Samuel in South Africa; the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships 2018

Samuel Wyatt-Haines travelled all the way to Nelson Mandela Bay to take part in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships 2018.

This is an incredible part of his five-triathlon challenge, and we’re proud to say he did really well!. He came 34th in his age group and 602nd overall.

What are the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships 2018?

This competition brings the world’s best triathletes together to take part in a challenging but exciting competition.

This year, the event was held in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, on the 1st and 2nd of September.

Over 6000 athletes attended the event after qualifying for the championships in their home country.

Samuel qualified at the Staffordshire event in the UK after coming 6th in his age group and 90th overall. Only 50 contestants from this race qualified, so it was a huge achievement just to get to South Africa.

Originally, Samuel was only going to do five triathlons for this challenge, but after qualifying for the World Championships he slotted this one in too.

As soon as he booked the tickets he started training even harder to make sure he crossed the finish line.

Fast forward a few months and Samuel packed up his bike (and his family) and headed off to the starting line just a few days before the event, raring to go.

The big event

The route for the race winds through Port Elizabeth and involves a swim in the bay, a long cycle route and a run to finish everything off.

Samuel completed the 1.2m swim in 30 minutes, the 56 mile bike race in 2 hours 27 minutes and the final 13.1 mile run in 1 hour 35 minutes.

This was an incredible achievement, taking his total time to 4:39:43.

He came 34th out of 82 in his age group, 573rd out of 2,339 men competing and 602nd of the overall contestants.

This is an incredible achievement, especially when you consider that only the best of the best make it to the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships.

It also means that Samuel is close to completing his five-triathlon challenge. He’s raising money for Crohn’s & Colitis as he completes each race, helping fund research and treatments for people with this condition.

You can still donate!

On Sunday Samuel Wyatt-Haines took part in the Cotswold Middle Distance Triathlon. The race consisted of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile cycle, and a 13.1 mile run through Ashton Keynes Water Park in the heart of the most beautiful part of the Cotswolds.

Despite the heat, Samuel finished his swim in 10th place and maintained a great pace through the cycle, finishing the stage in 4th place. He held this position for the first four miles, rising to third place at the 20 mile mark.

Making fantastic progress, and amongst some seasoned triathletes, Samuel finished 12th place overall and an impressive 2nd in his age group.

To add to his fantastic achievement, Samuel pushed himself to the limit and also beat his time target and personal best, completing the whole event in under four and a half hours.

The next race in the planned challenge is the IRONMAN 70.3 Weymouth that will bring together thousands of athletes to the South Coast on 23rd September for the ultimate one day test of endurance.

However, after qualifying for a place at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in South Africa this June, Samuel and his family will be heading to Nelson Mandela Bay for 2nd September to take part in this prestigious event.

If you’d like to support Samuel in his incredible challenge, click here to donate to Crohn’s & Colitis UK

Weymouth Middle Distance: Too hot to handle

On Sunday, as temperatures approached 23 degrees, Samuel started the Weymouth Middle Distance Triathlon with a fantastic swim. He came out of the water in second place with an amazing time of 26 minutes.

Unfortunately though, just 2km into the cycle, the front water bottle came off his bike.

Realising the damage, Samuel stopped to pick up bits of his bottle from the road, but just 30 seconds later the same thing happened.

With his main water supply gone, he got to 25km holding the bottle but was starting to feel the extreme effects of the heat and was becoming dehydrated.

By 75km, feeling horrendous, Samuel wisely made the decision to pull out of the race due to his condition worsening.

Ever the optimist, Samuel says “Absolutely devastated to have to pull out of the race having started in such a good position. But it’s all part of my learning and I luckily get to race again in just 4 weeks”

The race came at an extremely busy time for Samuel who despite the heat, has just started a new job at Eversheds Sutherland and moved house. Samuels had also been recovering after a nasty run in with a pothole that wrote of his bike and from Staffordshire IRONMAN 70.3 less than one month ago.

Despite this, dedicated as ever to the challenge, fundraising and pushing himself to his absolute limits, Samuel will be returning to Weymouth in September for IRONMAN70.3.

Stay up to date with his training and progress on social media @quads_and_tris and you can support him by donating to Crohns and Colitis UK here

Season started in style

Sunday marked a fantastic start to the season for Samuel Wyatt-Haines, who came away with 6th place at the Exe Valley Triathlon.

After weeks of juggling his final year exams with training, law student Samuel achieved some brilliant times in the first event of his five triathlon challenge.

“It was a really enjoyable start to the season and a great first outing in my new skin suit!” Says Samuel.

Family Affair

Supporting Samuel in the first phase of his fundraising challenge for Crohn’s and Colitis UK, was his sister Emma, lead script writer at Health and Care Videos.

Samuel was also joined by a surprise contender, his father and company director Richard who as well as enjoying some family time, didn’t do too badly himself!

Next Event

There’s just one week left of exams and then Samuel will start his training for the Staffordshire IRONMAN 70.3, comprising of a 2 mile swim, 56 milebikecourse and a 13.1 mile run.

You can stay up to date with his training on Instagram @quads_and_tris #quadsandtris and sponsor Samuel by donating to Crohn’s and Colitis UK here

Aspiring Triathlete takes on incredible challenge for Crohn’s & Colitis UK

Health and Care Videos are proud to announce their sponsorship of ambitious young triathlete Samuel Wyatt-Haines. Son of Richard Wyatt-Haines, founder and director of Health and Care Videos, Samuel is a final year law student at Exeter University, who is undertaking the amazing feat of 5 gruelling triathlon events in just 5 months.

Simultaneously pursuing a career in corporate law, aspiring age group triathlete Samuel successfully completed IRONMAN Wales in 2017, and is now more keen than ever to push himself to the limit and pit his best times against his fellow competitors.

This impressive challenge forms part of his goal to qualify for the 2019 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships, taking place in France on 7th – 8th September. In order to do this he must win in the 18-24 age category that would require him to swim 1.2 miles in approximately 25 minutes, cycle 56 miles in around 2.5 hours and complete half a marathon in roughly 1.5 hours.
However, he also wants to use this incredible challenge as an opportunity to raise valuable
funds for a charity close to his heart.
Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are the two main forms of inflammatory bowel disease affecting more than 300,000 people in the UK. It is a largely hidden disease, and one that causes stigma, fear and isolation.

The extreme level of hard or prolonged exercise required for competing at this level is obviously stressful for your body, and it is not uncommon for cyclists in particular to experience distress to the digestive system that can have a negative affect on performance, or even end an event prematurely.

Beyond his degree, Samuel spent a year as a player for Somerset County Cricket Club and has taken part in several clinical sports studies. Also adhering to a strict training programme, and dedicating his lifestyle to optimising performance, it is no surprise that Samuel has a keen interest in health. He has even appeared in 7 of Health and Care Videos information videos on anterior cruciate ligament physiotherapy.

‘It’s fantastic to have the support of Health and Care Videos, providing me with the opportunity to race as well as some amazing kit. It is also great for me to be able to support Crohn’s & Colitis UK all season, and I think it’s a charity that more people should be supporting.’
Starting the season in May with the Exe Valley Triathlon, you can find out more about Samuel’s challenge, events details and training schedule at www.healthandcarevideos.com/sponsorship
The website will be regularly updated with Samuel’s progress, video diaries and event news, allowing you to follow and support Samuel’s extraordinary journey!