get to T2, and pointed to rows of bikes racked separately away from the masses. He said they were the unlucky ones who had DNF’ed. This made me feel even more relieved to be off the bike.
For the most part, I enjoyed the run. I was never too far from either a swim squad member running around or Dani also running around to meet me at various points and updating Instagram. Even swim coach Bryan Riley made an appearance! It was also nice to have some support from Dan of Tri Central UK when I was becoming worn down. The run was just a slog, with the majority on one long stretch of road for an out and back section. At some point during the third lap, Toyota pick-ups drove past me with bikes stacked in the back, and full of passengers. More DNFs. Appreciate where you are I thought.
I donned my last wristband and with it came a wave of adrenaline. The previous 10 miles I felt like I could have gone to sleep on a park bench, but now I was awake! My speed increased to my original target pace and I was back to overtaking people, one after another. I felt like I was flying. I knew I needed to use this adrenaline to carry me over the line, and I didn’t want to slow down. I turned the last bend and galloped down the carpet, high fiving strangers as I went. Exhausted, I stopped after the line. A woman put a medal over my head, pointed to a tent and said ‘well done, that way for pizza and beer!’
Of the 4 Ironmans I’ve done, this was the hardest I’ve had to work to get to the finish. I was pushed to my boundaries on the bike where I genuinely thought I wouldn’t make it all the way around. I spent most of the run exhausted and trying to balance nutrition with keeping my stomach happy. Of the roughly 1,500 people who began the swim, only 847 people crossed the finish line. Knowing this and after the events of the day, I can look back and reflect on my pre-race attitude and preparations. I’m proud for seeing it through to the finish, and hopefully I can approach future Ironman races with a more prepared mindset.
