Wednesday 19 June 2013

A great result - Well done Matt Ryley

Matt and I joined the local triathlon club at about the same time, started swimming in the slowest lane (lane 6) and now swim together in lane 3, although there is no doubt that Matt is stronger and often swims in lane 2. We also competed in Ironman Antwerp 70.3 (2010) together and our first full Ironman (Austria 2012). It is in these competitive events that Matt really pulls out all the stops and has had some great results.

For any long-term followers of my previous Ironman blog you may remember that Matt was featured back in April 2012. In the run up to his training for Ironman Austria he was unfortunately hit by a vehicle and ended up breaking his back - check out the story:

http://journeytoironmanaustria.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/get-well-soon-matt-ryley.html

At that moment we all felt that it was simply a miracle he was alive and thought his Ironman dreams were over, at least for that year. Well he really did surprise us all and came back from that awful injury to not only compete in Ironman Austria but to record an amazing time of 11:39. Again he gets a mention in one of post Ironman blogs:

http://journeytoironmanaustria.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/my-team-buddies-and-support-crew.html

After last year's Ironman event Matt decided to continue with his training and booked in some serious events for 2013 including the official 70.3 Ironman UK race and I believe a full Ironman later in the year. He also retained the services of Coach Mark Tickner to keep him focused.

Last week he competed in very tough conditions (weather and terrain) but completed Ironman UK 70.3  in an amazing time of 5:33. His splits (taken from official Ironman website) were as follows:

Swim (1,900m): 35;08
Bike (90km): 3:10:47
Run (half-marathon): 1:39:32

This great effort (very hilly course) earnt Matt 4th place in the 45-50 age range and more importantly gained him a place in the 70.3 world championship in Las Vegas.

Certainly something to aspire to - well done Matt.

Matt - next stop Las Vegas

Matt and I at IM Austria finish 2012

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