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Prince Albert's Christina Charles recently completed her sixth Ironman triathlon. (Image Credit: Submitted)
Inspiring People

Prince Albert runner earns top-10 age-group finish at Hawaii Ironman

Oct 14, 2026 | 11:04 AM

Prince Albert’s Christina Charles battled rough water, strong winds and intense heat to finish among the top 10 women in her age group at an Ironman triathlon in Hawaii.

Charles completed the 3.8-kilometre swim in the Pacific Ocean, 180-kilometre bike ride and 42-kilometre run in 10 hours and 16 minutes, placing in the top 10 among women aged 35 to 39.

It was her sixth Ironman and, she said, her most challenging.

“This is definitely the hardest out of all the Ironmans I’ve done. I’ve raced here twice before but this was the hardest just because it was the hottest,” Charles said.

Charles qualified for the event in August after a successful competition in Ottawa, leaving her little time to prepare specifically for the Hawaii race.

“So it was a really quick turnaround for me, so I didn’t have a ton of time to train specifically for this race.”


(Image Credit: Facebook.)

Her gruelling training routine included four- to six-hour sessions on Saturdays, followed by another two to three hours on Sundays.

To prepare for the humidity, Charles also spent time in a sauna and incorporated heat conditioning into her training.

With her final competition of the year complete, Charles plans to take time to recover.

“I am just going to take some time to enjoy my success from the season,” she said.

She plans to choose her races for 2027 in the new year.

Looking back on 2026, Charles said one of her biggest highlights was finishing Ironman Canada in less than 10 hours.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com