Martina Olchesky-Bell did not let a cancelled swim, shortened bike course due to landslides, rain and wind that made for a sketchy bike course and torrid heat on the run deter her as she placed 5th woman overall at the Ocean Lava, Lanzarote 1/2 ironman distance race. Here is Martina’s report :

Due to unsafe water conditions, the swim was canceled and replaced with a 5km run. 　Due to landslides that resulted in several road closures, the 90 km bike course was modified to a 43 km route …. 　Regardless, I can still understand why Ironman Lanzarote is considered by many to be one of the toughest races in the world – Lanzarote is no joke!

I placed 5th overall female in a time of 3:52:27. 　The top 3 female finishers were all pros so I was pleased with my place all things considered!

The bike course was very challenging with back to back steep climbs. 　It rained for a good part of the race which made the descents a bit terrifying as I was reaching speeds up to 70km/hour with heavy crosswinds…. 　Fortunately I survived without any problems! 　Several others weren’t so lucky …

The run was very hot and there was no shade at any point in the 3 loop bike course. 　The rain was also gone at this point so there was no reprieve from the scorching sun …. 　It wasn’t flat either – it was undulating with plenty of headwind! 　 　It hurt, but I managed to complete the half marathon in a time of 1:49:02.

All in all it was a great experience and the triathlon community in Lanzarote was wonderful. 　I met a lot of interesting people from all over!