From an eight-month injury absence to a career-best finish: Nikki Bartlett on her incredible comeback

Nikki Bartlett is loving life right now. Her infectious smile fills our screen as we catch up 10 days before she flies to Taupo, New Zealand, for the Ironman 70.3 World Champs. 

Still buzzing from her career-best fifth-place finish at the Ironman Worlds in Nice in September, and then marrying her long-time partner and coach Bex Milnes just six days later, the six-time Ironman/70.3 winner is riding high in a career that could have easily ended just 12 months ago.

A tear in her plantar saw her sidelined for eight agonising months, but, as the Loughborough-based pro tells us, her recovery and eventual comeback in June this year has been awash with silver linings…

220: Congratulations on the Nice result and your wedding, Nikki. What a month it must have been!

Nikki Bartlett: Thank you! I think it will be the most special, perfect month in our whole life. Post-race we just went on a massive, two-week, absolute binge socialising. I didn’t take care of my recovery at all! But it was worth it.

220: How has it fired you up for the 70.3 Worlds?

NB: I think because I had that time to chill [after Nice], I’ve found my motivation leading into the 70.3 Champs is still super high. 

And I did start my season a lot later than probably every other single pro, coming back really carefully from injury. So I feel quite fresh, and I actually don’t want my season to end!

220: Your foot injury took you out of racing for eight months. How did it start and how did you cope?

NB: Yeah, after Ironman Wales [which Nikki won in September 2023] it got really bad. And then I tried to do a build into Ironman Portugal and it was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in all my life in a race. 

Well, actually no, Ironman Wales was super painful, but anyone who’s done it, they’ll know that the crowd support makes you feel like you’re not even doing an Ironman! And it doesn’t matter what pain you’re in, it just lifts you. 

Afterwards my foot was seriously in pain, but I just carried that race high into Portugal, which, in hindsight, I should have got the scan straight after Wales. 

But you learn from your mistakes. So yeah, it was a really, really rough few months. I was pretty rock bottom. I thought my career was over. I wasn’t even able to walk the dog. 

But then, as this year has shown, the most amazing times can come from it. Because I’m quite a hyperactive person, Bex was like, ‘Oh my God, what am I going to do with you?’ Bex and I had been engaged for eight years, so I went ‘Right, let’s plan this wedding.’

I went and found the venue because we had two very strict, tough criteria – Titch [their dog] had to be able to walk down the aisle, and we’d named the wedding The Gay Games, because we wanted inflatables [obstacle courses] all over the place. 

That narrowed our search down quite quickly!

220: And then how did you start your recovery?

NB: When I was allowed to, I just went and put all my energy into swimming. It’s my weakness, so we stripped it all back, went back to basics, looked at my technique, and I actually really enjoyed just focusing on one of the disciplines. 

And as we know, if it’s your weak discipline, swimming can really suffer when you’re tired. And it’s crazy how much you can improve when you’re only doing one discipline. So again, another blessing in hindsight.

220: But Nice was always the goal?

NB: Yes, all I wanted to do was get to the Ironman World Champs in Nice. 

I told the sports doctor, give me the most cautious, slow return back. 

And whatever that timeline is, that’s the timeline. If I raced before, that’s a bonus.

220: You came back at 70.3 Les Sables (silver) and then 70.3 Swansea (gold). Was that a relief from a financial point of view?

NB: I’ve got retainers from some of my great sponsors, but obviously a lot of the money is in my performance bonuses. 

But I can’t personally go to a race where I’m not at my best because I won’t perform at my best. 

And if you’re having an average day now, you could be like, 10th. 

Equally you could just race loads, as some people do and are very good at, but for the majority if we race a lot it’s not sustainable. 

For the rest of my career I will aim for races for pure performance at my best, so I only race four to five times a year. 

These girls are so fast, that even at my best it’s so difficult to get on the podium. 

If I’m just a bit off, I’m absolutely nowhere to be seen.

220: Going into Nice, where did you think you might place?

NB: I wanted top 10, and Bex was telling me no, we’re aiming top five. Now my ultimate, lifelong career aim has been a top five at a world champs. 

I’ve always dreamt of going to that post-race press conference and being one of those five ladies on the seats. 

And when I looked at what I thought it was going to take, and at the long list of athletes who could also get that result – the whole field there could have come top 10 – it’s so hard to be a hundred percent confident because anything can happen.

And we also had the smoothest run-in to the race ever. For anyone reading this, I’m pretty sure with every race there’s no smooth run-in. 

But this one was weird, everything was just perfect, and I just got a horrible feeling that race day wouldn’t be.

But I came out of the swim, and that was my first indication – ‘oh my God, this dream day could happen.’

220: Are there any lessons that you learned from Nice that you will take with you into Taupo?

NB: Just really believing in yourself can go so far. I know it sounds so cliché, but just pure belief in your own ability.

I knew I’d done everything I could and that I was in the best shape possible.

Also, I had a really amazing, fun build into the race. I just loved the training, and what I did would certainly not be everyone’s cup of tea [see ‘Nikki’s Adventure All Day Buffets’ below]!

I went away to train for three months, and we did different camps with different people, but the main bulk was with the paratri lot, who I’ve been training with since 2018. So it was just the most incredible winter.

Also, having fun in your training, whatever that looks like for you. For me, I love socialising, so that’s not coming out of my calendar.

220: You’ve just launched a new podcast with Bex. Tell us about that.

NB: So it’s called Miles from Ordinary with Bex and Nikki. 

My inbox is always full of questions, which I absolutely love, so we wanted to answer the community’s questions and do whatever we can to give back. I think it’s really because we love it. 

Sometimes you can get so bogged down with the numbers or performances that we can forget why we started. 

And obviously Bex coaches, but not everyone can afford a coach and some people just want to ask questions. 

There’ll be training tales of the week, a training topic that Bex will answer, a lighthearted ‘Wife Swap’ section and we’ll get some guests on as well.

220: You’ve never raced in New Zealand, do you think the course will suit you?

NB: If I have a good swim, yes. If I don’t have a good swim, I think I might be in trouble. But yes I’ve been on the bike course with FulGaz [indoor cycling app], so I’m getting familiar with the punchy climbs and the long gradual descent.

It’s a bucket-list race. We’re there for a month! We’re having our honeymoon out there.

220: And what’s the race-place aim for Taupo?

NB: Well when I’ve asked Bex, ‘Do you think I can come top five here?’ Her reaction’s not quite the same [as it was Nice]! “Let’s focus on your swim, bike, run,” she says.

220: What’s it like being coached by your wife? When do you know when you need some space?

NB: A very good question. 

No, I wouldn’t want anyone else as my coach, she knows me inside out. She knows just by looking at me if I’m too tired. She’ll know in a session whether I should just keep it lower end or if we can push on a little bit. It just works perfectly. 

But we have a cut-off time – after 7, 8pm, I’m not talking about training. If Bex starts bringing up session content for tomorrow, I’m like, nah, I’m unwinding. I recharge on my own, and she knows that.

Also, I want to carry on with my long adventure rides because I really enjoy them, and she knows that’s what I need. If I went to another coach, they might say ‘I don’t want you riding eight hours’.

The enjoyment benefit and training consistency is a lot greater than what should be done on paper.

220: You said your biggest goal was to finish top five at the Worlds, which you’ve done. So what becomes the next goal?

NB: I’ll just go out there [in Taupo] with no fear and see what’s possible. I feel like I’ve got nothing to lose. 

As I’ve shown, when you believe in yourself you can achieve your crazy, wildest dreams. 

Nikki’s training switch from full to half Ironman

Nikki had 12 weeks between finishing Nice and starting Taupo. Here she shares how her training has altered for the next challenge… 

“I’ve brought the mileage down a bit, mainly because it’s later on in the year and I need more recovery time around training. 

“Like today, for instance, we’d usually do a VO2 swim, hills into a tempo run and then a 2hr bike afterwards, but we’ve dropped the bike. 

“On the swim, I’m doing a lot more VO2 because that start is going to be even more important than ever.

“If I don’t have a good swim, I can say goodbye to a very good race there. 

“With the running, I’m doing more like 1K, 800s kind of reps. And what I really enjoy and what’s worked well is under over type work. 

“So we might do anything between 10 and 14km worth of a K on, which can be anything from around 3:35mins a K, and then I do what I call ‘a K not so on’, because it’s not full recovery. 

“So it’s at marathonish pace. It’s mainly so that my K on, I don’t go too hard, it’s controlled.

“Biking, I’m doing more LT2 training [lactose threshold, between zones 2 and 3, at an intensity that causes a rapid increase in blood lactate].

“I did quite a bit before Nice, which worked really well for me. I was doing anything between 70 to 90mins of LT2. 

“I’m also doing quite a bit of VO2 efforts on the bike, and above LT2 on the bike as well.”

Nikki’s Adventure All Day Buffets

Her return to training post-injury allowed Nikki to experiment on the bike…

“I found that I just loved these long adventure days on the bike.

“I called them my ‘Adventure All Day Buffets’. Other than plotting a route and eating a lot, there was nothing else really on the target list. 

“I gained confidence through distance, because my main issue with racing the full distance is that I’m not particularly confident in myself for that whole duration. 

“I also trained my gut to take in a lot of food!”