Local woman Allsún Kelly is preparing to take part in the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii next month.
Originally from Kilcurry, Allsún (31) currently lives in Dundalk and works for Wu Xi Biologics as a QA Validation Engineer in the Quality Assurance Department.
“At the moment, I’m training twice a day, every day doing running, cycling and swimming. I did Irish dancing when I was younger and that’s how I stayed fit,” said Allsún.
“When I was older, I got into running and later worked at Aura Dundalk and took part in a fitness event there.
“I took part in a few more local events and gradually moved on to international events. This is my first time doing the Ironman World Championships.”
Allsún added: “I had to qualify for the event in Estonia at the beginning of August. I’m really looking forward to the Ironman World Championship next month.
“The event will take place in Hawaii on Saturday, October 14 in Kailua Kona. It’s beside the island where the fires took place this summer.
“The islands have been the home of the World Championships since the event’s inception in 1978. It has been ultra-triathletes ultimate target as a result for decades.”
An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organised by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.2 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.2 km) run, completed in that order.
“I’m definitely looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to the atmosphere and being able to go up against the best athletes in the world,” she said.
“I’m aiming to complete the 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and 42km marathon in around 12 hours.”
