The island of Lanzarote is a great place to relax for many people, but on one long day in May there were plenty of people doing just the opposite. The Lanzarote Ironman triathlon is regarded by many as the toughest triathlon in the world. Besides having to contend with the huge distances and endurance challenges involved, athletes also have to battle against the unique conditions the island throws at them. These normally include the high temperatures and windy conditions that prevail on Lanzarote's volcanic landscape. There is very little in terms of vegetation when you get up onto the higher mountain roads on the island and the wind can feel relentlesss for a tired cyclist.

Last year UK athlete Bella Comerford triumphed in the ladies race in only her second attempt at the event, after finishing third in 2007. This year she returned as Bella Bayliss with her new husband Stephen Bayliss also competing in the mens race. Mr and Mrs Bayliss are both full time top flite triathletes who travel and compete all around the world when they are not training at their home in the Swiss mountains. Both had specifically targetted the Lanzarote event and had spent the seven weeks prior to the day of competition, living and training on the island. The facilities at the island's specialist sports resort, Club La Santa, were perfect for their preparations.

Things certainly paid off on the big day. Conditions were perfect when the swim section started on the Playa Grande beach in Puerto del Carmen . The sea was almost as still as a mill pond at 7am as hundreds of competitors took to the water, cheered on by thousands of spectators. Stephen Bayliss led the athletes in the swim section and finally completed the course in 5th place while Bella bided her time and only took the lead after 10km of the marathon distance run. She eventually came home an easy winner by over 20 minutes after setting a course record for the run section.

Bella completed the full distance in just under 10 hours, while the hundreds of other racers were allowed 17 hours to try and finish the event. That meant the finish line closed at midnight but apparently there were still some determined athletes who insisted on dragging their tired bodies to the finish long after the race officials had gone home.