Weymouth Ironman 70.3 – Race report
15 September 2025
Weymouth Ironman 70.3 🏃♀️🚴🏼♀️ – race report by Lizzie Forbes.
I thought it was a bit ambitious with only one triathlon under my belt and only 6 months of bike and swim experience/training… but it was awesome!
I’d been nervously refreshing the weather page the whole week leading up to the event; which often showed 40-50mph wind and heavy rain ☔️ 😬 I’d also heard that Ironman have only cancelled a swim once in 10 years in the UK and that was due to lightning ⚡️ So I was fully expecting to go in a bit of a rough sea 🌊 However, the forecast improved each day and the storm looked like it was coming in later – which gave me confidence we’d get a nice swim 🏊♀️
Cut to Saturday night after registering, racking up and sorting all the transition gear, I got the notification that they’d cancelled the swim! Utter outrage on all the Ironman pages and it left me feeling a bit flat. I was most nervous for making the swim cut off time so all that nervous energy disappeared. Which sounds great but it’s that nervous energy that makes a race exciting! And it felt odd to have that pulled from under my feet. But I did get a great nights sleep without the worry! 😴 🙈
Sunday morning and the weather was gorgeous, a beautiful sunrise over a flat sea, filled with lots of ‘rebellious’ triathletes getting the 1.9k in 😂 I would’ve loved to join them – but I’m far too inexperienced in this sport to be a rebel!
It was a rolling TT start on the bike, which I actually quite liked 🎉 Felt good out of the gate and enjoyed the first 10k 💪 Then on one of the first few descents someone had a big crash next to/ just behind me 😬 I’ve only seen bike crashes through a screen or fallen off myself when I’ve forgotten to unclip 😂 To hear someone hit the floor at that speed, bike go bouncing along the road and see them slide out of sight in real time definitely made me feel queasy 🤢 It took me a bit by surprise as I’ve witnessed (and had my fair share) of some horrid horse accidents.
It definitely made me question if I’m cut out for triathlon and made me slow down on the corners with wet leaves 🍂 But another half hour on some smooth main roads and I was back in the zone 👍 Rest of the bike all went smoothly, rode every single hill (including revels!) and passed a lot of people walking their bikes up. I somehow managed to pass an army triathlete up revels and he gave me a huge boost by shouting ‘what an athlete’… little did he know my heart rate had hit 196 😂 Finished the bike in 3 hours 40 and my goal time was 4 hours 🎉
Onto the run! I went hard on the bike as I didn’t want to get caught out in the wind and rain that was forecast and I had no idea if I had a half marathon in me after that! My back ached a bit after dismounting and initially I thought walking to the transition tent would be a good idea to get my heart rate down. I tried a little jog in my cleats and the weird angle they made me run in actually eased my back pain 😅 So a silly tip tap over to transition made all the difference!
Out onto the run and it was already drizzling 🌧️ I felt good and probably ran a bit too fast for the first 5k 🙈 I steadied it a bit and held that pace for the rest of the run and it pelted with rain on mile 4 all the way until the end ☔️ The support from the spectators in that dreadful weather was amazing! And like nothing I’ve experienced so far 🫶 All the marshals were super helpful and supportive too – especially at the aid stations! One guy even asked me my favourite flavoured jelly babies (obviously the red ones) and sorted a cup of them for me 😂 With 3k left on the run, I upped the pace as my legs still felt good💪 It was awesome to hit that red carpet and feel so great through the finish 🏁 My half marathon time was 2.06 (goal of 2.15) 👌
I’m super happy with the result and despite the challenges with the weather and a cancelled swim, I still totally loved the experience! I feel fresh today and as if I could do it all again! If I hadn’t PB’d my 40k, 50k, 80k on the bike and been 1 minute off my half marathon PB, I’d be questioning if I went hard enough!
And aside from a good taper and a successful nutrition plan, I’m putting feeling good today down to several factors!
1. Making sure I do proper strength and conditioning sessions – thank you Matt Hammond at Goodwood for the fortnightly PTs to teach me proper technique and keeping an eye on my form!
2. The amazing coaching and support from Chichester Triathlon Club – you guys are honestly incredible! With my limited triathlon experience, I assumed all triathletes are as speedy as you guys and thought I really needed to up my game! Turns out I’m not as mediocre as I thought and you guys are just extremely talented 😂 It’s great to train with people that help me constantly raise the bar but are so supportive and friendly at the same time 💪
3. My job and sporting career with horses. Running for 2 hours in the rain and wind is mentally easy when I’ve done 80/90 hours a week of mucking out, turning out, coaching, riding fresh horses and picking up endless amounts of crap 💩 every winter for the last 15 years!
Well done if you made it to the end of this post 😂 Weymouth, we’ve got unfinished business, see you next year! But that’ll be after I’ve tackled a full distance – I’ve got my eye on Leeds 👀
PS – I found the guy who crashed his bike on FB -all okay! He needed some stitches in his arm, bike needs repair and said it was the most expensive 10k bike ride he’s ever done 🙈
To find out more about joining Chi Tri click here!