Thank you for visiting my page! My name is David and I am a firefighter from the Isle of Man. 

Last summer whilst nursing an injury, I decided to set myself a challenge - one that had been on the radar for quite some time. Which was to do a full distance Ironman triathlon (tri), specifically Ironman Wales.

I assume most of you will know what an Ironman tri is, but for those that don‘t; it is a multi-sport event which consists of a swim, a bike ride and a run.

These disciplines are completed in this order and back to back. The clock will start at the beginning of the swim and will carry on ticking until you cross the finish line of the run. 

Sound simple? That’s because it is… in theory. There’s one slight spanner in the works though which is the distances to cover… 

As mentioned, we start with a nice little swim - a 2.4 mile swim… in the sea. From there we get on to the bike and complete a fairly hilly course of 112 miles. 
The bike course will then drop you off nicely warmed up at the start line of the run… which, to add a sting in the tail is in fact a full distance marathon (26.2 miles). 

Once this is all done, then (and only then) can you call yourself an Ironman. This will not only be a test of discipline and consistency on the build up to the event, but a test of mental and physical resilience on the day. 

This ties in nicely with the cause that I’m raising money for, Rock 2 Recovery. (Full details above). Rock 2 Recovery truly have been a rock to many of my friends and family and it is a charity that I hold close. 

To follow my journey, I have set up an Instagram page dedicated to my journey to becoming and Ironman - check it out at http://Instagram.com/rock2wales