Race Date: Sunday 27th July 2025

Completing a “full distance” triathlon had been something on my bucket list for a long time and I finally decided to go for it in around November 24 when I took the plunge and signed up for the Nottingham Outlaw (having run it past Ellen first of course). I decided to go for the Outlaw as they market themselves as a triathlon for the athletes, “putting the athlete’s point of view at the heart of race planning”. It also helped that the entry price was around £200 less than their arguably better known competitors at Ironman and the course was about as beginner friendly as a 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42.2km run could possibly be. My excitement at signing up was quickly followed by a sense of impending doom as I started to contemplate the big day, only having a few sprint distance triathlons under my belt until this point. 

Training proper began around March 25, as directed by my 20 week plan shamelessly downloaded from the Ironman website. Each week consisted of 3 swims, 3 cycles and 3 runs with a speed, tempo and distance session in each discipline. Already being part of Striders and the City of Sheffield Swim Squad Masters team, the swimming and running was fairly straightforward but I found the bike component incredibly daunting. To make it a little easier to comprehend, I went and bought myself a shiny new bike from decathlon via a cycle to work scheme, convincing myself that an entry level all carbon fibre bike frame was the way to go. Despite the ever mounting costs, also including a new triathlon suit, cycle and running shoes, training went pretty smoothly all things considered, and by the end of my plan I had several 4km open water swims, a 175km cycle and a 20 mile run under my belt. Now I just had to put it all together. 

Race day began early at around 0430, with a bowl of cereal and a strong coffee at the Airbnb, after which Ellen drove me over to the venue at Holme Pierrepoint. We had registered and set up my transition areas the day before so all that was left to do was to don my wetsuit and say my goodbyes to my support team of Ellen and my parents. They had a long day ahead of them and thankfully, the weather was perfect, with clear skies and very little wind forecast. 

The swim (3.8km around the rowing lake) began at 0600 with a mass start of all circa 500 athletes and at the sound of the hooter we were off. I was in the fastest of 4 pens and after about 5 minutes of being consistently punched and dragged by other athletes around me, my plan of “taking the swim steady” went out of the window. I made a break for the open water at the front of the group and latched onto a couple of other swimmers who had also made it to the front. We shared the work to the far end of the lake, swapping the leader periodically, with the other 2 slip streaming behind. Disaster struck at about 2km (not ideal when involved in a 225km race…) when I got cramp in my calf and had to hang on to a nearby kayak to stretch it out. I managed to shake it off and get going again but now I was in no-man’s land between the 2 lead swimmers and the main pack. Over the remaining 1.8km, I slowly reeled in the front 2 swimmers again and we left the water together after a little over 52 minutes with loud cheers from Ellen and my parents ringing in my ears. 

During the first transition, my amateur status became abundantly clear. My swim companions were off on their bike leg after 2 minutes, while I was still staggering around trying to drag off my wetsuit. Slightly embarrassingly, one of the marshals noticed my difficulties and came over to ask if I needed any help but I managed to muddle through without assistance and was off on my bike after 5 minutes in the transition. 

The bike leg was an almost pancake flat 180km consisting of a cycle out to the Nottinghamshire countryside to complete 3 roughly 50km laps before retracing my route back to the venue at Holme Pierrepoint. I settled in for several uncomfortable hours fuelled by sports drinks, flapjacks and energy gels which I had affixed to various locations on my bike. The cycle being my weakest discipline, I was fairly consistently being overtaken by faster athletes on the first lap, before I found my rough position on the road and it became a fairly lonely undertaking. Mum, Dad and Ellen had stationed themselves at a café in one of the villages on the loop, so I saw them briefly on 3 occasions. Their cheers gave me a huge boost and I definitely couldn’t have finished without this support as well as that of the ever smiling and enthusiastic Outlaw volunteers based at the 2 different feed stations. 6 hours later, I rolled back into Holme Pierrepoint feeling extremely positive about my performance so far but thoroughly bored of cycling and ready to get on with the final component of the day. Only a marathon to go! 

After a much less dramatic Transition 2, I set off on the run which consisted of 5 laps of a mixed terrain course around the rowing lakes and a riverside trail. Once again, Ellen and my parents had set up shop at the perfect spot, where they could cheer me twice each lap. There were also 5 or 6 feed stations along the course, staffed with the always cheery and supportive Outlaw volunteers. Lap 1 felt fantastic, just for the change from the cycle to the run more than anything, but by lap 2 I was suffering and had very much hit the wall. Copying lots of other runners, I settled into a rhythm of running between the feed stations then walking briefly while taking on board snacks such as ready salted crisps, jaffa cakes, flat coke and energy drinks. This seemed to work fairly well for me as the next feed station never seemed too far away so I could keep convincing my ever-protesting legs that there wasn’t too far to go. Having passed the famous orange finish mat 4 times, it was finally my turn to peel off the course and head towards the finish line cheered on by the crowd of supporters and the announcer, who was very loudly telling everyone that finishers were “Outlaws and not Ironmen”. I staggered across the line after 3hrs 53mins of running and with a total time of 10hrs 57mins, I was done! 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the event which was fantastically organised from start to finish and would definitely recommend it to anyone considering a full distance triathlon. After the race, all finishers received a rucksack, t-shirt and medal as well as access to free physio and a post-race meal after which I met up with my support crew who ferried me home for a well-earned rest. To anyone who is thinking of signing up to a full distance triathlon, please plan your journey home to allow for the after effects of large quantities of electrolyte gels consumed during the day. I made it back without spoiling Ellen’s car but only because of a handily placed Toby Carvery on route… 

Strider Results 

Edward Shattock – overall position 47th, category position 15th, finish time 10:57:07 

The men’s race was won by Dan Elliot in 08:49:06 and the women’s race by Dee Allen in 09:40:36.  

Full results: https://results.resultsbase.net/results.aspx?CId=8&RId=20707&EId=4&dt=0