SPIRIT of Monmouth athletes Allan Meek and Ben Wills competed in the Ironman UK competition on Sunday 19th July.

One of a series of long distance triathlons, Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run (marathon distance) – all raced non-stop and in that order.

Allan and Ben decided to enter the Ironman last August and immediately began training six days a week for up to 15 hours at a time.

The pair joined the mass start for the open water swim in a reservoir just outside Bolton, before taking to the bike course, which included the infamous Sheep House Lane climb, and finally running a marathon around a three loop circuit finishing in Bolton’s historic centre.

Ironman was always an ambition for Ben and the pair agreed it was a good year for a tough challenge, with Ben turning 30 this year and Allan turning 50 next year.

Running was the strongest discipline for the pair, however on the day Allan improved most on the bike and Ben during the swim. Allan completed in 13 hours 32 minutes and eight seconds and Ben in 13:14.44.