December 13, 2014 - After a few drinks at the Observer’s Christmas meal, and perhaps with a little alcohol still helping out, I entered Ironman Wales. Nine months to make sure I could complete it!

September 13, 2015 - The nerves that seemed to have peaked the day before were settled, even my incompetent alarm setting failed to make me miss the start, and I found myself lined up on the beach; trying to remain calm and not gettng carried away by the extraordinary atmosphere. Just looking up around the bay to see the people watching was enough to make it feel special.

Swimming is my best discipline, I was in the water quite quickly and, apart from nearly crashing into another swimmer (who looked suspiciously like Matthew Evans), had an uninterrupted swim to the first buoy. At that first buoy, it changed somewhat. A small squabble at the buoy as everyone gets a bit close, and then we were swimming into the swell. It was quite a surprise, but they were big gentle rollers, rather than short sharp spikey waves with malice intended. Round the second buoy, ride the waves in towards Goscar Rock and round for the second lap.

Out of the water, shoes on and the run through town to pick up the bike. Huge support from the spectators, it was not easy to remember how long the day is and keep calm, it felt more like a sprint to transition. Now, onto the bike and out for 112 miles through Pembrokeshire, settle down as it is a long ride. Eat regularly, try to ignore the quick cyclists flying past, and enjoy the support that was out in force all the way around the course. It is hard to overstate how fantastic the support was, every town, village, farm, campsite and spectator area had people cheering and encouraging you onwards. St. Bride’s Hill in Saundersfoot deserves an extra special mention.

Back towards Tenby, then out onto the second lap. The miles start to make their presence felt; now the longer training rides start to prove their worth. I had included a lot of hills while training, and I’m sure this helped! Count the big hills to go - Templeton, Narberth, Wiseman’s Bridge and Saundersfoot, climb back into Tenby and prepare for the run.

I knew that the run was my worst discipline, but off we go! I knew at this point that I had every chance of completing it, which took the pressure off and allowed me to spend longer (intentionally, of course!) soaking up the incredible atmosphere that Tenby gives the run course. Each lap, another band, each one giving a lift as the distance remaining decreased. The third lap was my darkest moment, with aches and pains convincing me that I had to walk to the finish. The fourth lap was special, and I must give a huge thank you to Captain Cymru and James Stephens, who collected me coming down the hill from New Hedges and encouraged me to run much of the last lap into the finish. Apologies to them for legging it up the red carpet to make sure I finished first!

I finished with a total time of 13 hours 21minutes 54 seconds, having had a great swim, a good bike and a difficult run, but crossed the line euphoric at completing my first ever Ironman.

My favourite moments from the day, in no particular order.

1. Offering to act as a guide to someone wearing Cardiff Tri gear down the hill into Wiseman’s Bridge, only to find out it was local chap Ricki Morgan. ‘I live here, race you!’ - he won.

2. The support and help from Matthew Evans (Captain Cymru) and James Stephens on the final lap of the run.

3. The support from all spectators all the way around the course.

4. The finish line!