Ironman competitor Reece Barclay is putting the environment chamber through its paces imitating the hot and humid conditions he expects to encounter at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii on October 8.

With temperatures soaring to over 40 degrees Celsius and humidity at well over 85 percent, the conditions can test even the toughest of athletes’ mettle.

“It’s a real test of everything really, mental strength, physical strength, organisation, test of character, test of will. It’s a really good way of just testing your limits” commented Reece, for whom this will be his sixth Ironman competition.

Competing in the 25-29 age group, Reece, at 25, will be one of the younger competitors in one of the most competitive age groups. To gain the best chance of a podium finish he believes that training at the University will give him the edge.

Jeffrey Aldous, Research Associate at the University explained: “When racing at temperatures of around 43 degrees Celsius, there’s a variety of mechanisms that can reduce your performance, for example you fatigue quicker.

“What we are doing with Reece, by training in the chamber, is hopefully improving his tolerance to the heat, and reducing the onset of fatigue due to the climate. Training in the heat can reduce heart rate and core temperature and improve blood flow which in turn can give an athlete an edge over someone who hasn’t.” 

Talking about using the Human Performance Centre, Reece said: “I’m doing a heat acclimation protocol. It’s a two week process where I’m cycling in similar conditions to what I’ll be competing in in Hawaii so that my body can get used to the conditions”

“The facilities are absolutely amazing. The staff are great. I was lucky enough to work with them last year and had a great experience so it’s a pleasure to be back”

“We did a two week protocol last year and then went out to Hawaii. We were there with people who hadn’t done any heat training before they got there and they were really struggling, whereas I felt relatively comfortable.”

“Last year I finished fifth in my age group in 9 hours 45 minutes, this year I’m hoping to improve on that and get as close to 9 hours as possible” explained Reece.

“That might be a little bit ambitious, but aim high!” he added.

The Human Performance Centre offers a wide range of services from environment training and health and wellbeing advice to fitness and team sport assessments. For more information, visit www.beds.ac.uk/humanperformance or contact HumanPerformanceInfo@beds.ac.uk