Meet the RUH's very own Ironman

A consultant surgeon from the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust is celebrating after securing a new British record in one of the world's toughest and most physically demanding competitions - a Quintuple Ironman race.

A Quintuple Ironman consists of five times the Ironman distance. Competitors complete a jaw-dropping 12 mile swim, 560 mile bike ride and 130 mile run.

Consultant Head Neck and Thyroid surgeon Stuart Gillett completed the race, which took place in Austria, in 75 hours, 15 minutes and 22 seconds - coming third overall and smashing the previous British record by over 24 hours.

As if completing the race wasn't impressive enough, Stuart made it to the end having taken on average only one hour's sleep each day for the period of the race.

Stuart said: "I had a total of three, one-hour breaks across the three days, and it's fair to say it took its toll - on the run I got so tired that I was actually beginning to hallucinate.

"It's not just a physical challenge, a lot of it is psychological too. The swim for me was the most difficult part - it was just so boring!"

Perhaps unsurprisingly, a passion for running and a strict training regime are part of Stuart's daily life. "I have been competing in ultra-distance running events for many years and moved into ultra-triathlons two years ago," he said.

"I train six days out of seven and I'll usually cycle or run on my commute to work, from my home near Bradford on Avon to the RUH in Bath.

"It's a real honour to hold the new British record but I'm not finished yet - my aim is to go on and complete a deca Ironman race.

ENDS

Notes to Editor

• The Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust provides acute treatment and care for a catchment population of around 500,000 people in Bath, and the surrounding towns and villages in North East Somerset and Western Wiltshire. The hospital provides healthcare to the population served by four Clinical Commissioning Groups: Bath & North East Somerset CCG, Wiltshire CCG, Somerset CCG and South Gloucestershire CCG.
• The Trust has 759 beds and a comprehensive range of acute services including medicine and surgery, services for women and children, accident and emergency services, and diagnostic and clinical support services.
• In 2015 The Royal United Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust acquired the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (RNHRD) NHS Foundation Trust. The RNHRD treats patients from across the country offering services in rheumatology, chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome/ME, cancer related fatigue and fatigue linked to other long term conditions such as multiple sclerosis.
• The RUH is changing - we have an exciting programme of redevelopment underway transforming our site and further improving the services we provide. The Trust is building a purpose built RNHRD and Therapies Centre and is now working towards a new Dyson Cancer Centre. For more details visit: www.ruh.nhs.uk/fit4future

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