Some of Ireland's top triathletes will be in Galway this evening to provide an insight into their training, racing and performance on the road to the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.
The event will be hosted this evening (December 8 ) by Tri Talking Sport's Joanne Murphy in the Salthill Hotel (December 8 ), covering all aspects of triathlon racing, including training, nutrition, coaching, performance and racing strategy.
The event will appeal to everyone from the beginner triathlete planning to dip their toes into the sport to those chasing a personal best in their chosen distance and discipline or a coveted Kona Slot.
The World Championship held on the island of Kona in Hawaii is regarded as the holy grail of long distance racing across the world. Athletes racing a full distance Ironman (3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2Km run ) spend many months and sometimes many years chasing their dream to race with the best in the world on the island.
Athletes joining Murphy include Dundalk's Bryan McCrystal, former professional footballer now amateur cyclist and triathlete. McCrystal took Kona 2016 by storm leading the age group race for much of the 180km bike section, recording a 4:29:29 split and 10th fastest bike on the day. He went on to finish the race ahead of many of the professional field in 66th position overall and was first Irish athlete across the line.
He will be joined by Aileen Flynn from Dublin's Pirahna Triathlon Club, who is a chartered physiotherapist with the Beacon Hospital with a string of successes. In 2016 she was first female at the Athy Double Olympic, fastest Irish female at Dublin IM 70.3 and took third place at the National Middle Distance Championships. She raced Kona in 2015 and has her sights firmly set on racing again in 2017.
Galway Triathlon Club's Ruaidhri Geraghty will provide an insight into his road to Kona following his sub 9 hour race and podium finish at IM Barcelona in October of this year. Ruaidhri is the first member of Galway Triathlon Club to qualify for the World Championship event. Like many, he came into the sport of triathlon in his late 20s. A club runner before taking up the multisport, he has previously raced and finished the Ras in both 2009 and 2010 and was central to the delivery of Ironman Galway in 2011 and 2012.
Tickets are €25, with a limited number of 'early bird' tickets available for €20.
Junior athletes are welcome, tickets can be requested by emailing [email protected] Doors open at 6.30pm, events starts at 7pm.
More information and tickets available on www.trialkingsport.com
