We come to the weekend of the year when we hand over our town to Ironman Wales, and all the hard work put in by the ever-increasing group of locals is put to the test.

The route, known as one of the hardest in the world, due to the hills, the jellyfish in the sea, the sea conditions, the unusually long run to transition, ‘Heartbreak Hill’ twice, is just the hard parts of it, oh and the distance involved.

The positive parts are the support that all the athletes get around the course, and that driving mentality to get over the finish line and become one of a very small worldwide family of Ironman.

Good Luck to all everyone who is taking part, and the Tenby Aces who are not taking part this year will be cheering from the side lines.

ETU European Middle Distance Championships Walchsee-Kaiserwinkl Austria

I had the pleasure of going over to Austria to support two of our Aces members who were representing Team GB in the European Middle Distance Championships run by Challenge recently, with Paul Slack and Ian Vickery taking part. They were also joined by Dave Francis and John and Debbie Phillips, so Pembrokeshire was well and truly represented.

The setting was absolutely beautiful, with the lake where the swim was to be held, surrounded by mountains, in what at some times of the year is a very desirible ski resort.

The swim course on the lake was very misty early on, which meant a more reasonable start time would have to be had, rather than the early start at some events. The bike course was a two-loop course in a figure of eight, with the middle part being in the host town of Walchsee, meaning that it was great from a viewing perspective as you got to see the bikes coming through.

The course, itself, was a very technical course, with some long climbs and some fast descents; unfortunately, the descents were mainly very twisty, especially one part with a series of hairpin bends which, if it had been wet on the day, would have been very dangerous.

The run course was beautiful, with it being a three-lap course, running around the lake, with the terrain mainly flat, except for a long hill in the middle of each lap. As it turned out, the main problem on the run was the fact that there was no shade to be had from the 30-degree temperatures.

On the day, the pro athletes went off first, followed by the European Championships after. Now we all know how strong Paul can be in the swim, but with this being the European Championships, would he still be right up there? Well, the answer was simply yes, he completed the swim in a time of 26:21, and with 1,800 athletes, he was 39th quickest in the water, beating 21 of the 53 pro athletes in the process, and being the second GB athlete out of the water, an excellent result,

Ian came in with a swim time of 32:19, so a little behind Paul coming out of the water, although he would start catching him on the bike, with Paul coming in with a time of 2:45:01 and Ian making back a few minutes with a time of 2:42:45, excellent bike times for both of them.

On then to the run, and the heat certainly took its toll on both of them, with Paul coming in with a time of 1:48:00 and Ian in 1:57:18.

Their finishing times were Paul in 5:05:15 and Ian not far behind in 5:18:34. This gave Paul a 47th place finish in his age group and 457th overall. Ian was 18th in his age group and 628th overall. Well done to both and you certainly did the town of Tenby proud.

Bala Triathlon

Our local pro athlete, Oliver Simon, recently made his annual trip up to the Bala Triathlon, which is set in the lakeside town of Bala in beautiful North Wales.

The swim is in Llyn Tegid, which is approximately 10 miles in circumference. The bike section is a challenging out and back course, and the run undulates around the lake.

Olly completed the course in the following times: swim in 20:52, bike in 56:20, run in 35:28, giving a total time of 1:54:17 and earning him a third place overall.

Unfortunately, Olly did not fair so well last weekend in Ironman Weymouth, picking up an injury and so he had to pull out of the race and also from Wales this weekend.

Llanelli Standard Triathlon

Our president, Gareth Rees, continued his preparations for Ironman recently by taking on the Llanelli Standard Triathlon, which offers the competitors a flat, fast course and an open water swim in the confines of Burry Port harbour.

The swim should have been a two-lap swim, making up a distance of 1500m. Unfortunately, it had to be cut to one lap on the day, which Gareth was very upset about. Then a 40k bike ride over a two-lap fast and flat course, then followed by a 10k run along the Millennium Coastal Path.

Gareth completed the course in 2:36:51, with a swim time of 23:57, a bike time of 1:10:30 and then a run time of 59:29.

Cardiff 10k Run

On to a running theme, last weekend saw the annual Cardiff 10k run, giving participants a fast, flat run and the chance of a PB, or to sharpen up the weekend before Ironman Wales. Dan Mumford and Luke and Gemma Burton headed up to Cardiff to take part, with Dan and Luke completing the course in a time of 44 minutes and Gemma coming home in a great time of 53 minutes.

Narberth and Whitland Charity

50-Mile Ride

The Rotary Club of Narberth and Whitland recently held their now annual charity bike ride, with the proceeds this year being in aid of Prostate Cymru.

They created three routes, so as to open up the event to a far wider audience, with the three distances being 10, 27 or 50 miles, so giving the rider a distance that suits you and remember this is Pembrokeshire not Lincolnshire, so expect some fantastic scenery as well as the hills.

Steph Waring, David Meyrick and Simon Lewis decided to take on the 50-mile route. This had almost 4,000ft of climbing and tested riders on their hill climbing ability, taking in the highest road over the Preseli Mountains, from the harder northern side.

But with the finish at the Cresselly Arms, it was like having a carrot put in front of you. Well done to the three of you and surely good practice for Ironman.

FIVE Valleys Sportive

Another event raising funds for Prostate Cymru was also held the same weekend of the Narberth and Whitland Charity Ride, this time a little further afield and also the chance to cycle further.

The Five Valleys Sportive gives participants the option of cycling one of two routes, a 54-mile route or a 72-mile route. Julie Andrasko, John Hubbard and Colin Barrett elected to take on the longer route.

The history of the Five Valleys race comes from an event which was started as a road race by the Port Talbot Wheelers in 1958 and grew to become one of the most famous races held in Wales. It was the only race in Wales which was given a Star Trophy status - this rating is now called Premier Calendar. The reason for its popularity was because it was such an arduous course, taking in some of the most historical climbs in South Wales. The event has become a flagship cycling event in the Prostate Cymru calendar, with an ever-increasing number of participants.

Port Talbot Wheelers 25-Mile Time Trial

Keeping with the cycling only theme, well done to Kath and Tim Brace who took part in the 25-mile Time Trial last weekend. The course, as we have mentioned previously, is a fast course, giving the participants the chance to gain a personal best over this distance, starting with The Bank, which sees you hanging on for a couple of miles as you descend at great speeds, heading straight down a fast stretch of dual carriageway, before turning and heading back to The Bank and the finish, which is slightly uphill at the end, just to kill off the legs. Both got new PBs, with Tim coming in with a time of 1 hour 4 minutues and 18 seconds, and Kath coming in with a time of 1 hour 6 minutes and 21 seconds.

Llangorse Lake Swim

Heading to swimming events now and three members set off for Llangorse last weekend to take part in the Llangorse Lake Swim.

The event took place in the beautiful Llangorse Lake, the largest natural lake in South Wales. Swimming is normally forbidden in the lake, but this event gives competitors the only chance in the year to enjoy the beautiful water.

The weather served up a lovely day, with Nicola Coates and Ceire Merrison taking on the Big Swim with a 6km course and Ann Rowell taking on the 1.5km course.

Ceire completed the course in a time of 1:54:10, Nicola in 2:04:40 and Anne in 49:21.

Great also to have the support of Ceire’s partner Will and also Aces member Vicky Jones, who moved up to Brecon last year.

Activities for the coming week

Saturday, September 17 - Saundersfoot Triathlon, starting at 8 am.

Saturday, September 17 - Ironkids, please come out to shout out for the future triathletes.

Sunday, September 16 - Ironman Wales, please come out to support all taking part.

Tuesday, September 20 - Club Ride, meet at Tenby Leisure Centre at 6 pm. Route detailed below.

Wednesday, September 21 - Aces Run Session, meet at Tenby Leisure Centre at 6.30 pm.

Thursday, September 22 - Club Ride, meet at Tenby Leisure Centre at 6 pm. Route detailed below.

Route for Tuesday, September 20: Route 19 (Pembroke loop out via Ridgeway) - Tenby, The Ridgeway, Lamphey, Upper Lamphey Road, Pembroke Castle, Lower Lamphey Road, Lamphey, Hodgeston, Jameston, Lydstep, Tenby (approx 20 miles). Sweepers - John Badham and Des Rees.

Route for Thursday, September 22: Route 18 (down Milton hill) - Tenby, Lydstep, Jameston, Hodgeston, Lamphey, The Ridgeway, down Milton Hill, Carew, turn right at Carew Inn, Sageston, Redberth, turn left at Heatherton, Devonshire Drive, New Hedges, Tenby (approx 22 miles). Sweepers - Paul Slack and Carlton Coates.

• Note that from this week rides start from TLC at the earlier time of 6 pm prompt. Helmets to be worn on all rides.