The Rookies Guide to the new IMUK Run Circuit
Arite?
Before we get cracking…
Please allow me to frame this post by having a little rant and then we can get stuck into the nitty gritty of the new IMUK run…
You see, for my mind, at an Ironman event, you have two groups of people.
You have those that are looking to ‘race’
And you have those that are looking to ‘get round’
Now, those that have taken part in Bolton before already know how magical the event is, the pros, the event itself, the wonderful supporters, the overall race experience for all of the athletes, its beautiful the lot of it.
It’s no wonder the event has sold out this year (Whoop! Whoop!)
But let me ask you a question……
Do you want Ironman to grow into an even bigger animal?
Do you want the prize pool to double, the pro card to double and the Kona slots to increase? Do you want mainstream TV coverage (imagine that) with more sponsorships and money flooding into the event to make the race even more magical than what it already is?
Here’s the thing…..
If your average joe gets to feel like a rock star for a day because he is realising a dream in front of 100,000 supporters, how is he going to feel if he is realising it in front of a quarter of a milllion?
Why would you not want this to happen?
Ironman want this to happen.
The pro’s want this to happen.
Your average Joe wants this to happen.
Everybody wants this to happen.
As Ironmen, we have a duty to make this happen, fan the flames and show others the light.
But let me ask you another question.
Where do you think this growth is going to come from?
Here is my take on it..
The people that treat Ironman as a race will continue to treat Ironman as a race, loads have been doing so for many years and they will carry on doing it because at the end of the day it’s a race, right?
Make no mistake about it, they have everybody’s total respect, they already know that, so they just get on with it.
In addition, there will always be those first timers who return the following year to have ‘another go’ and try to beat their time and I am the first one to applaud them for that.
But the real growth is going to come from our cluster, the ones who just want to get round and get their hands on the sacred medal.
You see, for a growing number of us, simply ‘becoming one’ is enough…
The journey we have gone on to reach the start line, the people we have met along the way, the experiences we have had in our training, what Ironman has taught us about our limiting beliefs….
To us, ‘Time’ is irrelevant and the medal is everyhthing.
We are already significant in number, but let me tell you, our numbers are going to explode.
It is only a matter of time before this happens.
Now there are some purists out there who may not want this to happen and feel that Ironman should be reserved for those that are ‘well fast’.
In fairness, I do have some sympathy for their view. That is what Ironman was, in the begining. (I would point out however that today, so long as you go with the right attitude and show them the respect they deserve, 99% of Ironmen will welcome you with open arms no matter what your goals – indeed last year, Lucy Gossage, the female champion, stood handing out medals to the final finishers some 6 hours after finishing her own race, such is their love for us)
But let me tell you who ultimately decides if we are welcome.
Ironman decide.
If they wanted to make this race exclusive for the elite racers, they could do so overnight….
How?
They would reduce the cut off time to 12 hours.
Simple as that.
But they dont do that do they?
Why?
It would be a bit shit don’t you think?
A couple of hundred roared on by a couple of hundred?
What makes IMUK so special for most of us are the thousands of wonderful supporters cheering us on as we trundle round and the vast majority of those magnificent supporters are their to support their loved ones and that loved one is very likely to be an ‘average joe’ just like you.
No ‘average Joes’ = nowhwere near as many supporters & not as big a prize pool = not as many pros = even less supporters….The whole thing is one big magical circle.
So we are welcome.
We are all very welcome.
And this website is aimed at helping those who are just absolutely buzzing to be a part of the whole damn thing and to whom the sacred medal is more than enough.
Just keep that in mind as you read please.
Cheers.
Before I continue, it’s important you understand that I am not a trained coach, my only qualifications are the medals that I proudly wear around my neck, of which there are ten, one for each race in the series (see history) nor am I a member of any tri club.
By the way just on that, I actively encourage you to hire a trained coach, just like I encourage you to join a tri club filled with Ironmen and learn from them. I also encourage you to read my book – at the end of the day you can never have enough ‘takes’ on this subject and the beauty of our sport is that everyone is coming at it from different angles so pull the bits u like from all 3 then embark on your own wonderful adventure if you have not already done so.
Anyhow, back to my point…
Last year, at my first Ironman, there was nothing exciting about my ‘time’ of 14:45 (like that matters lol)
We must never forget that I am just a regular bloke from Bolton who dismissed Ironman as an impossible dream but went and got his hands on the sacred medal, fell hook line and sinker for everything about the pilgrimage in the process and signed up again for this year.
Now, some people will say that with a time like mine, (14:45), I am not entitled to ‘speak’.
Only trained professional coaches with elite Kona times are allowed to ‘speak’.
But because of that very fact, many people like my work.
They find it refreshing that someone is talking to them on their level for once (deal with it)
Please understand, I am not giving ‘advice’ I am merely sharing my personal experience.
No bullshit, no complex jargon.
Just honest, direct, this is how I see it.
Written by your average Joe, for your average Joe.
I know you love it.
I can tell by the numbers that flock to this website every week that you love it ?
So here we go…
Now, What I am about to tell you, I do not want it to put you off in any way, nor do I want you to start panicking and getting yourself all flustered about it.
I am sharing it with you now because I would want someone to share this with me before the race if I was doing it for the first time and as the course has changed in 2018, we will all be doing it for the first time this year..
Do not worry yourself about it, just be aware of it and plan your race strategy accordingly.
Please note I am not trying to sensationalise or over dramatise anything here, I’m just telling you the way I see it.
I am sure you will agree that to be forewarned is to be forearmed.
In order to set this up, I think it would be prudent of me to remind us all of the old run circuit (which was bad enough) and then see how the new one compares.
Legends who collected the sacred medal last year will recall that the ‘old’ course could be loosely broken down as follows:
10k ish ‘pan flat’ gentle run/trundle to get the legs flowing from the reebok down to join the main loop.
Then.
3 and a bit laps up and down chorley new road.
Collect sacred medal.
Sorted.
Two things to point out straight away….
There are no steps like in the pic – that is just my poor attempt to show you how steep the park is, but the pic doesn’t do this justice trust me.
Second…
Ironman have very kindly got rid of the dreaded chorley street hill climb that we all hated….(what no turtle?- fukin loved that turtle)
But wait, before you all start doing the conga…
The game has changed.
This year, our masters have turned the ‘bastard’ setting to ‘max’ straight from the off.
What do you mean Rookie?
Please allow me to explain.
This time, there will be no 10k ‘pan flat’ gentle trundle to get the legs flowing my friend…
Oh no…
Instead, its bang, 4 Hardcore laps straight from the off that look like this…
On departure from T2, there is a short jog into the town centre and back, but once you have looped le mans crescent, you run into the park at the bottom of chorley street Hill.
Now this ‘park’ starts off well enough, but once you get to the second bridge a short while in.
OMG…..
Monster steep climb that feels like it goes on forever all the way to the gates at the top of the park. (If you thought chorley st hill was bad you ain’t seen nothing cock)
I hit this stone cold sober on Wedneday (fresh legs) and surrendered straight away so god only knows what it is going to feel like after the earlier shenanigans of the day and this was only lap 1 of 4 for petes sake. (who is pete by the way??)
Once you (eventually) get out of the park you are then onto that famous grind all the way up chorley new road past Bolton school, lion of vienna and retreat that many will recall from previous years as one long, continuous, slow steady climb.
5k of climbing straight from the off and throughout.
Fukin Great…
In fairness, It isnt all bad…
The thing I adore about Ironman UK is whoever designed the circuits is a technical genius in my opinion because, as with the bike, just at the very point that you feel you cannot continue, the course lets up and gives you a break.
The ‘break’ here is that once you reach the ‘halfway’ point on each loop (circa 5k) you turn round and run all the way back down chorley new road. this downhill treat continues all the way through the park (thank fuk) and then you are flat for the short run into the town centre before coming back into the park for more punishment sorry i mean laps number 2/3&4.
At the end of the day though, what do you expect?
Pretty Mudder???
No, this is fukin Ironman my friends.
Furthermore, this is Bolton..
And, Just like the footy when the cuckoo boys of the 80’s were about, Bolton has a reputation as a very tough place to come.
If you want the Bolton medal, you are going to have to earn it mate.
For me, this new run loop, it makes the medal even more sacred than it already was.
There are further positives….
The crowds all along this route are nothing but magical and I understand that Ironman have something very special planned for the park, which sounds ace.
We are also very likely to catch a glimpse of our heroes as we cross on the run route, granted they will be near the end of their race as you come coughing and spluttering out of T2, but we are likely to catch a glimpse all the same.
To share the course with such legends is nothing short of an honour for your average joe. (and something most of us wouldnt usually get to do)
In addition, I manged to do one loop sub hour on Wednesday, (race day its x4 loops as above) ok that was on frseh legs, but 4 of them on race day and we’ve cracked it cock.
Trust me, if I can do it you have no excuse.
But make no mistake, that run course is a bastad, especially in this heat.
Listen…
What I am about to tell you next, it pisses me off that I am giving it away to you free of charge via this website to be honest.
But hey first timer…..
I like you….
More importantly, I want you to come to Bolton and have the experience of your life, just like I did last year.
Not only that but I want you to tell all your mates about it so they end up wanting to come and then they tell their mates who tell their mates and before we know where we are the floodgates have opened and every fuker wants to do IMUK.
So now I am going to give you a magic pill.
Make no mistake, it’s going to annoy some of the existing Ironmen that I am telling you this, but at the end of the day, they are not my target market, as much as I love them.
You are my target market oh wannabe Ironman who just wants to get his hands on the sacred medal.
But before I give you the magic pill, you first have to read the prescription on how to take the pill.
The prescription reads as follows.
Forget about what ‘Dave the big dog’ at your local tri club is banging on about when he tells you that Ironman UK is all about achieving a certain time.
Leave that until next year.
First time round it’s about this:
It’s about coming to Bolton, having one of the most magical experiences of your life and savouring every second.
Look into the eyes of the wonderful supporters/volunteers that line the steeets and feel their love for you as you make your way round.
Return their love tenfold.
Understand that just the very fact you can ‘do it’ makes you a superhero as far as they are concerned as most don’t believe that what you are doing could ever be possible for them.
Come to Bolton, celebrate your training, and celebrate 10 years of Ironman UK being in the town.
Realise that Its about joining the 0.01% of people on the planet right now who can claim to be an Ironman,
Ultimately though, It’s about one thing.
Getting your hands on the sacred medal.
The sacred medal is all that matters.
If you can get your head into this way of thinking, that is the presecription for the magic pill to work.
Here is the magic pill.
Once you arrive in T2 you have already done everything you need to do in order to get the medal
I repeat
Once you arrive in T2 you have already done everything you need to do in order to get the medal
All you need is a simple strategy for the run.
Here is that strategy…
Even if you arrive in T2 right on the cut offs, (10:30) you will still have 6 and a half hours to complete this marathon.
6 and a half hours.
So, This is what I went and did for you today.
From the T2 exit at Queens park I jogged the pan flat 2.5km into town and back.
This took me 15 minutes.
I then ran to the first bridge in the park (a short distance in) – dont worry you will know it when you see it.
I then walked all the way up the tarmac hill paths to the gates of the park.
This took me 6 minutes.
I then walked all the way up chorley new road to the U turn.
This took me 23 minutes and I was bored as fuck. We are now at 44 minutes.
Once I made the U turn I then jogged downhill all the way back down chorley new road and into the park where the downhill treat continued all the way to the gates which mark the starting point of the run circuit. I did this in 23 minutes.
Total time for one loop of the circuit (10km) 1 hour 6 minutes my friend.
Can you believe that shit?
You can walk half the loop and still do it in 1 hour and 6 minutes…..
4 of those and we are at 4 hours 24 minutes which means you are pretty much done. (40km).
This simple strategy leaves you with you an entire 2 HOURS of fat to make the cut offs.
2 HOURS!
www.strava.com/activities/1669861577
Don’t ever say I dont give you anything.
See you on the circuit ?….
If you want to know what else I have been up to this week, ‘add’ me on Facebook where you will find my daily training commentary as I do it.
To your amazing journey.
Like this article? Then you will love this book, its nearly 500 pages crammed full of hints and tips detailing exactly how I was able to go from zero fitness to completing an Ironman triathlon and covers super sprint, sprint, olympic 70.3 & full iron distances all from a ‘first timer’ perspective – please take a moment to read the reviews on amazon www.amazon.co.uk/Secrets-Ironmen-Iron-Rookie/dp/1974002322/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529099273&sr=8-1&keywords=iron+rookie
Are you currently training for or aspiring towards IMUK and want to come and recce the route but don’t know the circuit and need somewhere to stay? then click here www.iron-rookie.com/b-b-tours/
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