Clair Soutar-Dawson is training for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii later this year.
Camera IconClair Soutar-Dawson is training for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii later this year. Credit: Supplied/Marcus Whisson

Gearing up for toughest test

Staff ReporterEastern Reporter

After winning her age group in the recent Ironman Mexico, the 23-year-old has set herself for the gruelling Ironman World Championship in Hawaii this October ” considered the biggest test of physical endurance in Ironman competition ” among other events.

Her accomplishments in the sport are considerable given her first real taste of the three Ironman disciplines of swimming, cycling and running was only two years ago in the Busselton Half Ironman event where she finished second, after starting out four years ago as a ‘sprint’ competitor in duathlons.

‘It’s really quite addictive,’ Soutar-Dawson said.

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She is building up her training regime to six days a week in the lead-up to the World Championships, which includes 20 hours training, peaking at 25 hours a week, to prepare for the 3.9km swim, 180km bike ride and 42.2km run on race day.

Soutar-Dawson is also using people with cancer as added motivation, spurred on by family members and friends who have suffered from the disease. She is fundraising for the Smiling for Smiddy cancer charity as she prepares for the Ironman WA event later in the year, aiming to reach $1000.

‘I feel that being able to train and race doing what I love is a privilege or leisure; people suffering any form of cancer simply don’t have this option and not by choice,’ she said.

‘Many family members and friends have suffered from cancer, my pop died of cancer and I have had a family friend lose her leg from a melanoma. I myself have had my fair share of ovarian cancer issues.’

For more information and to donate, visit www.smiddyfund|raising.com.au/clair_soutardawson.