Erica Hawley is bracing for her maiden appearance in a long-distance triathlon when she competes at the Ironman 70.3 La Quinta in California tomorrow.

After an eventful season, which saw her take part in seven international races, the Olympian is looking to finish her season in style.

Hawley is taking a shot at a race consisting of a 1.9-kilometre swim on Lake Cahuilla, a 90km bike ride around the Thermal Raceway and a 21.1km run to finish things off at Silver Rock Resort Golf Course.

The Bermudian will be part of a stellar field of top athletes in the world contending for a combined professional prize purse of $40,000. A chance to qualify for the Ironman World Championships is also on offer, with two slots each available for men and women.

“I am feeling pretty nervous ahead of this race,” Hawley told The Royal Gazette.

“It is my first time racing this distance and it is all very new. I know that once the start goes off I’ll be good.

“I am here to test myself and gain experience at this new discipline. I am sure I will learn a lot and make mistakes, but I hope I can handle the challenges when they arise.”

After racing at the Cambridge Beaches Bermuda Triathlon last month, the 27-year-old went back to her training base in Boulder, Colorado, to prepare for her Ironman debut.

“I have been in Boulder for the last few weeks and this training block has been about adapting to the time-trial position,” she said.

“I’m also focusing on fuelling as these are probably the two biggest differences to the training in short courses.

“Whilst the training has changed a bit, I am reminded that it is still a triathlon and I’ve done many of those.”

With her mother Julia Hawley having raced twice at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, the Olympian spoke of how that inspired her to take up the long-distance triathlon.

“I’ve always wanted to try this distance,” Hawley said.

“I grew up travelling with my mum to Ironman races, some of my idols are from this circuit and this was a good time to do so.

“There are few races that can work with the World Triathlon short course schedule, luckily this one was close by and in December.”

Looking back at her season, Hawley indicated that she wanted to exercise her choices by being innovative.

“I would describe this season as trying new things. I focused on more World Triathlon Championship Series races and also this Ironman.

“I know that once the Olympic cycle starts again in 2026, I won’t be as flexible to do the races I want to do, so I wanted to prioritise autonomy this year.

“It is very typical for me to race all over the world and seven races is a pretty standard or lower quantity than usual.”