S P E E D - S T R E N G T H - E N D U R A N C E

The WGC Gym Ironman 2009

The line up this year was a mixture of long standing established X Trainers who have been with the sport for a number of years and those who were attempting the Open level for the first time and had not competed and those who were new to the sport , dipping their toe in the water and seeing just what X Training is all about.

The experienced and the new

The pause before the storm sees a few X trainers turn up for the first time. And taking on the Gym Ironman in anybody's books is no easy introduction. There would have been many , many weeks in preparation for this and the first night nerves for those entering , on top of a long journey is not the best of preparation for an event such as the Gym Ironman. But turn up they did and perform exceptionally well.

The Mixed Approach

Organiser, Stuart Leng had opted this year for a mixed approach to the set order of disciplines. Although this brings variation to the course in not knowing entirely how to prepare for this event it also brings with it the added challenge of preparing mentally and physically in a discipline order you won't know until a week before you are due to race. Arguably this could be one of the reasons , some stayed away and equally why others entered, but what is without question is that in whatever order the race plan runs at - it's bloody hard. Even the top X Trainers who wouldn't have made this event would be eagerly going through the splits to see just what the results were this year - and based on the end results know they missed a very good event with some very good times.

BodyLine

Roy Summers and Mark Williams both personal trainers at Bodyline and friends Craig Kuryo and Gavin Saint entered to see just how far they could push themselves. Mark and Roy had both competed in Dragons Gauntlet X Training Challenge and this was their return to the X Training scene after a short break. Gavin and Craig seeing just what they could do and personally challenge themselves.

  Returning X Trainers are is a good sign that once you have competed there is always a passion there of sorts to either know just how well you would have done, when you see the results published. And when you miss events due to injuries, it's just as frustrating ! The guys at Bodyline take a bow , you entered a physical challenge that tests you to the limit - where others fear to tread - and that is what separates X Training. personal trainers from the gym user and other personal trainers.

The first open

If you are going to step up a gear and perform at the Open level, then the Gym Ironman is as hard as it gets in terms of duration. lloyd Millichap who had consistently performed very well since his introduction to X Training at the Hampshire in 2006 with a time of 16:31 in the Intermediate has taking a massive leap in this latest challenge. And this is testament to a lot of hard work and training to increase to those sorts of levels

X training is a journey - you have to start of somewhere and get a BMT (Bench Mark Time) to mark progression and then as time goes on, see real results in personal fitness. WGC is pleased to record times for all X Trainers who wish to see results over a period of time and encourages this form of fitness because arguably there can be no greater test - then that of adapting all of your physical and mental strength and endurance to perform in a X Training Gym Challenge.

But with Lloyd it doesn't stop there. Having just organised his first event at Camberly Fitness First, he has one of the largest followers of X Trainers in any one single gym, which adds another aspect of versatility of the sport. It's not so much that you have to do X Training when you go to a gym, but crucially that you have an option to do it , and Fitness First Camberely are doing very well in catching up with the more established gyms that have been X Training for a number of years - In fact after two events this year in Fittest Gym of the Year, they are leading the series !

Is this the most improved X Trainer ever ?

In terms of adjusting to the sport over phased period in time Paul Morton rises to the forefront in those that have been with the sport for a while. His last two performances at the Hampshire and Gym Ironman have been simply incredible and his timings have consitently improved.

Gym Ironman Intermediate 2007

Gym Ironman Open 2008

Gym Ironman Open 2009

When Paul first started in this sport, a bit like Lloyd in his later days he was winning the Intermedaite quite comfotably and there were a few groans from the crowd asking when Paul was going to move up into the Open. Well move up he did, and the tables indicate that not only is he surviving with the best in the UK he is actually finishing with podium placings.

It is an amazing journey and one that deserves much praise. If you look in the tables and see Paul's treadmill times, I think the next time you are in a gym and try them - suddenly the figures above really do take on another meaning.

Question?

Much criticism comes to this sport for using treadmills, bikes, and rowing machines as the most consistent element to X Training - much is thought that only on the track can you really perform and see true results. But WGC asks the question, when performing under laboratory conditions to feed the much needed sports science data - are the athletes performing to their absolute best? Because if they are not , the data that is analysed become questionable.

I'm not saying that racing on the treadmill is the same as track ( I have not had that experience) but I would argue, that 100% effort is as much part of X Training as a sport - that at any stadium and we have the times to prove it.

The very best ....

I have been competing in X Training on the grand scale of things for a short while. Fleeting in between the Open and Intermediate , I have committed time and passion to see this sport grow and in that time established X Trainer's both male and female who have have been in the sport have been and gone. More lucrative deals lie outside the confines of this very demanding sport where the training regime is at the top end so hard , that why put all that effort in and not see any financial gain?

Nobody would in this sport would think any less of any one individual for wanting to progress in a more established event that has recognition.

But then we come to those that have stayed loyal to the sport - seen it for what it is and what you can achieve both physically and mentally - and I can think of no finer example in the UK then two close friends who raced each other in this years Gym Ironman

Kirk Gibbons and Andy Lett.

I witnessed Kirk a number of years ago give an award that he had received, to a young lad just starting out - Kirk saw something in that young kid's performance that sparked something him in and at the end of the evening - gave his award away. That single gesture has remained with me for ages - the look in the kids face as he accepted that award and the round of applause from all the X Trainer's in the room , was an incredible gesture something that in sporting X Training terms is very memorable as was Will Whitmore's gesture of handing away the winning cheque to charity at the end of Best of the Best 2007.

So the early days have been one of marvel at these athletes who perform to the extreme, who just refuse to quit, who inspire and go and on. Often after competing events, they return to their gym un noticed and unrecognised, just having the quiet satisfaction that hey performed well in a gym challenge that many personal trainers won't go near for exposing their own weaknesses.

But one gym that I know of has changed that - Rochdale Fitness First and manager Aidy Cartwright and that is for one reason - Andy lett. Andy has performed at the top end of this sport for as long as anyone and is pure inspiration. He has been quiet and humble in any award he accepts and to those that know him, will say only good things about this exceptional X Trainer - he is one of the reasons that X Training has a name for the gym elite - because sporting brilliance is determined not only by the winning - but the inspiration you can give out to others and both Andy Lett and Kirk Gibbons are as good as it gets in this very hard sport.

The final thought ...

For three years WGC has been to the Gym Ironman, it has reported on it, photographed it and put splits up for all those who took part. The majority of this time it has ben there because it has a passion about this event, the sport of X Training and the people who take part and at other times it has taken part - to be part of the total and supreme effort it takes to complete this challenge - and be able to be there for every step of the way, is just one of the reasons that I love this sport and this event.

So it brings great sadness to mention that the services of WGC and the Gym Ironman Organiser have decided to part way - this is by mutual agreement.

I have no doubt whatsoever that another party will bring again the service to which WGC has been doing about this event - the pre advertising, the photography and the race reports and the event will continue to be the very successful event it is and will always be.

To everyone who took part, I say well done. To the young Micaleff brothers and Gary Nicholls who is in his fifties and competes annually, to those that attempted this event for the first time and to those that just popped down to support their friends and family every step of the way - I would urge you all to support and continue to do this event - as I believe it is a showcase for the sport of X Training and I wish it every success for the future.

The Final Picture Gallery