Racing driver Billy Monger to take on Kona

Racing driver Billy Monger will take part in the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in October, attempting to set a new record for a double leg amputee.

The 25-year-old, who survived a horror crash at Donington Park in 2017 less than three weeks before his 18th birthday, will take on the 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and 42.2km run in aid of Comic Relief.

It follows his successful attempt to complete the same 140.6-mile distance by kayaking, cycling and walking for the charity in 2021, where Billy’s Big Red Nose Day challenge raised £3million for projects supporting children, young people and families in the UK and across the world. 

But while the initial challenge took Monger four days, this time he will need to finish in under 17 hours to beat Ironman’s strict cut-off, and under 16hr 26min 59sec to set a new fastest time in his category.

“The No. 1 goal is to finish,” Monger said. “I don’t want to go out to Hawaii and be the guy who doesn’t make it to the end. But the record is something I’ve firmly got in my sights too because I’m competitive.”

Planting the Kona seed

A familiar face to UK audiences as a broadcaster on Channel4’s Formula One coverage, Monger will also be on the presenting team at the Paralympic Games in Paris at the end of August.

It was the success of his first Comic Relief challenge that planted the seed of trying to conquer the Big Island in Hawaii.

“I really enjoyed the whole experience and having given it time to digest, we looked at whether there were any challenges we could do in the future,” Monger said.

“Having done some cycling for the first challenge, combine it with some swimming and running and, hey presto, we’ve got an Ironman! But it’s a lot more complicated than that and took us 18 months to work out the logistics and whether Kona would be possible.”

Nicknamed Billy Whizz, Monger is taking the preparation seriously. He added: “By the time I get to the start line it’ll be a year of training under my belt. At first the whole prospect was daunting. Early on, running 5km would be sore and painful.

“It’s just been a case of chipping away week-by-week, and as long as I’m getting better and getting the training done to the best of my abilities, that’s enough. My mindset has been to keep it simple.”

Run over by a bus

Having fought back to fitness to return to motor racing – although he is not racing this year due to funding – Monger, from Charlwood in Surrey, still harbours ambitions of becoming an F1 driver. 

But triathlon has taken full focus for now and having completed the Outlaw Half in Nottingham in May and Ironman 70.3 Westfriesland in the Netherlands last month in 6:26:04, his next event will be Ironman 70.3 Weymouth in September.

“I felt like I’d been run over by a bus for a few days after the Outlaw, and that was just a half [iron-distance event] in Nottingham, which in context to Kona is nothing,” he explained.

“I felt sore at the end of the second 70.3, but I could keep going. There’s hopefully going to be lots more little improvements over the next few months to get me in the spot I need to be in for Kona.”

The toughest test in Hawaii

Having never been to Hawaii before the heat and humidity is likely to present the sternest test. “I’ve been to plenty of places that are hot, but I don’t know about the humidity. I’ve heard it’s the combination that makes it so brutal.”

Most triathletes who have raced there would attest to overcoming the climate being the greatest hurdle, but providing conditions are calm, swapping the kayak for the swim, shouldn’t hold too many fears at least. Posting 32mins for the 1.9km first leg in Ironman 70.3 Westfriesland suggests Monger is more than competent in the water.

”The swim is something I’m slightly more at ease with,” he explained. “Being in the ocean and choppy water gives me some anxiety as it’s not something I’ve had much experience with.

“But swimming was part of my rehabilitation after becoming a double amputee and an exercise I could do that wasn’t weight bearing. It’s also something my disability doesn’t really affect because it’s a majority of upper body work anyway.”

For the bike leg, he will swap his trusty hybrid for a top-of-the-line time-trial bike, seemingly more fitting for a motor racing driver.

“ I hadn’t ridden since my accident when I did the last Comic Relief challenge, and we had a matter of weeks to get me on a bike and start riding,” he said. “Early on in this process, Canyon supplied me with a time-trial bike and I had a few appointments at a bike fitter. 

“Experimenting with smaller cranks was one of the first things. In the last challenge, my lower back was in agony and covered in physio tape to keep me in one piece. I couldn’t go through that again, so we took the time to get the bike set up right.”

Run comfort is key

Then it will be on to the run, made all the more attritional by the lava fields and fabled natural energy lab in Hawaii, and potentially giving the most cause for concern. 

“There’s so much impact on my stumps,” he said. “If I go on a hard long run, I feel it for the next few days. Sometimes I can get swelling and bruising and we have to manage it so it doesn’t affect the rest of my training.

“It’s quite common for amputees. When I started cycling, my body changed shape and size and the prosthetics that were really comfortable aren’t that comfy any more. That’s a tricky thing we’ve had to manage.

“Comfort is key. Being able to put the sockets on day-to-day and run, and not be in a world of pain. I feel we’ve got to a good place with that at the minute.”

Rich history

Triathlon has had a long association with motor sport, with drivers such as Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg posting impressive times over various distances. 

Particularly poignant is the experience of Italian Alex Zanardi, who had a similar life-threatening crash in 2001, and also had both legs amputated. Zanardi became a multiple Paralympic champion in the handcycle and competed in the 2014 Ironman World Championship using a handcycle and wheelchair for the final two disciplines. 

“A lot of the motorsport guys are serious athletes,” Monger said. “We’re racing for up to an hour-and-a-half so you need that cardio base and some of the cockpit temperatures at tracks like Singapore can get up to 50 degrees and beyond. That will hopefully prepare me for Kona.”

Paralympic ambitions?

Having started his triathlon journey, is he also tempted by the possibility of Paralympic paratriathlon in the future? 

“Part of me wishes the Paralympics was next year!” Monger admitted. “My focus has been on this challenge, but having done all that training it would have been interesting to try the paratri distances and see where I would stack up against those incredible athletes. 

“But I’ll be out there working for this one and I’m excited to watch the paratri events [in Paris] and get some more inspiration for my own challenge.

“Looking at those shorter distances, I guess it’s a completely different style of training. Endurance is still key but a lot more threshold work and higher intensity. A lot of my training is Zone 2 with steady swimming, riding and running.”

Monger’s journey will be filmed as part of a documentary, airing on BBC One and iPlayer, and so far he is loving life as a new triathlete. “Having only experienced a few tasters of triathlon events, I love the atmosphere,” he added.

“All the other athletes are super supportive and everyone wishes everyone the best. There is no bad blood, so I’ll love being a part of it in Hawaii, where I know everyone on the start-line has worked so incredibly hard to get there.

“Hopefully I’ll find the willpower to get through it and enjoy it, but as much as the challenge is an important part to why I’m doing it, it doesn’t mean much if it’s not going to have an impact beyond me.

“Partnering with Comic Relief and seeing the amount of money we raised last time, and seeing the projects it’s spent on, I’m hopeful we can do the same if not more on this challenge.”

You can follow Billy’s journey and support him at comicrelief.com/billyironchallenge