Lucy Charles-Barclay: “After five attempts, I’ve finally done it”

Britain’s newly-crowned Ironman world champion, Lucy Charles-Barclay fought through an Achilles injury, trained exclusively at home in the build-up and finally put the stigma of being a four-time runner-up in Hawaii behind her on a perfect day on the Big Island.

“I’ve dedicated my whole career to trying to win this race and it’s taken me five attempts but I’ve finally done it. I’ve worked so hard for this,” an emotional Charles-Barclay said after crossing the finish line in a course record 8:24:31, slicing almost 2mins off Daniela Ryf’s 2018 mark.

How injury almost meant a DNS

It was an imperious performance from the GB triathlete and belied a troubled build-up. After a hip fracture last year and a metatarsal fracture earlier this summer, an Achilles flare up shortly before travelling to Hawaii threatened to completely derail plans.

“A week out from this race something went wrong in my achilles and my physio has been working on me every single day,” she explained. “There were times when I didn’t think I would be on the start-line because it was so bad, and I was cramping in my calf from mile one and I just had to ignore it and push as hard as I could.”

“My Achilles is bad”

While Charles-Barclay tried to ignore the issue, husband and co-coach, Reece, who works alongside Dan Lorang to plan the training, didn’t have that option. 

“About 8km in she just said: ‘My Achilles is bad.’ That’s all the information I got from her and I was left with 2hrs of my own thoughts thinking: ‘How bad is it?’ and nervously checking every timing split to make sure she was still going.”

While Charles-Barclay held it together for a 2:57:38 marathon, her first time under 3hr on the Big Island and fastest of her career, she needed to be on form because it was the third time in a row in Kona where she was being chased down by fleet-footed Anne Haug.

New run course record for Anne Haug

In 2019, the German overtook Charles-Barclay in the second-half of the marathon to take the title, and last year, she was again in hot pursuit but didn’t make the catch as the pair joined winner Chelsea Sodaro on the podium.

This year, the 40-year old was setting a new run course record of 2:48:23 as she ran through for second place and closed the gap to 3mins.

“I had to hold off Anne last year, and this year I told myself I had to do it even more because it was for the win,” Charles-Barclay explained. “I know how strong she is and from mile one I was just digging into the depths of my soul to get through that marathon.”

It was testament to the training that despite the late injury scare had put her in race winning shape for a title she has been hunting for seven years.

“One of the only people ever to win gun-to-tape”

“The block that we did leading into this we saw the best ever running I’ve done, and I don’t think that marathon reflects it because of this issue. On the flipside, I feel like I could have run faster but how can I complain when I’ve just won the world championship!”

Having joined Lucy for their first Ironman together in the UK almost a decade ago when they both worked as personal trainers, and now having put his own pro career on hold, Reece was equally ecstatic with the outcome.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming and we’ve felt pressure to do this for a long time. Even though coming second is something to be very proud of, it happened so many times it was becoming a burden.

“I could tell coming into this race that she was extremely fired up and ready. A few years ago at the 70.3 worlds we saw what Lucy is capable of when she has a good day, and since then she hasn’t been able to show that through injury.

“It’s been a difficult two years but to do what she did today, one of the only people ever to win gun-to-tape, and set the course record, it’s a dream come true. Literally mind-blowing.”

How Team Charles-Barclay trained for victory

The couple had switched from their usual preparation base of Lanzarote to train at home in the UK in the build-up in their “pain cave”, where they could use heaters to turn up the temperatures and try to acclimate for the heat and humidity of Hawaii. 

“One of the things with Ironman is that as much as it’s physical, it’s mental,” Reece continued. “She’s done a huge amount of her training indoors and I don’t advocate that all year round, but I’d say it definitely makes you a mentally tougher athlete.

“She also had a very controlled environment. I could set the temperature exactly and make sure she was having the right nutrition and hydration  every hour. It was like being in a lab for six weeks rather, but on the flipside as soon as it was finished for the day we could put our feet up and have home comforts which you miss when you are on the road for so long.”

Reece also felt that even though she is the No. 1 swimmer in the sport, focusing even more on that strength paid dividends. “Lucy always responds well to going back to her roots and a big swim block. 

“She doesn’t necessarily gain a lot of time in the water, but she gains a lot of aerobic fitness in a safe manner. She’s not from a run background and can’t do crazy high run mileage, but she’s been in the pool a lot and sometimes swimming 40km a week which she hasn’t done for years. It’s clearly paid off.”

How will Lucy Charles-Barclay celebrate winning Kona?

Having lived a spartan existence in the build-up, it was now time to let their hair down. “I had my 30th birthday leading into this and I didn’t celebrate whatsoever,” Lucy added. “We’re definitely going to be celebrating now.”

Top image credit: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images for Ironman