Ironman Worlds: “Don’t rule out an all-British podium,” says upbeat Ruth Astle

British women have long been a tour de force when it comes to Ironman racing.

Since the undefeated Chrissie Wellington took the first of four victories in 2007, there has only been one year when a GB pro hasn’t stood on the women’s Ironman World Championship rostrum. 

Two of those Brits, defending champion Lucy Charles-Barclay and former Ironman worlds runner-up Kat Matthews, line up on Sunday and could comprise two-thirds of a GB podium sweep, according to an upbeat Ruth Astle. 

Astle came fifth in the world championship in St George in May 2022 where Matthews finished second, and while the Leeds-based athlete is optimistic about her own chances in Nice, it’s training partner India Lee who she feels could also place in the top three.

“We could easily see Lucy, Kat and Indie on the podium and a lot more British women in the top 10,” Astle says as she puts the finishing touches to her own preparation for a fourth Ironman worlds as a pro. 

“In the last five or six years we’ve had a lot of Brits on the world championship start-line and I think it’s partly due to the success of previous women, partly a strong club culture in Britain, and partly because Brits are gritty and have to train in such s*** weather all the time!”

With the likes of 2019 champion Anne Haug, Laura Philipp and Anne Reischmann – an established bike-runner who Astle thinks could spring a surprise – the Germans might feel equally capable of podium domination, but for any nation to achieve it would be quite some feat. The German men managed it in 2016, but the last time it happened in the women’s race was by the USA more than 40 years ago when the competition was in its infancy.

Perhaps the more salient point is that Astle’s positivity reflects her mood after a number of injury-disrupted years that have resulted in pulling out of races or being hampered on the run. 

That spirit has been fostered despite an ongoing calf issue that has only allowed her to race once in 2024 to date, a third place in Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz in July that secured qualification for Nice.

“Last year I was frustrated. It felt unfair,” she explains. “This year, my view has been more: ‘It is what it is. I’ll deal with it whatever way I can.’”

Part of the change in attitude might be due to more time for recovery having finally left her corporate career with Lloyds, which although scaled back since turning pro, still needed a mental and practical focus.

There is also a new coaching set-up. After nine successful years with British Olympic triathlete Will Clarke, who guided her to an overall age-group world title in Hawaii in 2019 and on to a successful pro career, Astle has now switched to Kasper Pedersen, who also works with Magnus Ditlev.

“I was still improving with Will, but Kasper brings a good positive energy too. He’s not coaching many athletes and doesn’t have children, so can come out and support more at training camps and races.” Helpfully, Pedersen was also working with Ditlev and his team when the Dane placed third in the men’s Ironman World Championship in Nice last year.

Then there is the confidence given by bringing in US-based South African chiropractor and movement specialist Lawrence Van Lingen to try to retrain movement patterns and lower the stress on her system. 

A unique character, Van Lingen has successfully worked with many of the top triathletes including three-time Ironman champion Jan Frodeno and two-time Olympic medallist Taylor Knibb. 

“Lawrence is very much about how you move, not necessarily how you run,” Astle explains. “He came to Spain for 10 days in February and was helpful with hands-on treatment. It’s more of a challenge working remotely now but I send him videos and he gives feedback.”

Van Lingen’s novel strategies involve dragging tyres while walking backwards and using something called a flow rope to help the body find a relaxed rhythm for running. 

“My friends laugh endlessly at me for using it,” Astle says. “But the key thing Lawrence taught was not to force it. The way I run now is quite different, so we’ll see. A lot of it translates into my swimming being way more relaxed, and that’s definitely been helpful too.”

While Astle says she’s managed to run up to a maximum of 60km in a week in 2024, the prospect of the flat, looped marathon on the Promenade des Anglais doesn’t faze her. 

“I think I’ve done more Ironman races off no running than running, so that feels like a more normal state of being,” she explains. “Come race day in Ironman, so much more comes down to the mental side and how much you can keep your head in the game and keep suffering.”

The switch  to Nice from Hawaii, where she placed 12th last year, should also give Astle plenty to get excited about. Outside of world championship racing, the 35-year-old has set the fastest bike split in her last five Ironmans and with the bike course in southern France likely to play a more critical role in the race, it suits her strengths.

“This course is much better for me,” she agrees. “I might come in with slightly less run fitness, but the bike should be so hard, the pure runners will find the marathon harder. They can’t just sit in a group on the bike, they have to get over the mountains.”

Having trialled it successfully before the fifth place in St George in 2022, Astle is hoping the altitude training works again, but was equally thankful for the long “draggy” climbs in the Pyrenees that at up to 30km covered more distance than the main Col de l’Ecre ascent she’ll face on Sunday. She’s also kept in some heat stimulus as forecasts suggest it could turn out to be toasty come crunch time on Sunday. 

As for the outcome, Astle thinks there is every chance of a surprise.

“Things genuinely don’t pan out how everyone thinks,” she says. “I think gaps could be a lot bigger and the top 10 could be quite surprising. So many people who haven’t been talked about could have a big impact, Reischmann loses time in the swim but bikes and runs so well, she could make it up easily. Danielle Lewis could come from even further back.

“I’m looking to bike aggressively and hope to be in a similar position to where I was last year in Kona, coming off the bike in the top 10 and relatively close to top five. Other than blisters, I actually felt good running the marathon in Vitoria. The talk is that we will have to run low 2:50s to place high, but I’m not sure. Potentially there could be some big blow ups.”

Having only raced once this year Astle is certainly fresh, but she’s not going to let a lack of competition deflate the mood, offering one last positive thought: “Put it this way, I’ve podiumed in every race I’ve done this year!”