Lucy Charles-Barclay has been one of the very best and most consistent performers at the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona over the past six years with four second-place finishes, but so far the British star has never claimed the top prize.
This year, the PTO World #4 will look to draw on the experience she has gained from all her previous near misses in her bid for triathlon gold on the Big Island.
In this article, we look at what has changed since her previous attempts, what is different about her build-up this year. We also hear from Lucy herself on why this year may well be her year.
The run speed
Heading into Kona this year, the data suggests that Charles-Barclay is in some of the best run form of her career, with the Brit running on a par over middle distance with her best performances from 2021, when she became IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion.
Having only run under 1:19 for the half-marathon off the bike twice previously, both in 2021, Charles-Barclay once more got under the 1:19 barrier this season with a 1:18:11 at IRONMAN 70.3 Kraichgau. That was a race which saw her chasing down Laura Philipp, after mechanical issues on the bike had left her unusually off the pace. It was a run performance that her coach, Dan Lorang, described as “one of the best ones of her career.”
Currently sitting at a career high of PTO #12 in the run rankings, a position she also matched in 2021, the former professional swimmer is in the run form of her life ahead of Kona this weekend. For the Brit, running a sub-3:00 marathon in Kona (her previous best is (3:02:48) is now a very real possibility.
Whilst middle-distance results aren’t necessarily an indicator of long-distance capabilities, running as fast as she was in 2021 is a very strong measure of what’s to come on Saturday.
Of course, trying to infer from limited data points is never an exact science. The alternative perspective could be that on her last time out – the PTO Asian Open in Singapore – LCB finished fifth with, on paper at least, a run performance that doesn’t reflect that Kraichgau effort. They are however linked, as it was in that German race where she fractured her third metatarsal.
Rather than being downbeat about that result, coming through that Singapore race got “the demons out of her system” according to Lucy herself, increasing her confidence for the Kona build that the injury was behind her. Will two months of consistent training be enough to recapture her best run form? Your answer to that question, will likely shape your view on her prospects this coming Saturday.
Less (racing) is more
Having previously raced much more frequently in the build-up to Kona, especially over the full distance, Charles-Barclay has followed a similar approach to last season in preparation for this year’s event, where she didn’t race an Ironman before heading to Hawaii.
Whilst in both years Lucy has been hit by injuries, these enforced breaks seem to be a blessing in disguise. Her fastest time in Kona came in 2018 (where favourable conditions heavily affected the bike splits), but the Brit put together her second best in 2022, including her best run leg.
Having historically raced at least two full-distance events in 2017, 2018 and 2019 before Kona, the PTO World #4 may be fresh enough to put together a career-best result. Having only raced twice over the middle distance before her second place last October, Charles-Barclay has proved that sometimes freshness counts for more than race sharpness.
What does LCB say?
Whilst the data gives some solid indicators for potential success, it is nowhere near as valuable as hearing from the athlete themselves. In this case Lucy, sharing her thoughts with TRI247, firmly believes she can do even better in 2023 after a more consistent block of training.
“I think this is probably one of the most consistent blocks that I’ve had,” she told us.
“It’s definitely been different because I’ve done it at home, but I feel like actually, a lot of the training was indoors, so that’s a lot of mental training because you’re doing four or five hours a day on the turbo and that’s quite tough. So actually, the mental training has definitely been done, but we’ve also put in the hours and the mileage.
“I guess compared to last year, I came in and my injury had set me back a lot more with the hip, I actually had to have a lot of time of doing absolutely nothing, whereas this year I felt like I was able to keep my fitness even with the injury. I definitely feel in much better shape than last year and last year I really did surprise myself in how I raced and the result that came with it. Hopefully, I’ll be in better form this year. And whether that means a better result, we’ll have to wait and see. But yeah, like I said, the field is phenomenal this year.”
