trudging along uphill. And that was just the first of several hills.The veterans among you might be snickering—Phuket ain’t Alpe d’Huez—but cut me some slack. I’m new to triathlon. The tri bug bit in 2009, when I did my first 70.3 in Camarines Sur

the English Channel and a 181-mile cycle from Calais to the Paris finish line - in an astonishing time of four days, one hour and 42 minutes.Catch up with the inspiring highlights of Rachael's Arch2Arc adventure with our photo gallery.

part in last year's 175-mile Marathon Of Britain. Although an experienced ultra-runner, she is no stranger to shorter distances and has very creditable PBs of 19 minutes for 5K and 39 minutes for 10K, along with a 3:13 marathon. Although she cycles

Distance: Olympic 1500m/ 40K/ 10K & Sprint 750m/ 20K/ 5KWhere: ValenciaWhen: September 11, 2011First man: Xavier Llobet 2:11:02 (Olympic distance)First woman: Fátima Maestre 2:34:59 (Olympic distance)Valencia has come up trumps with the perfect end

to your first triathlon next year with this multisport treat. Find out more.Asics Off Road Race Series - IceMan (Surrey, November 19)Distance: 10K/18K/5KMake your final mission this season a gruelling duathlon on terrain even army vehicles struggle

and decided to create a triathlon to showcase the spectacular scenery and famous local climbs. The long-distance race I'm about to do features a 2.2K swim, 115K bike and 22K run. There's also a shorter race the following day of 1.K/30K/7K as well as a children

Distance: 3.8K/ 180K/ 42.2KWhere: Eidfjord, NorwayWhen: August 6First man: Tim DeBoom 11:18:52First woman: Susanne Buckenlei 13:10:37Last finisher: 20:38:50No of finishers: 223The telephone rings. It's my friend Alan. "Do you want the bad news