MADALENE Cleary is resting easy after successfully conquering two ironman challenges in the United States in the same month.

After completing the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona in Hawaii, Cleary set out to St. George in Utah to complete the Half-Ironman Championship just three weeks later.

With plenty of souvenirs from running both triathlons, including her medals and a ‘Team Australia’ shirt, she said she had a good experience.

“(St. George) was a pretty cool place, pretty different to Kona landscape-wise,” she said.

However, the physical toughness of both events and the hard preparations leading up cannot be understated.

“When I was training for them, I was doing big training weeks, plus working, plus playing netball,” she said.

“My body was pretty exhausted after the first (ironman) but seemed to freshen up pretty well in 21 days.”

In particular, the full-length World Championship triathlon is contested in a tropical climate which, even in the middle of the northern hemisphere’s autumn, is more akin to a January scorcher in south-west Victoria.

“It was around 30 degrees but then they said the air temperature was a feel-like 35 on race day,” Cleary said.

“Plus, we were riding and running through lava fields so they radiate the heat as well.

“Very few people go there and have a good race – one they would have if they were competing in any other ironman around the world.”

She said the last part of the triathlon – the running, following the swim and bike sections – was the toughest but she and fellow athletes were helped along by the crowd which congregated along much of the course.

“They cheer for everyone on your way past – and the same with aid stations, they tell you you’re doing a good job,” she said.

“Plus, you talk to everyone else who’s running along as well.

“If someone’s walking or stretching because they’ve got a cramp or something then you just give a little bit of motivation then they give the same back.”

The difficulty was not helped by the confusion naturally caused by the different measuring system used in the United States, on show in the home stretch.

“When you see ‘I’ve got two miles to go’ and you think ‘two’s not very far’,” she said.

But two miles is equivalent to around 3.2 kilometres.

Cleary said it was a “big relief” to reach the finish line

“You run along the famed Ali’i Drive to finish and it’s red carpet for about 500 metres,” she said.

“There’s people there and they got their hands so you’re high-fiving on your way in, so you feel like you’re winning.”

St George, among the desert and mountains of Utah compared to the Hawaiian tropics, was drier in its heat and the shorter length of the half-triathlon made it a relatively easier challenge to tackle, though still challenging in its own right.

Despite carrying a minor foot injury through the event, Cleary said it was “satisfying” to complete.

“I had a good swim and a pretty good run – it was a beautiful course,” she said.

Cleary said while she was considering taking on some short triathlons in Melbourne and some other races, for the time being she was taking a break after her big month of ironman feats.