MIAMI’S JUST THE START
We caught up with Charles-Barclay not long before she boarded her flight to Miami. On arrival, in a model akin to that adopted by tennis players at the Australian Open, Charles-Barclay and her rivals would undertake a seven-day quarantine at the same hotel. It’d be her second period of self-isolation since November after announcing over social media she’d tested positive for Covid-19. Asymptomatic, thankfully. “I’ll have to practise transitions before then,” she told us. “I haven’t spent too much time on those since the race calendar was decimated.” Miami suggests they need refinement. But overall it was an impressive performance for an athlete more attuned to full-distance. That speed, especially on the run, was down to a block of high-intensity training with one eye on the shorter stuff. “Reece [coach and husband] and I are competing in the SLT Arena Games at the Aquatic Centre [27 March]. It’s super-short racing – 200m swim, 4km virtual bike and 1km virtual run – with three back-to-back races where you mix up the order. It’ll be interesting. “From there, I’d love to race Challenge Roth in July. Then the Collins Cup [28 August] but I’d need to qualify for that. After that, Kona if it goes ahead. I’ve already qualified so I’m keeping an eye on the situation. I’ll also look to race as much in the UK as possible – if racing happens.” At time of press, the significant drop in Covid hospitalisations and deaths aligned with the government’s easing of lockdown means Charles-Barclay could get her wish; in fact, if she has her way, Miami would kickstart the longest run of racing in her professional career. “I’d look to race up to the Sub-8hr Challenge, which looks like it’ll be April 2022. That’s a key reason why I didn’t compete in Daytona in December [2020]. Some athletes who snuck in that race will potentially burn out. Usually I’ll have downtime after Kona but with the Sub-8, I won’t have that. Last year, because of the constant cancellation and postponement of races, motivation really ebbed and flowed. Now, I’m feeling fresh and ready to go – especially with that unique challenge ahead.”
I might work with Roka to design a wetsuit that’s thicker in the body and thinner in the arms”