Iron Mike takes 1st in Holland!

Monday, August 7, 2017
Iron Mike takes 1st place!

BRC member Mike Carroll competed in the Ironman- Maastricht- Limburg last Sunday, taking 1st place in the 65-69 age group in the process! An absolutely fantastic achievement, even for someone who is renowned as being a 'hard man' in biking circles.

The competitors swam 3.8 kilometers past the cultural-historic centre of Maastricht. The two-loop, 180 km bike course lapped through Maastricht and the surrounding Limburg landscape, taking in the beautifully scenic and slightly technical runs through the iconic hills and mountains of Bemelerberg (Eijsden-Margraten), Geulhemmerberg (Valkenburg), and Hallembaye (Bassenge). The four-loop, 42.2-km run course ran straight through the historic city centre.

Despite swimming through tough conditions in murky water and a crash during his bike ride, Mike persevered and finished with an overall time of 12 hours, 44 minutes and 59 seconds, 767th overall. A gauge of Mike's effort was him requiring medical attention at the finish.

As a result of this achievement Mike automatically qualifies for the World Ironman Championships in Hawaii, however he says this is something which he is not planning to do at present.

Mike's Ironman split times:

Swim:  2:02:27 (2.4 miles)
Bike:  5:53:20 (112 miles)
Run: 4:32.24 (marathon - 26.3 miles)