Aussie ultrarunning star Lucy Bartholomew bids for the ULTIMATE endurance double this weekend

In 2023, Australia’s Lucy Bartholomew became just the sixth person to complete both the UTMB and triathlon’s IRONMAN World Championship in the same year – six weeks apart.

This year, Bartholomew will once again take on the incredible endurance double, with just a three-week gap!

After finishing 10th for the second year in a row at the UTMB, the 100-mile race circumnavigating the Mont-Blanc massif, Bartholomew is now in Nice for the women’s IMWC on Sunday, both events pinnacles of their respective sports.

‘Super happy’ with UTMB display

It’s the first time the women’s IMWC has been held outside the United States, hence the much shorter gap compared to 12 months ago.

Last year it was just the second IRONMAN the elite ultrarunner had taken part in – and she finished in 10:43:41 with a 3:30 marathon.

She bettered her UTMB time by an hour and 40 minutes this year over the 100 miles around Chamonix and now 140.6 miles of swim, bike, and run stands between her and another historical feat of endurance.

Looking back to UTMB she said: “My UTMB experience has felt different this year. Last year was driven by curiosity and ‘can I do this?’, whereas this year felt more like it was driven by ‘how fast can I go?’.

“My approach and attitude towards the race remained the same – knowing it was a fast start, a long night and a hot day following, I felt confident that when the sun hit on Saturday, I could be in a good place to make moves as I handled the heat well.

“A lot went wrong, again, but more went right. I am super happy with my time, which would have been in the top three most other years, but I am so impressed and inspired by the speed of the women’s race, which brought out my best on that day,” added Bartholomew, referencing what was a record-breaking winning time by French-based American Katie Schide, who even usurped the GOAT Courtney Dauwalter.

‘Time to start training’

“The day after UTMB I got an email saying, ‘IRONMAN World Championship Nice is three weeks away, it’s time to start your taper’, and I thought ‘no, it’s time to start training’!

“I feel really good, though. I have come out of UTMB with no niggles or injuries, which is better than last year. I have eaten for a family of five in the past week and have been very intuitive about moving my body and sleeping to catch back up.”

Her observations on the recovery process after an ultra are illuminating too: “Last year felt harder,” she explained. “The international travel and the last third of UTMB being a massive fight with my mind and body meant I was already so much further back than where I am now.

“It always fascinates me to watch the body and mind recover because with UTMB, you run through a whole night and then don’t really sleep the night after as your body starts to repair, so I am really trying to respect that and say to it, ‘OK, tell me what you want to do each day’ and being guided by that rather than a training plan.

“My plan for the in-between weeks was to ride and swim a little to remind my body what these sports are and to run a few times, but nothing wild. I would rather turn up to Nice, fresh and stoked, than overtrained and exhausted,” she said.

It’s remarkable she feels “fresh” ahead of Nice after such an arduous event and we’ll be keeping a close eye on how she fares this weekend.