Caithness woman takes part in gruelling triathlon world championship in Hawaii
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A Caithness woman felt "surprisingly fresh" after completing a gruelling championship triathlon in Hawaii.
Louise Sinclair, who lives in Keiss, took part in the Women's World Championship Ironman event which attracted up to 3000 competitors, including around 60 professionals.
Louise, who qualified for the contest after completing an Ironman event in Cork in Ireland in August, had to participate in three disciplines – a 2.4-mile swim in the sea, a 112-mile cycle and a 26-mile marathon.
They were completed one after the other and Louise finished the demanding schedule in 14 hours, 38 minutes and 38 seconds.
"I felt surprisingly fresh at the end of it but the atmosphere there was excellent. There was plenty to keep you going. There was music, a good bit of pizazz and I felt buoyed by the event. My muscles and body were fine but I had zero appetite for about a week afterwards," she said.
Louise was accompanied on the trip by her husband Peter, who played the role of her support crew. The couple spent nine days in Hawaii.
"We had to get acclimatised as there is an 11-hour time difference between there and the UK. We did a lot of preparation and training but we managed to do a bit of sightseeing, too," said 48-year-old Louise, who explained that this year it was decided to split the event with the women's championship taking place in Kona in Hawaii and the men's in Nice in the south of France, in a bid to encourage more competitors.
She started doing triathlons in 2016 beginning with mini events in Wick but since then has completed four half Ironman events and four full ones, taking her to various parts of Britain, including the Lake District and Nottingham but also abroad to places such as Norway, Oman and Hawaii.
Louise is lining up half Ironman events in Valencia in Spain and in Cumbria next year and is considering another full event next July, although she has not made a final decision on that one yet. She trains regularly and swims and runs two to three times and cycles three to four times in a week.
Louise and Peter have three of a family – Lucia who is studying in Aberdeen, Rory who is in Central America with the Merchant Navy as part of his cadetship and Inga who is on a student exchange in South Carolina in the USA.
The couple run Sinclair Bay SubSea and have been "very busy with the upturn in the oil business", added Louise.
The women's world championship in Hawaii was won by Lucy Charles-Barclay following four successive second places.
Her victory earlier this month makes her the third British winner after Chrissie Wellington and Leanda Cave.
