Fitness trainer Demanuele in UK to take part in Double Ironman

Charles Demanuele, a personal trainer, nutritionist and representative of Cynergi, is in the UK to take part in a Double Ironman race this weekend.

The race consists of a 7.6-km swim - 304 laps in an indoor pool - a 360-km cycle and an 84-km run (a double marathon). The race is being held around Staffordshire and is estimated to last around 35 hours, although Demanuele would not give any indication of his expected time.

"Finishing the race will be a feat in itself," he said. "This is one race for which I could not complete the entire length at one go in training."

Over 50 athletes are taking part, split into three groups. Demanuele is starting at 2 p.m. today with the third tranche, an elite group of 17 athletes who are expected to be the fastest to complete the race.

He made the decision to take part in this race last October and by May he felt he was already in shape. Since then he has been training about 35 hours a week, including 15-17 hours on weekends.

"You are living the professional life of an athlete while coping with your work at the same time," he said. "I have just been existing these past two months."

He anticipates that it will be a highly mental race. "After 10 hours of constant exercise, the body starts weakening," Demanuele said.

"It is important to listen to your body and give it what it needs. You lose your sense of taste and sometimes you need to have sugar to maintain the glucose in the brain."

He has taken a scientific approach to his preparation, setting out his own schedule, training programme and diet.

This is where Kate Borg, another personal trainer at Cynergi, has made an invaluable contribution by assisting him in his training regimes, recovery times, checking on his physical stability and pushing him to his limits.

He wears a full wetsuit to aid his buoyancy during the swim, and rides a German-made Corratec bike that is made to measure to minimise strain on his lower back and hamstrings.

For running, he wears Nike Pro tops and shorts, the specially padded Nike Vomero shoe, which enables him to keep going despite sore feet or tired leg muscles, and Oakley photochromatic sunglasses specially designed to ensure no insects get into his eyes, all supplied by Urban Jungle.

"Urban Jungle have been highly supportive in supplying me with the full kit and the Vomero shoes will make the last part of the race that much easier," he added.

Demanuele has a background in bodybuilding and was national champion on five occasions in the eighties and nineties. He then gravitated towards the triathlon, long distance running and ultra-long distance sports. He has completed four Ironman races and several half Ironman, often training with Nicky Farrugia.

"When training for such a race, you can't stop to think whether you feel like or whether you are up to it - you just have to go out and do it," Demanuele said, stressing the importance of having a good physical fitness background but also the need to be mentally strong.

He was reluctant to set any targets, although he did not discount being able to complete the race within the expected time. He is not expecting to sleep during the race and any time he takes to stop for breaks will not be subtracted from his overall time.

"In terms of endurance, my race times are the same as they were 15 years ago," he observed. "Depending on the conditions, which will be cooler than what I have been training in here, it should be an interesting race."