OK all you Roth doubters..........

'Well it is amazing how quickly the months tick by. We are now less then 3 months away from the start of the Worlds biggest Ironman distance race and people should be well into their training programs now for the race. I guess the biggest question I get asked about the event in Roth is how to attack the race. For people who have never been to this event I welcome you and tell you now you are in for an experience. For the rest of us, I know it is the fact that we have done this race once that continues to bring us back. It is just amazing. I have decided that this month I will talk about what to expect and how to attack the great race.

The swim is in the main canal, about 8km from the town of Roth itself just near the town of Hilpoltstein . The great thing about this swim course is that it is very easy to navigate and very spectator friendly. You are never more than 100 metres from the land and this vastly increases the ambience and mood of the event. When you arrive race morning the buzz is electric. Thousands of people congregate around this area to watch the swim and will remain here for most of the race. This is a real hot spot of the course as spectators will see you in the swim, and bike and only a couple of kilometre away can then take in the marathon.* I encourage everybody to take the swim in. You can be relatively solid in your swim as the early portion of the bike course is flat and slightly downhill so this gives you time to really find your legs after the swim. Really work the swim section in this race, more than I would encourage people to work a swim in any other event, because the "feel" is so incredible here and the swim so straight forward. As you exit the swim course you will immediately be in the swim to bike transition. The run is relatively short to the change tents. Take your time here and really soak up this atmosphere. No triathlon event in the World has anything like it, so take your time to enjoy this. Once you are changed and on your bike you ride up the slight hill out of transition, turn right and enter the bike course.'

'The early section of the bike course is downhill for about 4km and relatively technical. Take your time here and try to get your breathe back and bring your heart rate down. The excitement and the adrenaline rush you will have experienced from the swim and then the huge crowds that line the streets at the swim exit can make you overload here. Just take your time and focus on your breathing and your mood. You need to find your fous a little now and concentrate on the task at hand. The early part of the bike course is relatively flat with a couple of small undulations. The bike course really opens up at about the 30km point along the road. The section along the back of the course through Thalmassing is electrically fast and on the first lap can be the very section that will make people pay later in the race. The stretch all the way to the climb at Greding is solid. Try to work this section without going silly. I see many people ride too hard along this section of the race and hey really pay for it later. You can ride fast here, and I encourage you to do just that, but don’t push it too hard. The Greding climb is tough and on the second lap is where the race really begins.

The climb at Greding is at about the 50km point of the course. The hill is surprisingly tough and the top section can be very open to wind. Take your time up this hill and do not push your heart rate to high. Stay controlled and ride through the hill. The next 2km are the toughest on the course as they are so open and the wind can be in your face. The light at the end of the tunnel of this section of the course is the Solarberg. This incredible climb presents itself at about the 70 km point of the bike course. It is the famous climb on the course and is incredible. The first time I did this climb it was such an amazing buzz. I was told by Lothar Leder prior to the climb to be ready for it, as the experience is just mind-blowing. More than 50 000 people line this climb and yell support to everyone. Take this in and enjoy it, but I give you this advice, remember it is a climb and the adrenaline that is generated by the atmosphere here can make you push too hard over this section. The best way to think when you are on this climb is to tell yourself to slow down. This way you can take in more of the atmosphere and not over exert yourself. I try to do this myself. By slowing down you enjoy it more and you will not push too hard over the hill which you will pay for later. I see and pass many people about 5-10km after Solarberg who have ridden the hill too fast and pay for it later. Enjoy this climb, take it easy and then settle back into your rhythm as quickly as you can. This section of the course is lovely with lots of people and will take you back past the swim area again and ready to complete your second lap. Follow the same approach on the 2nd lap of the course and you will not go wrong. I think what everybody expects when they come to Roth is that the course is flat. Everybody sees the fast times and thinks the course is flat. It is far from it. The course is fast if it is attacked the right way. If you blow up on this bike leg it can be an ugly ride home. Stay within your target zones and don’t get too carried away with the atmosphere and you will be fine.'

Oh now it's clear.

So it's a bit like a kid owning a pair of trainers with 2 or 4 stripes on them and thinking they're really cool but not realising their mates are laughing at them behind their back?

As you were then.

'Entering the run, the buzz is incredible again. This is another hotspot. As you enter the town of Roth to complete the bike course you will enter the change tents and start the run. Really take your time in the change area and take in some nutrition. I think the first section of the run course is the most difficult mentally and physically. As you start out on the run the first 2km are all downhill. The mistake many people make is they run this section too fast and then the long 2km climb up to the Main Canal really bites into your run legs. Really float the first part of the run and tell yourself to take your time until you get to the main canal. When you are here, then you can start to look at your rhythm. The run from transition to the main canal is about 4km. Once you hit the canal you will turn left and run the longer section of the run course. The run looks in part like a big letter T. This means you will pass this point on the canal twice and ultimately run yourself to the finish. This is the best way to break the run up mentally. I tell myself every year that the run course is basically this. Once you hit the canal you have completed the first part of the run. Now you have the long section across the top, you run out and back about 18km. This section is fast, on soft surface and littered with thousands of people. The support on the run is great. Make sure you are taking in the nutrition and controlling your pace. The km markers are a great way to assess what pace you are running. Make sure you check these off with your watch and control your pace accordingly. The run is very straight forward and not much to tell you about. Mentally it is a lovely run course as you are never alone for too long and there are always people yelling support along the way. This is what makes this run mentally an easy one. The course is flat and the only advice I can give to anybody about the run course here in Roth is to find your pace and rhythm and then hold it for as long as you can. There really is nothing that can break this rhythm once you find it. There are no hills and the great thing is that more than 2/3 of the run course is on soft surface which keeps the muscles less sore. This is great in the later stages of the marathon as you are able to hold your form much easier.

The run from the canal home to complete this event is like nothing you have ever experienced in your life. The crowds are enormous and the excitement and complete satisfaction you will feel with completing this event is huge. The last 2km of the run course is absolutely packed with people. I tell everybody to enjoy this moment. This is what all the hard work has been about and this is what you have come to experience. Soak up the atmosphere and enjoy your moment. The finish area in Roth is a non stop party. I look forward to seeing you at the finish line this year, and putting the finishers medal around your neck. Enjoy this event. It is impossible not to. I guess the entire advice I try to give from this article is that the atmosphere at this event is absolutely enormous and can make you do things that you do not expect and need to control. If you take the time to take in the experience and not get carried away with the ambience, you will pull through this event feeling stronger than you otherwise would have. Keep reminding yourself it is a long way and checking yourself all the time.'

'In my next article I will discuss more the pre race preparation for Roth and how I think you should approach the race in the days coming up to the event. I look forward to seeing you all in a few weeks time. The race will be on us before we know it and I look forward to the day. There is nothing like being in Roth in the last week of June every year. It is such a wonderful feeling and has become such a big part of my life and something I look forward to every year. For all the people who have been here before, you know what I am talking about. For all the first timers you will have an experience that you have never had before and I am sure I will see you back again.

Safe training. Keep smiling,

Macca

Chris McCormack
World Champion Triathlete

Taken from the official Quelle Challenge website.

Macca has announced his intention to crack the IM world record this year.

has he given up on running the bingo halls then??

He's won it a few times and is paid to go there. He's kinda obliged to like it.

So if I call myself a triheffer, do I need to go on a pilgrimage to MAcca?

are you telling me that using those razors won't make me cool and intelligent like david beckham? damn.

"Gilette! The best... a chav... can havvvvve!"

Why hasnt this been mentioned before?

we should have done Roth





if only someone had mentioned it before

van halen was never the same after he left

(still shite though, just differently)

I certainly want to do Roth next year I would have this year if finances hadn't got a bit frayed

it was a typo, she meant broth

and barlist thought it was shorthand for brothel, hence the interest

can you describe it madam?

yes officer, it was like a penis, only smaller

I wondered why he wandered into that soho establishment and asked for a quick minnestrone

is a minestrone quicker than a mini cooper?