FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOODFELLOW...

Ben Goodfellow heads to Lanzarote to do battle with one of the most brutal Ironmans in the world. Can the 28-year-old Brit defy the winds and mountains to conquer his sixth full-distance...?

-  BEN GOODFELLOW

Ironman Lanzarote. A 3.8km swim in the Atlantic Ocean made up of two laps. A 180.2km bike around the hilly island, while being battered by the persistent winds that the island’s renowned for. With a barren, black volcanic moonscape all around, it is like nowhere else. A 42.2km run comprising three laps along the beachfront, with crowds of supporters cheering athletes along while the sun beats down.

I’m Ben Goodfellow, a 28-year-old athlete from the UK. I took on my first triathlon in 2017 and since then have been hooked on the sport. In 2022 I secured the 2529 male age-group win at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. Then last year I started racing in the pro category despite holding down a full-time job. This was my sixth time taking on the full distance… but it’s still a distance that scares me every time.

STARING AND SINKING

We stand together beneath the starting arch and stare out toward the sea, its iridescent turquoise turned an ominous grey by the clouds above. Its sense of foreboding reflects our grim determination to complete what is ahead. My heart is pounding while my feet gradually sink into the sand as we stand, waiting for the clock to strike 7am.

My day started at 4am. I’m not one for feeling rushed so it’s always an early start for me on race day. Jumping out of bed, I fuelled up with breakfast, undertook a final kit check and then flew out the door. As a perk of rising early, I was able to finish in transition and be organised before many others had even arrived, giving me time to relax upon the famed Lanzarote beaches. Trying to focus, I did some breathing work and thought over how the day could play out, mentally moving through the course and thinking through transition. Then suddenly it’s only 30 minutes before the start and I’m back on my feet, performing some warm-up moves to get my body firing.