Ultrarunner Lucy Bartholomew made working and triathlon historical past on Sunday, turning into most effective the second one lady ever to complete the 171-kilometre Extremely-Path du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) in addition to the Ironman International Championships in the similar 12 months.
Replace right here: @lucybartholomoo effectively finished the UTMB-Kona double, the primary Australian and the second one feminine to have completed this double!
Lucy completed in 10:43:41 at Kona, just right for twenty ninth in her AG, and 215th OA. Implausible! #UTMB #ironman https://t.co/UOcNvEA1vW
— Liam (@aidstationfireb) October 15, 2023
Bartholomew ran remarkably smartly at each occasions, taking a tenth-place end at UTMB in 27:39:22, and finishing what used to be most effective her 2nd Ironman in 10:43:41, with a three:31 marathon time. The double–just about 400 kilometres of difficult racing–has most effective been conquered through one lady ahead of Bartholomew: Eire’s Diana Hogan-Murphy, in 2014. Bartholomew could also be the quickest individual of any gender to have finished each occasions in the similar 12 months.
Bartholomew shot to popularity within the ultrarunning international in 2018, when she used to be the 3rd feminine on the Western States 100. The runner shared on social media that she misplaced one of the most pleasure in racing within the years following her WSER podium, and after her 2022 race led to a DNF, she wasn’t positive if she’d race 100 miles once more.
“You display up (virtually) on a daily basis to run so that you could run much more at the race day, end and now not be capable to run, most effective to need to run, after which run to help within the convalescing of the working and to organize for extra working,” Bartholomew defined. “To take myself out of this cycle I determined to tick a bucket listing concept to do an IRONMAN triathlon. It used to be a ‘at some point, one day’ goal that I pulled ahead to lend a hand pull me out of feeling caught.”
Bartholomew’s first Ironman, in Western Australia in December 2022, certified her for the Kona International Championship match in Hawaii. Whilst the runner had most effective deliberate to finish one Ironman, she felt she couldn’t pass over the chance to race in Hawaii. “Now not being one that steps down from a problem, it gave the impression proper to move yet one more,” she mentioned.
“I’ve swum, biked and run my strategy to incredible restoration from UTMB and reasonable triathlon health for Kona,” Bartholomew mentioned pre-race. “It used to be a amusing, superb stability to play with those two giant occasions so shut to one another.”
Watch the street to Bartholomew’s first Ironman on YouTube: