Home | Area Institutes | Site Map | Newsletter | Contact Us
Twenty five year old Cartmell, who became a full time triathlete this summer after graduating from Heriot Watt University, qualified for the event - a tortuous 1.2miles swimming, 56 miles cycling and 13.1 miles of running - by winning the UK 70.3 Half Ironman title this summer.
In October he swapped the damp leafy roads of his Stirling base, the best place I've found to train, with great facilities and the backing of the Central Institute of Sport, for sunnier climes of Spain: a place called Aguilas, a little dust bowl of a town, where along with Edinburgh born Andrew Fargus, he has been piling on the training for the past four weeks.
I'm certainly the most prepared I have ever managed to be for racing this distance, said Cartmell, who was adjusting to the heat and humidity of Clearwater today.
When I won the UK 70.3 in June I'd only had moderate training under my belt, with only a few 'key' sessions of any note, so to have had four weeks of consistent and specific training ticked off, I feel a lot more confident going into this race.
Just two years old, the Ironman 70.3 Series is the sport's newest property. Its culmination, the World Championships in Clearwater for 1800 of the world's best athletes, includes a Professional prize fund of $100,000.
Competing in the Professional event with Cartmell is Andrews Fargus, a member of Scotland's 2002 Commonwealth Games team. Duathlon Long Course World Champion, Catriona Morrison will compete in the Ladies' Professional race. The rest of the British contingent is likely to contain Simon Lessing, Olympian and five times World Champion; Andrew Johns, doubles Olympian and European Champion; and Paul Amey, the current World Duathlon Champion.
Cartmell admits to being not phased at lining up with the world's best, so soon after moving up from the Olympic to Half Ironman distance and thinks that the race rules, which don't allow drafting on the bike leg (there must be a seven meter gap between the back wheel of one competitor and front wheel of the next) should be an advantage.
I have raced virtually the entire field of possible guys at some point over the past three years but the difference between drafting Olympic and Half Ironman distance is pretty substantial.
Success in draft legal ITU racing is 95% dependant on being able to run like the wind. I won't ever be able to run fast but I do feel I can run strongly and I think that is the distinction that needs to be made. We hit the half marathon after 56 miles of hard riding so strength is a huge part of this distance in my opinion. I am excited about seeing where I am at, so I will be on the beach for the start ready to give it a good go.
If I was to make top 10 I would be happy but since I have only raced the one 70.3 event, I have very limited racing experience against these guys, so it's all a learning curve for me.
Matching the learning experience of racing at the bigger distance is an equally significant challenge of making a living from the sport. But Cartmell is clearly marketable and judging from the sponsors list on his newly created website, www.frasercartmell.com he is becoming skilled at that too.
I set the site up to thank the sponsors who have helped me so much so far, he said. Without the help I have had I wouldn't be racing at this level. It's a vehicle to promote myself in a professional manner, hopefully attract other sponsors, and keep everyone up to date with what I am up to.
There are no plans in the Cartmell camp to have an easy Christmas. After Florida he returns to Stirling for a fortnight before heading to South Africa for more training and racing.
We are going to have eight weeks of training out there, leading into the South African 70.3 event on the 13th January, he added. I have never been to South Africa, but I know many athletes who have trained there, plus some South African athletes who tell me how superb it is.