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The Lanzarote Ironman event has taken place annually for the past 17 years and has become one of the premier races on the world triathlon calendar. Competitors face a 3.8km sea swim, followed by a 180km bike leg looping around the island's volcanic terrain and finally a gruelling marathon distance run around 4 laps of a course at Puerto del Carmen.

The first Lanzarote Ironman, in 1992, took place with only 148 competitors but the event has grown consistently since then with over 1200 triathletes starting the race last year.

It took several years before British competitors started to feature at the top of the results, but perhaps the best performance was achieved last year when Scotland's Bella Comerford won the Women's event.

Proceedings this year kicked off earlier in May with a shorter "training" event that allowed race participants to come to the island ahead of the main race and sample the unique conditions that racing on Lanzarote will present. The race is one of only a few in Europe that offer pre-qualifying places for the famous Hawaii Ironman World Championship race that takes place in Kona in October 2009. There are 60 qualifying places available at the Lanzarote Ironman this year and all will be hotly contested by triathletes across all age groups. ( picture by Christian Reed)