HANNAH Colston from Tavistock took on her first iron distance triathlon ‘The Outlaw’. 

Starting at 6am at the national rowing lake in Nottingham, a very long day began with a 2.4mile swim. After 1 hour 20 minutes she emerged from the water and headed out for a 112 mile cycle.

After several hours of hard riding the headwinds and rain began to close in, which added a new challenge to an already gruelling event. An impressive ride of 6hrs15mins saw Hannah climb up the rankings into 18th lady overall. With the rain now firmly set to stay she headed out on the final element, the marathon run. 

Hannah told the Times: ‘I knew this would be the toughest phase; at about 14 miles my mood started to turn and I thought — what an earth am I doing here? But it was knowing all my friends and family were behind me that kept me moving forward. I tried to think of good technique and keeping my feet light.’

She finished the marathon in 4hrs 25mins, to give her seventh in the senior lady age group and 21st lady overall in a time of 12hrs 14mins.

Hannah added that it was a fantastic experience and thanked her fiance Dan for his patience and support. 

She encourages anyone tempted to begin running, swimming, cycling or triathlon to just give it a go!

‘We have some great clubs and coaches in Tavistock, alongside fantastic facilities. They are all here to make sure people enjoy their experiences, progress and achieve goals, whether complete beginners or seasoned athletes. Anyone who is experienced at anything was a beginner once!

‘I’d like to say a big thanks to Liz Vernon at Mount Kelly who helped my swimming, Jon Meek and Martin Exley at Tavistock Athletic Club.’