Andy Russell - 'Ironman'

Former Rochdale and Mayfield rugby player Andrew Russell swapped his boots for his bike when he recently competed in the World 'Ironman' series in Switzerland.

The Triathlon event, held in Zurich, involved a 2.4 mile swim across the beautiful Zurichsee transferring to a 112 mile bike ride and followed by a marathon run. Over 2,000 athletes competed, including professionals, from all over the world.

Mr Russell, Managing Director of Russell's Construction and a former pupil of Roch Valley High School, was taking part in the event for the first time and completed the course in a creditable 10 hours 22 minutes finishing in the top 350 athletes.