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Make that a double-double … Australian athlete competes in both UTMB 100 mile and Ironman World Championship

Professional trail runner looks to repeat impressive double in Nice

Photo by: Jess-Meniere

For most just one of these events would be more than enough. A top-10 finish at the famous UTMB 100-mile trail run at Mont-Blanc, France would be more than enough of an achievement for any endurance athlete. Not for Australian Lucy Bartholomew, though. Last year she became just the seventh person, and second woman, to finish the UTMB event and the Ironman World Championship in the same year. That was when the Ironman World Championship was six weeks after the trail event. This year the races are just three weeks apart.

Her race in Kona was just her second Ironman event, but the 28-year-old still managed a 10:43:41 finish with a 3:30 marathon split. As she did last year, the Aussie finished 10th at UTMB this year, but this time was an hour and 40 minutes faster than in 2023 (25:55:31). On Sunday she’ll take on yet another Ironman World Championship.

“My UTMB experience has felt different this year,” Bartholemew said. “Last year was driven by curiosity and ‘can I do this?’ whereas this year felt more like it was driven by ‘how fast can I go?’ My approach and attitude towards the race remained the same – knowing it was a fast start, a long night and a hot day following, I felt confident that when the sun hit on Saturday, I could be in a good place to make moves as I handled the heat well. A lot went wrong, again, but more went right. I am super happy with my time, which would have been in the top three most other years, but I am so impressed and inspired by the speed of the women’s race, which brought out my best on that day.”

Photo: Korupt Vision

Even though she’s had less time to recover for this year’s world championship race, Bartholomew says she feels better prepared for this year’s race in Nice. Part of that is being able to stay in the same country for both events, but also she’s got more experience this time around.

“I have come out of UTMB with no niggles or injuries, which is better than last year,” she said. “I have eaten for a family of five in the past week and have been very intuitive about moving my body and sleeping to catch back up. My plan for the in between weeks is to ride and swim a little to remind my body what these sports are and to run a few times, but nothing wild. I would rather turn up to Nice, fresh and stoked, than overtrained and exhausted.”

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“Last year felt harder,” she continued. “The international travel and the last third of UTMB being a massive fight with my mind and body meant I was already so much further back than where I am now. It always fascinates me to watch the body and mind recover because with UTMB, you run through a whole night and then don’t really sleep the night after as your body starts to repair, so I am really trying to respect that and say to it, ‘OK, tell me what you want to do each day’ and being guided by that rather than a training plan.”

As a professional runner, Bartholomew’s focus was very much on the UTMB race, but she’s still looking forward to Sunday’s race, especially the bike course. (Go figure – an athlete who thrives on climbing mountains is looking forward to all the climbing on the Nice course!)

“I am so excited about the bike course,” Bartholomew said. “I definitely prefer the hilly style, and it looks so pretty! I have also never been to Nice, so it is cool to go from Chamonix, the French Alps [the town where UTMB starts and finishes], to Nice, the French coast, and race the two pinnacles of each sport.”

In case you’re wondering who the other six athletes are who have managed the UTMB/ Kona double are, here’s a chart compiled by Liam Tyron. (Note: Bartholomew’s times last year were considerably faster than Hogan-Murphy – the Australian finished UTMB in 27:39:33 and the Ironman World Championship in 10:43:41.)

With files from Ruth Bowerman/ Ironman.