Fenella Langridge spent a chunk of her debut at last year’s Ironman World Championship fist pumping and smiling. This time she’s hoping to continue it all the way to the finish line on Ali’i Drive.
The Brit cut a jubilant figure as she joined leader Lucy Charles-Barclay on the bike leg in Hawaii 12 months ago, and while she faded in the heat and humidity of the marathon, still held on to finish an impressive sixth.
A positive attitude
Consolidating fitness with a consistent year of training, the 31-year-old says she is well-placed to match or even better the 2022 result, with a positive attitude remaining a cornerstone of performance.
“If I’m racing like that I’m having a good time and it’s the performance I’m happy with,” she explains, about he choices to gee up the spectators. “If I’m not, it’s probably going the other way, but learning how to mentally turn that around is hopefully a strength and I’ll be cheering and shouting however it’s going.
“It’s the world champs, you have to be happy to be here and grateful. You don’t know what is around the corner, so enjoy every opportunity you get and hopefully that’s cheering and fist pumping on Saturday.”
Breaking the 3hr marathon
Fenella Langridge, who won Challenge London with the fastest swim and run legs in August, knows that to threaten the podium, she needs to slice several minutes off the 3:16 marathon she produced last year, but has since been boosted by breaking the 3hr barrier in Challenge Roth in June with a 2:59.
“The fastest girls will probably be running 2:50, but if I can run close to 3hr and have 10min [advantage off the bike] then anything can happen. Racing last year helped me realise that it’s not as flat as people think, and it should help just experiencing the race in terms of the dynamics and long drags where you can see the end but it never comes any quicker!”
Swapping Texas for Lanza
Another factor that instils confidence is swapping pre-Hawaii training locations from The Woodlands in Texas to Lanzarote for nearly four weeks.
“Last year in Texas it was completely flat, so I think being in Lanzarote has helped because it’s hillier with a bit more strength work. But last year there were a few more injuries too, and so generally it’s just being a bit more consistent with my running.”
Following a 14th place in the PTO Asian Open in Singapore in August the rest of the build-up has gone smoothly.
“It’s very cliche, but training has been consistent, we’ve just done block after block after block. Preparation started from last year’s race knowing we wanted to be here on the island in good form. There has not been a standout race where I’ve thought I’ve absolutely nailed it, but hopefully that’ll come this weekend.”
The benefit of past experience?
While USA’s Chelsea Sodaro bucked the trend by winning on debut last October, Fenella Langridge hopes that like most triathletes on the Big Island, she will benefit from past experience.
“I came in last year not having a clue what Kona was like, and everything was new,” she says. “To think where I was there in comparison to where I am now, it’s a whole different story. I feel more prepared mentally and physically to take on the challenges of this race.
“I’d love to be right up there, but the level of racing has gotten even more competitive. I just want to be able to play a vital part in the outcome of the race and hopefully that’ll see me on the podium.”
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Top image credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for Ironman