Thirteen years ago, Tenby’s North Beach would have been a very quiet place on a Sunday morning in mid-September. Picture waves gently lapping the shore, boats bobbing in the harbour and gulls pecking leftover chips.
But that was before Ironman came to town. This Sunday, over 2,000 athletes will stand on North Beach staring nervously out to sea in the knowledge one of the most challenging long-distance triathlons in the world awaits them. To become an Ironman, they must complete a 2.4-mile sea swim, hilly 112-mile bike ride and full marathon within 17 hours. One minute more and you are not an Ironman.
Thousands more will line the streets overlooking the bay, transforming the harbour into an amphitheatre capable of rivalling the Principality Stadium on game day. There will be a spine-tingling rendition of the Welsh national anthem, then the starter gun will fire, triggering a surge of athletes into the sea. AC/DC’s Thunderstruck rings out across the water before it is churned up. Months of preparation has come down to this day.
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These are the scenes that have built Ironman Wales an iconic reputation in the triathlon world. Add to that a stunning bike course, the legendary run up "the zigzag", world-class support and it’s easy to see why Tenby has become a bucket-list race for athletes the world over.
But it wasn’t always like this. Mat Evans, the man largely responsible for bringing Ironman to Tenby, said: “You’ve got to remember, 10 or 15 years ago the police were turning coaches with stag and hen dos around in Kilgetty. People were fighting, windows getting smashed. That’s how bad it got. The town has been transformed. When we first did Ironman no one knew what it was. Now you’re the odd one out if you haven’t done it in Tenby. The town is full of lycra.
"I think the quality of Tenby has really gone up as a result. The quality of the restaurants, for example. You can get proper healthy breakfasts and lots more options now.”
It’s fair to say Tenby’s somewhat boozy reputation has been changed beyond recognition since triathlon was embedded into the fabric of the town. Take the Tenby Aces as an example. Once a small cycling club, the Aces morphed into a triathlon club with many budding athletes joining their ranks to train for the Ironman.
Aces treasurer Nicola Coates said: “In 2011 we had five members do the Ironman. In 2012 we had 13. In 2014 we had 62. Three of them qualified for the World Championships in Hawaii.”
Every year Ironman fever grips Tenby. Two-time Ironman finisher Nicola confirmed: “One man told me the other day that every year he gets more excited for Ironman than Christmas.”
For many people, including myself, Ironman has become a rite of passage, a part of growing up in Pembrokeshire. A decade of it has also brought untold health benefits to the county. Mayor of Tenby, Sam Skymre Blackhall, pointed out how “Ironman has encouraged people to look after their health more". He said: “I know a lot of local women who have started jogging, not necessarily to do Ironman but just looking after their health and wellbeing. Youngsters are inspired by what they see and there’s such a huge buzz on the day.”
One of those youngsters who got inspired by watching Ironman was Tenby’s own Finn Arentz. “It was watching Ironman Wales that inspired me to give the sport a go,” said the 24-year-old. “Watching Jesse Thomas win in 2015 with his aviators and just destroying everyone was awesome. Watching my dad and uncle do it was pretty cool too.”
Finn will line up as a pro this Sunday after years of dedicated training. He said: “Without Ironman Wales I certainly wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now.”
However, Finn isn’t Tenby’s first professional triathlete attempting to win Ironman Wales. For years, hopes of a local winner rested on Olly Simon’s shoulders. Having lived in Pembrokeshire all his life and competed in five editions of the race, Olly has witnessed first-hand the impacts Ironman has had on the county.
Olly said: “Ironman showed people that triathlon was possible for everyone. People that hadn’t done sport since school started getting out and exercising, clubs formed and their memberships grew with people singing up for an event they wouldn’t have even known about had they not witnessed it in Tenby.
“Ironman is much more popular now than when I started doing it. There’s such an incredible atmosphere around it, the national anthem is so special,” said Olly, whose favourite Ironman memory was leading out of the swim in 2011.
Perhaps the most significant impact of Ironman has been economic. Mat Evans highlighted the transformative economic effects triathlon has had on Tenby’s landscape said: “Sports tourism didn’t really exist in people’s minds 15 years ago. But if you look at the amount of sport shops that have started up, sports cafes too, you see how powerful it can be. I think Tenby Leisure Centre has been redesigned twice and its up for a third one.
“We know that Premier Inn quoted Long Course (another triathlon in Tenby) as a reason for them coming to Tenby. There are simply more visitors in Tenby thanks to Ironman and Long Course.”
One of those visitors is Ceris Williams, who has been bringing her family and friends from Bala to Tenby since 2014. The Williams support crew, 16 in total this year, stay for a week and usually have a fancy dress theme for the day.
The mayor reiterated the economic benefits. She said: “I think Ironman has extended that summer break and really helped the economy. All the athletes have to stay somewhere and eat somewhere. It’s great for businesses.”
Speaking about global tourism trends, Mat said: “People don’t want the cheap buck anymore. It’s hard, causes problems. Look at Thailand trying to ban backpackers. Everyone is after that quality buck now and if we can do that in Wales great, if we can do that in Tenby, even better.”
One business that really gets into the spirit of Ironman is The Nook on St Julian’s Street. Owner John Mathers said: “Ironman is great for us. It extends the tourist season by another week to 10 days and really increases our footfall. The people it brings to Tenby often want to buy something local as a memento.”
The Nook's manager, Kat, adds: “It’s really nice hearing all the different languages and accents in the shop of people who have come to do Ironman. I don’t think they would be in Tenby otherwise.”
The Nook sells a range of Ironman-themed artwork including customised prints for athletes who completed the race. Local artists Tom Sloan and Rachel Rasmussen combine competitors’ names and times with stencilling and spray paint to create their personalised masterpieces.
But not everyone in Pembrokeshire supports the event. One local who works in a shop in Tenby said: “Ironman is not that great for retail. The people it brings to the county don’t really spend money on clothes. It’s great for pubs and cafes because people want to refreshments when they’re watching the race. But they don’t want to spend money on clothes. Ironman bring their own shop anyway. Tenby is already very touristy we don’t really need the extra visitors. It could go somewhere else where it needs it more.”
The local, who wanted to remain anonymous, added: “The roads and car parks are all closed so we basically lose a day of business. The council say it’s great for the economy but actually damaging some parts of it. Maybe I’m being too miserable about it but I’m just not interested in watching lots of people in lycra.”
Every year a debate about the viability of Ironman rears its head on social media. As Mat Evans remembers: “When we were pitching Ironman Wales it was difficult getting people on board, people were not used to closed roads. It was like Shrek with people running around with pitchforks at the start. But I knew once we delivered the race people would understand sports tourism. It changed lives forever.”
No doubt road closures are an inconvenience. But Mat emphasises: “People have got to not just think about the weekend. People come for training weekends before and think 'Wow this is nice, I’ll bring the family on holiday'. Suddenly you’ve got three visits that year and maybe someone coming for life.”
On a similar note, the mayor highlights how Ironman has helped put Tenby on the map. The mayor, who is handing out the medals on Sunday, said: “You’ve got all these athletes coming from literally all over the world to Tenby. They’re coming because of how tough the course is and how amazing the support is.”
For better or worse, Pembrokeshire has built a reputation as a triathlon county, with Tenby as its beating heart.
“We’ve now got Long Course Weekend, Ironman Wales, Challenge Wales and Ocean Lava in Fishguard, four international triathlon brands,” said Mat Evans. “I don’t think there’s a county in the world that can say that.”
Indeed, the New York Times branded Tenby ‘Iron Town’ in 2018 in an article titled World Triathlon Capital: Population 5,000. It truly is a phenomenon that must be seen to be believed. See you on the beach.
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