3.9 kilometers swimming, 42.2 kilometers running, 180.2 kilometers cycling. The Ironman is one of the most demanding triathlon events on the planet, and the Cascais edition — which had its first full competition in 2020 — has already become one of the most important worldwide. Now, an increasingly large group of local women has come together to train together and try to participate in the 2025 Ironman, even if it's the "half" version — where the distances are halved.
Founded in the last quarter of 2024, and already with more than 40 participants, the group (which is still informal) was an initiative by local resident Matilde Freitas. "I’ve always been very athletic, doing competitive sports, but a year and a half ago I became a mother, and the recovery was slow, there was so much new", she begins to describe. "But I wanted to get back into shape, feel good about myself, get back to doing sports because I had to give up a bit during my pregnancy". Her husband had been participating in the event for two years, but Matilde never aspired to join him. "I always saw the event as something for crazy people. Congratulations, but this isn’t for me. I thought those people were a bit special for taking on such a challenge".
Even so, she started triathlon training in June 2024 and participated in her first competition in September in São Martinho do Porto. "I liked the training, but it’s many hours, it’s very lonely. But doing the competition was one of the best experiences of my life. I loved it and told myself I would keep going".
When she went to watch the Ironman in Cascais a month later, she was with a friend who, at that moment, decided she would participate the following year. "It’s really emotional to see the people, the suffering, and then the satisfaction of achieving what they worked so hard for. When my friend said that to me, I thought... 'If I have someone to train with, I might actually consider it.' For me, the biggest obstacle was the lack of community", Matilde continues.
Matilde talked to other friends who had made similar comments: they had imagined participating but found it difficult to dedicate the many hours of training required throughout the year, making it tough to balance everything. "It’s very hard to juggle family, kids… Often it’s the partner who ends up going [to train], and someone has to stay home to make up for it. Women often end up with this role if we put ourselves in that position. This is an opportunity for us to break away from what is ‘normal,’ from prejudices we have ourselves," she says, reflecting on the goal she achieved when she formed a group of women in Cascais to train together.
The goal was set: to do the Half Ironman on October 18, 2025, with registrations already open online. The entrepreneur created an Instagram page (Road to Ironwomen), through which she started documenting the journey of preparation for the women who joined. Naturally, many others learned about the initiative and became involved.
"From the initial group, some were runners, but no one had swum since they were 12, and no one had seriously cycled since they were 14… It was a bit crazy. The Ironman motto is ‘anything is possible,’ and with a year of preparation, it seems more achievable."
They established a partnership with the Clube de Natação e Triatlo de Lisboa (CNATRIL) and use the Piscina do Alvito on Thursdays to train for the swimming portion of the race. All the women are personally coached by triathlon coach Hugo Rocha, even though he is only present during the swimming sessions. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, they organize running sessions, whether it's long runs or sprints, as well as sessions focused on varying inclines. They usually run between Cascais and Carcavelos.
On weekends, they always do a cycling ride, often from Cascais to Sintra. Those who are available can also join the competitive team at CNATRIL, which trains swimming for two hours a day, four days a week. To be ready to participate in the Ironman, the recommendation is that they train an average of 10 hours per week.
At the moment, the group consists of women ranging from 25 to nearly 60 years old. Most of them aim to participate in the upcoming Ironman, but the group's goal has become more than just that — above all, they want to create a sports community for women in Cascais. Therefore, they have both a WhatsApp group for future Ironman participants and a group simply for those who want to train together.
“We try to get together whenever we can,” explains Matilde. “Half of the group has regular office jobs with fixed hours, so they have to train very early, at lunchtime, or in the evening. Others, like me, have their own businesses or projects and can manage their schedules differently. It’s always difficult to get many people together, but we manage to bring at least two people to go for a run. And that makes all the difference for motivation and making the journey much more fun. We’re competitive, but at the same time, it’s a community.” The idea is to support and inspire women, showing them that they can do it. "It’s not about stubbornness, but about fighting for ourselves. We also need our time and well-being. And if we love sports, we need to normalize that, even with a busy life and little time.”
Although the Ironman is the ultimate goal, many of the participants are competing in other races along the way, whether in triathlon or just running events. “Some of them are doing the Barcelona marathon next weekend, we did a sprint two weeks ago in Santo André. Our next challenge will be the Oeiras sprint in May,” Matilde shares.
Inês Gonçalves, 52, joined the group after discovering it on Instagram. Although she had little experience and didn’t know anyone involved, she felt motivated to participate. “I never swam, I used to run, but only sporadically, and I’d only ride a bike for leisure on an electric mountain bike. When people ask me why I’m doing this, it’s not about the physical aspect. There’s no motivation to get fit or because of menopause — it’s about knowing deep down that I can achieve something I never thought I could. We reach places we never thought possible in terms of overcoming challenges. It’s very emotional,” she explains. “One great thing is that we’re not competing against each other, we’re competing with ourselves, with the support of the others. Even if I’m at a lower level, they support me, there’s this mutual help. We’ve made friends here and are very close.”
In these first few months of the group’s existence, they have already established a partnership with the Municipality of Cascais, which allowed them to offer registrations for various competitions. To strengthen their community, they also partnered with restaurants Local and Paco Bigotes — once a month, they gather around the table because not everything is about training. “After we define a name, we want to have t-shirts so we can be more identifiable on the street and spread the message.”