Triathlon: Chester Triathlon Club’s Nick Rose qualifies for Ironman World Championships

Sep 3 2009 Chester Chronicle

PERSISTENCE has paid off for a Chester Triathlon Club member after he qualified for the Ironman World Championships at the third attempt.

Nick Rose, 37, completed the Ironman UK in Bolton in 10 hours 14 minutes and 40 seconds to finish 33rd out of a 1,370-strong field – and that was enough to seal a dream ticket to the Hawaii event in October.

He said: “I can’t wait to go to Hawaii. I’ve just booked my tickets and my mum and other family are coming to support me as well so it’s going to be really good.

“This is the third year I’ve tried. In 2007 I missed out by one place and two places in 2008.

“The aim will be definitely to just finish because I’ll be up against 1,800 of the world’s best triathletes.”

There are just 30 World Championships qualification places up for grabs in the whole of Ironman UK and only three going to Rose’s category.

The former Crewe Vagrants Hockey Club player finished sixth in the men’s 35-39 age range in Bolton, but after the first, second and fourth-placed finishers declined the offer of going to Hawaii, Rose was only too happy to step up to the plate.

Ironman is the ultimate test of physical endurance, consisting of a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bike ride topped off with a marathon run.

Rose said: “In 2000 I decided to run Ironman for the first time, but I snapped my knee in 2001 so couldn’t compete and didn’t return until 2003.

“I’m looking forward to going to Hawaii because there’s a lot of history there and it is most certainly the home of Ironman.”

Keep up with Rose’s progress at http://nickrose33.blogspot.com/

Not to be outdone by Nick Rose, the Chester clubs Jill Wilkinson won her age group in the ETU Long Distance Triathlon Championships in Prague in a time of 7.36.12 hours.