Mark Frankland is an accomplished #TeamTCUK athlete and has raced triathlons in the UK and abroad for over 10 years. An all-round top bloke, he discovered he had Type 1 Diabetes two years ago but that didn't put him off the sport. Quite the contrary. He worked even harder.



Having completed a gruelling training plan alongside his friend and training partner, Andrew Boyle aka Bogsey, in September the pair travelled to Mallorca to take part in the postponed 2020 Mallorca 140.6 race. Mark battled in vain against the 35 degrees heat, his own indecisiveness and ended up having to make a tough call on the run.

Here's his race review. An honest, open and inspiring insight into just how demanding triathlon can be both physically and mentally. We're all proud of you Mark (and you Bogsey!)

I signed up for the half distance Mallorca 140.6 for 2020 but… COVID. So with another year to train I figured I’d join Mr Boyle and enter the full distance. I’ve done a couple of iron distance races in the past and figured I had another in me - if not now, when, right?

I’ve trained Ironman Wales and Switzerland before - with help from James and Matt respectively. This time was the first time since having Type 1 Diabetes to contend with though so I had that box to try and tick. Despite having a reasonable grasp of my condition, training for this time felt bloody hard work. Long course is bloody hard. Those guys knocking out great times have earned even more kudos from me.

As a result of the effort it took to get there I figured this would be the last time in the foreseeable that I would be thinking about an Ironman (never say never!).

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Anyway with Matt’s help I got to the start line at September’s race; all the training was done. I didn’t really have any expectations of times etc. I was just aiming to get round in decent shape, enjoy it, and be able to run through that finish line.

We arrived a few days before and after the last 18 months we’ve had it was great to be away. The weather was changeable when we got there but progressively got better up to race day. The last few days of prep were very chilled and the registration and racking processes were a breeze with only a few hundred taking part. Time for a few Cortados in the local cafes.

On to race day; we were only a few hundred metres from the race start so it was just a leisurely wander up for the swim start on a nice clear morning.

My swim went pretty well - the smaller numbers meant that it wasn’t too packed and the sea was much more calm than the previous couple of days when the waves were pretty big. The planned two lap Aussie entrance/exit went ahead and I swam pretty close to the distance suggesting my sighting wasn’t all bad. Slight wobble when I punched a jelly fish (I think) but other than that all good. When I was exiting the swim I started retching and was sick a bit. Nowt to worry about - just the effect of drinking a bit too much sea water.

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Decent 500m or so jog to T1 and a pretty quick turnaround. It’s so nice not having to layer up for the weather, tri-suit all the way today! Check of my blood sugar had things looking good so away we go. Race conditions meant I had a handheld reader rather than my usual blood sugar reading on my Garmin but it was a good enough way of keeping on top of things.

The start of the bike was a nice smooth straight stretch out of Muro towards Can Picafort and then onwards round the inland loop for the first lap. I went steady as planned; the temp was looking like being between 30 and 35 degrees so hydration was going to be important so I tried to make a point of taking on water as well as my liquid fuel. As is often the case the start of the bike I saw by blood sugar spike so, not having done so in T1, I injected a bit on insulin half way up one of the small climbs. Not something I normally do other than on the turbo but all good. Rest of the first lap went fine.

The bike course was decent, mostly closed roads, but probably a few more twists and turns than were ideal, just managing to disrupt your rhythm. That said, it’s flat enough so I’ll take it.

By the time I was into the second bike lap I was definitely starting to feel the heat; about half way round there was a steep hill and I took shelter briefly at the top to get out of the heat and take on a gel. The next couple of aid stations I actually stopped at them to try and cool down and ensure I had enough fluid onboard (but not too much).

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Finished the bike in reasonable shape, hot but didn’t feel completely wiped out. T2 again was a pretty easy affair, only a few of us knocking around so quick change over in the tent at the end of transition and away I went….

Ran out of T2 for about 500m. I felt like I had no running in me. Fuelling had been OK up to this point, I had no discernible injuries or pains to speak of, so can only attribute it to the heat. The start of the run course was pretty exposed, with a 1 mile loop around a lake with pretty much no cover making for a tough start.

It didn’t feel like it was going to be my day and essentially the next 10-11 miles were spent mostly walking, some efforts trying to get going running and failing, but overall mostly spent thinking. Thinking about whether or not I should stop. At this point I’d have loved to have been really decisive!

I was doing the maths and figured even at the pace I was going I could probably make the cut off. This made the “should I, shouldn’t I” debate harder. What do I gain / who do I let down. Ultimately I wanted to make sure I had no regrets - hence it taking so bloody long to decide!

I could get round, rinse myself out and walk across that finish line (which did look good to be fair). But I just didn’t want it enough I guess - sounds weird writing it after all it took to get there. That said I’d been there and done it - I knew I’d done the distance before, I’d done all the training. Getting over the line in 16 hours + just wasn’t what I was there for. Everyone who loves me will still love me - what anyone else thinks doesn’t matter. I’ll be OK….. and I’ll get to Lydia’s restaurant for dinner!

As I say the effort it took to get here - all the training, all the time juggling schedules and the endless support from my family - definitely weighed in to the thought process. But in the end I decided what was done was done and I was content to stop.

So that was it. I just happened to have stopped at one of the furthest points from transition so had to walk on my own back to the start, and then skulk in to the finish area and get my gear back. As I went through the finishers area it was awkward being offered a medal and having to say no.

Overall I thought this was a great race and course. The organisers couldn’t do enough for you and the pre/post event location was perfect. The bike was the main part you noticed the size of the field. It would benefit from more racing - it felt like a long solo effort at times with only a few hundred of us, especially on the second lap when the half distance racers had started their run. Then again a big point they made was about there being no drafting and the racing being ‘pure’ so from that point of view I guess it was good.

Any regrets? No, not really. Immediately afterwards I had an emotional call with my family, and have definitely thought since about “what if” I’d carried on and finished. It would have been great to have finished but it wasn’t to be - and if I had I’d still be the same person I am now.

Thanks to everyone who helped me - I only managed to even have a crack at it with the help of Abi and the rest of my family, and Matt’s support through the TCUK plan gave me much needed structure and focus.

Retirement from Ironman? Definitely probably….