Lucy Charles-Barclay. Taylor Knibb. Chelsea Sodaro. Even many who are non-runners, non-triathletes, will have heard of these iconic female champions of swim-bike-run.

All three succeeded in getting to Kona at the weekend, the Ironman World Championships, and the last time for the foreseeable future where the women at Ironman Worlds will have their own race. In the full spotlight of world TV cameras and thousands of spectators from around the globe, all three were in the end defeated by the gruelling conditions this year on Hawai’s Big Island.

To this roster of unbelievably courageous and resilient women, who have trained for months and months and months for this event, we can add our own Sarah Weare, one of three Serpies competing at Kona at the weekend. This is our sport at its most challenging. Not all of us have the ability or determination to get to an event like this in the first place. But to come through an experience like that – really there should be a super-medal to mark such a counter-intuitive achievement, because achievement it unquestionably is. I am writing this in the midst of my own prep for the 70.3 Worlds in Marbella next month. I’ve been studying the bike course with growing alarm. How can I possibly get over those horrible hills in the time available? Really, it would be easier to cry off – work, family, stiff hip flexors – the excuses are there for the taking a-plenty.

But Sarah in particular gives me the courage to have a go. If she can survive a challenging ‘full’ experience like that, surely I can be game enough to tackle a mere ‘half’, and in a far more temperate climate. Witnessing these women athletes, facing all their ‘triumphs and disasters’ with such bravery, really does offer inspiration that serves for the whole of life, way beyond the sporting side. As LCB wrote on Instagram, health must come first. ‘There will always be another start line, another chance, another year for the history books.’

Meanwhile, huge congratulations to Katia Hadaschik, finishing in 13:44:30, 140th out of 208 F50-54 and to the incredible Lucile Forin, 24th out of 198 F30-34 in 10:37:13.

Elsewhere, Serpies as usual were out there repping the club especially with the start of the cross country season. With the first race of the Met League in the bag, in Claybury, Serpie ladies are sitting strong in fourth place overall and the men seventh.

Hisayo Kawahara was 4th woman and 21st overall in Potter round the Otter, a 50-miler by the Long Distance Walkers Association of Devon and Cornwall. Christopher Tsantoulas did the Eindhoven marathon in 2:55:08.

Lizzie Wilkinson was first female vet in Chelmsford Marathon in 04:04:45. Owen Barder was beaten by his niece for the first time at the Oxford half (1:37:47), where Delphina, Richard and Mohammed from Serpies also ran. And our fantastic reel creator, Sayana Lee, who is back in the US for a while, nevertheless donned Serpie kit to race in the Mission Bay Triathlon in San Diego in 1:17:22. Fantastic time also of 1:36:58 for Jo Burkett in the Peterborough half.

Finally, huge well done to Billy Ng who raised more than £550 for Mind in the Royal Parks half (1:46).