220 Magazine February 1990 Ironman Special

I got pretty excited about the 220 February 1990 Ironman Special issue. I think it was also the first one that I bought in a newsagent.

The ironman is not speciality. I’ve done a few. And enjoyed them. But never really trained with purpose. I like to race. Gun to tape.

In 1990 literature about triathlon, especially the US stuff, was hard to come by. WH Smith in Slough would have Tri-Athlete. Often only one copy. And I wasn’t always quick enough to get it.

But I was making trips to Total Fitness in Swindon by then. They stocked the UK and import magazines as well as books like Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete, Scott Tinley’s Winning Triathlon, Dave Scott’s Triathlon Training and Triathloning For Ordinary Mortals.

A Tale Of Two Races by Phil Dade is definitely my favourite article in this themed issue. It tells the story of Phil qualifying for Hawaii at Ironman Germany in Roth. And then his experience in Kona.

“I started plotting how I could do the same thing as a 17 year old.”

There’s also the 220 British Ironman Rankings. Record holders then were Sarah Coope (9:33 in Rodekro 1989) and Nick Price (9:18 in Roth 1988).

Oh. And 220 had decided to organise their own ironman distance event in 1990. In Cirencester. The entry fee was  £2.20 for subscribers and £22.20 for non-subscribers. Blog post coming soon.

When I re-bought this issue from ebay in 2020 I didn’t expect to find the letter below. I guess I wrote it in late-1989.

WTS, ITU, the Olympics, French Grand Prix, Super League, Formula One. You’re welcome. I invented triathlon for you.

Images: 220 (UK) February 1990