Highland brothers complete gruelling Vietnam Ironman in 31 degree heat

Two Highland brothers have completed their first Ironman challenge together in Vietnam, despite being pushed to their limits by the intense heat.

Euan Burnett, 31, and his younger brother Joel, 27, took on the gruelling Ironman event on May 10 in Da Nang, Vietnam.

The long-distance triathlon includes a non-stop 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile cycle and a full 26.2-mile marathon and is known for being one of the toughest athletic events in the world.

And the brothers, from Alness, decided to make the event even tougher by leaving the cool conditions of the Highlands to compete in one of Vietnam’s largest cities.

Alness brothers take on challenging Ironman event

Euan and Joel have always been interested in sport.

Both were keen footballers, playing for their local team, Alness United, in their teens and twenties.

However, in recent years, the brothers have been searching for sports that test their endurance.

And so they have been taking part in intense ultramarathons and long-distance biking events.

Joel, who won the Inverness 25k ultra-trail marathon last year, has also been competing internationally while travelling across Asia and Australia with his girlfriend Amy.

During his travels, he has completed a marathon in Ho Chi Minh City, a half-marathon in Sydney and a race up China’s Mount Mogan.

When Joel realised he would be in Vietnam for the Ironman event, he asked Euan to join him and the brothers began a six-month intensive training regime to prepare for one of the world’s toughest endurance events.

Although they were on the other side of the world from one another, they kept in constant contact, sharing training schedules and encouragement.

Some weeks they trained for more than 15 hour,s with Joel making time in his travel plans while Euan balanced training alongside working offshore and raising his three-year-old son, Ezra.

Highland brothers complete Ironman despite Vietnam heat

The brothers said training with one another was great motivation, as they are “competitive as a duo, not against each other”.

Unsurprisingly, the heat and humidity of Vietnam were drastically different from the Highlands.

On the day of the race, it was a sunny and humid 31 degrees.

The brothers endured the heat by asking for buckets of cold water to be thrown on them at each aid station.

By the end of the race, the long day in the heat has taken its toll and they were unable to eat anything without throwing up.

However, they were “buzzing” to finish the event in a total time of 11 hours and  39 minutes.

Despite being the smallest section of the triathlon, the swimming event proved to be the toughest part.

With thousands of “frantic” swimmers around them in tightly packed water, there was a serious risk of being trapped under the water.

But the determined duo would not be defeated – and their was plenty of support for them too.

Mum Elaine flew over to support them, as did their younger brother Shay and his girlfriend Morgan, who travelled from Perth, Australia to cheer them on.

As Joel returns to Scotland, the Burnett brothers are now looking to compete in some local events, including The Loch Ness marathon and The Great Glen Ultramarathon.

They do, however, already have their hearts set on competing in another international event soon.

[Source: Press and Journal]