It was no small feat for the Maltese triathlon powerhouse in the Lake District last Sunday.

Danica Bonello Spiteri experienced one of her toughest challenges to finish the half ironman in 6 hours 2 minutes in a creditable 9th position, 22 minutes behind the winner.

It was no straightforward race as Danica battled the 12C freezing waters of Lake Ullswater exiting in second place, then she took on the 90km bike ride which took her up gruelling climbs of the Kirkstone Pass in the District area. She did not have an enjoyable bike split as she suffered in the steep inclinations of the route losing ground on the more bike-strong triathletes, pushing her to 13th place.

It was a different story in the run as Bonello Spiteri hit back with a superb run to take back what she had lost and entering in the top ten of the race.

The run, which was mostly on rugged terrain, known as fell running, saw her trek up steep, muddy, slippery hills where she started to catch up even on the male competitors.

After over six hours of swimming, cycling and running, Danica crossed the line in 9th place in one of her toughest challenges.

She commented: “This was by far harder than the Austria Ironman I did two years ago, the terrain was not at all forgiving and the wind and cold temperature did not help either.

“I really suffered in the bike but in the run I felt comfortable and started pushing the pace till the finish.”

She added: “The run section was a new experience, since it was all ‘fell running’ which also requires special running shoes and run technique. Running with my normal running shoes caused me to slip and fall on two occasions, but this did not hinder my progress. I just got up from the mud and continued running. Dr Bonello Spiteri, who is specialising in sport and exercise medicine in the UK, competes for Leeds and Bradford Triathlon Club, the same club of world class triathletes Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee.