After winning her third Ironman in eight months, England’s Chrissie Wellington is an IronWoman on a roll.
Photo: What does it feel like to win your third Ironman title in a row without a loss? Check out the emotion from England’s Chrissie Wellington as she wins Panthers Ironman Australia on April 9. by Delly Carr/Sportshoot

England's Chrissie Wellington has come out of absolutely nowhere to become the dominant force in Ironman racing. It all started with her win at Ironman Korea last September, and was followed up with her huge victory in Kona on October 13 when she ran the second-fastest marathon in Ironman World Championship history (2:59:58). On April 6, she kept her string alive with another amazing performance, this one at Ironman Australia. She ran 3:01, the third-fastest run of the day for a male or female, plus she finished ninth overall and broke the existing course record by 10 minutes.

Last November, Wellington came on The Competitors with Bob Babbitt and Paul Huddle to fill in a few of the blanks in her background. The interview is on www.competitorradio.com.

Bob Babbitt: Chrissie, it’s not often that someone comes out of the blue to win the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona. Before the race we’re talking about Michellie Jones, Kate Major, Natascha Badmann, Samantha McGlone… and then you blow past everyone and win it all. Tell us a little bit about your background.

Chrissie Wellington: I was always a sporty kid and competitive swimmer, but I was really into academics. I left England in 1999 and spent two years traveling. When I came back in 2001, I decided to get into running. I started with 20- and 30-minute runs and then ran the London Marathon as part of a charity program in 2002. I hired a running coach after that, but in 2004 I was in a car crash and couldn’t run for a while, so I got back into swimming.

Paul Huddle: And that led to triathlon?

CW: I borrowed a bike and a surf wetsuit and did my first triathlon. Then I took a sabbatical from my government job as a policy advisor on international development, and I went to Nepal where I really fell in love with cycling. When I came back from Nepal, I trained hard for three months and did the ITU World Championship in Lausanne, Switzerland.

BB: How did you do?

CW: I won the race and decided to turn pro after meeting with Coach Brett Sutton in Switzerland. I was made aware of him at the end of 2006, and he agreed to take a look at me. I asked him if I had what it takes to make a living at this sport and he said yes.

PH: How did he come to that deter-mination? Was it all based on watching you swim, bike and run?

CW: It was actually less of a physical test than it was a mental one. He wanted to get a sense of my drive and determination, how I would cope under pressure. Brett really values how you deal with adversity.

BB: You had a little bit of that in your first Ironman in Korea when you started the bike ride with a flat tire.

CW: You have to see these things as an opportunity. I was worried for the first 40K of the bike ride after changing the tire, but you have to keep calm and just deal with it. What I love about the Ironman is that there are so many races within that one race; there are so many ups and downs.

PH: When you went to Brett Sutton, you were a short-course athlete looking to make the Olympic team. The next thing you know you’re winning the Ironman.

CW: I didn’t really know much about the Ironman, but Brett asked me about six weeks before Korea if I would like to do the race. I asked, “Am I ready, boss?” He said I was. What it really comes down to is, ‘What is Ironman training?’ Brett treats all of us differently. A long run for me is two hours. Once I ran three hours, and he was really upset. Some of us don’t need to do really long bike rides or really long runs in training. And three of the athletes who train with Brett stood on the podium in Kona, so he must be doing something right.
 
BB: In Kona you weren’t using an aero helmet, and you wore dark clothing and raced without a visor on during the marathon. That’s very unusual.

CW: Brett doesn’t really go for tech-nology. We don’t use heart-rate monitors or power meters, and I really couldn’t afford an aero helmet. I train in the heat of Thailand and the Philippines without a hat or visor and I’ve never had a problem.

BB: I’m guessing that after being in Nepal on your mountain bike, riding your road bike on a paved road with people handing you something to eat and drink along the way must be pretty sweet.

CW: One day, we were riding on the Tibetan Plateau on our mountain bikes — you could hear the chain grinding and the wind was so strong we were getting sand-blasted. We had to wrap scarves around our heads to protect us from the sand. We were moving at a snail’s pace and ended up riding about 70K. It’s tough, but you put your head down, and you do it.

BB: What did they have at the aid stations?

CW: If they had aid stations, it would have been yak butter tea. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone!

PH: You have said how much it meant to you to be helping people out in Nepal and now you and your team help out athletes in Thailand and the Philippines. Is that tough to balance with a sport where you have to be selfish to be successful?

CW: When I first started, I told Brett that I feel guilty doing this sport because it’s so self-indulgent. He told me that I needed to realize that once you are successful in this sport, it really puts you in a position to make a difference. He feels that you can impact others when you are successful. The thing is, if I can train for and race the Ironman, another person out there could decide to train for and race a 3K. If I can inspire someone to do that, then all that training is worth it.

For interviews with some of the world’s greatest endurance athletes, go to
www.competitorradio.com.