There was jubilation in the Ivanhoe Runners camp as two of their members competed their first Ironman triathlons - and then got engaged on the finish line !

Andy Pearce and Ruth Enion had been training for the event in Zurich, Switzerland for many gruelling months, with the event carefully timed for Ruth as being 25 years since her father completed his first Ironman triathlon. Paul Enion was a founder member of Ivanhoe Runners and a very well known local runner and triathlete. After his first Ironman success in July 1991 in the awesome time of 11 hours 32 minutes, he had been selected to represent GB in the triathlon World Championships in Canada in 1992, but tragically he was killed while out  training on his bike.

Ruth wanted to follow in her father's footsteps and had done shorter "sprint" triathlons, developing her passion for the sport. But the Ironman is a real test of grit, being a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride and finishing with a full 26.2 mile run marathon. While aiming for her Ironman, tragedy struck the family again as Ruth's mother Diane was struck down with Motor Neurone Disease, which took her life in November 2014. This redoubled Ruth's determination both to do the event, but also for her and Andy to raise money for the MND charity.

What Ruth did not know was that Andy had extra plan's of his own - to propose on the finish line ! To quote Ruth - " Well what a truly amazing and overwhelming day. Second best four words I have ever heard "you are an ironman" followed by "will you marry me" at the finish line!! "

Ruth completed the Ironman in a stunning 12.57.13, after a swim leg of 1.10.46, a bike of 7.16.26 and run of 4.17.02. Andy was in just ahead of her, giving him time to prepare his proposal!  He clocked 1.12.58 for the swim, 6.26.41 for the bike and 4.19.25 for the run to give 12.10.04 overall.

Congratulations to the happy Iron-couple.

Closer to home in the Nottingham based Outlaw Ironman triathon, Julian Rawlings clocked 13.57.55 to beat his time from 2014 by over 25 minutes, picking up most of that time with a great marathon run of 5.14.31 after a 2.4 mile swim in 1.35.59 and 112 mile bike ride in 6.35.48.

Written by Kevin Sanders - last updated on 27/07/2016