Erica Hawley is getting her season off the ground with a long-distance triathlon when she competes at the Ironman 70.3 Dallas Little Elm in Texas on Sunday.

Hawley is having a second crack at the gruelling race, consisting of a 1.9-kilometre swim on Lake Lewisville, a 90km bike ride around the rolling course heading north of Little Elm on rural, two-lane roads, before taking on the 21.1km run to finish things off at Little Elm Park.

The Bermudian has been training with Canadian Amelie Kretz, who finished second at La Quinta, California, where Hawley made her Ironman debut in December. She is using the race on Sunday to prepare for the Americas Triathlon Cup Gulfport, in Mississippi, on March 27.

“I am excited to get my race season underway here in Dallas, Little Elm,” Hawley said.

“I am using this race to have a low-key build up into short course racing and Olympic qualification, which starts in May.

“One of the big changes since my last race is that I have started working with a new coach, Nate Wilson, for my cycling training. I’m looking forward to seeing how the new training has paid off and putting that into a race.”

Hawley admits to nerves as she prepares to compete for the first time in 2026.

“I’m nervous since it is the first race of the year, but mostly excited,” she said.

“This race will be a good benchmark for me and a nice data point to see how the winter of training has gone. As far as lessons go from my first 70.3, the big one was being more aggressive. Yes, it’s a long race, but I played it a bit safe last time as I was mostly focused on finishing.

“My plan is to return to short course after this race but I’m excited to see how this race helps me prepare for the upcoming season. I think it’s well timed with my build into short course racing. It’s a longer effort, but I think that will be good to build out my base before I get back into short course.”

In her maiden appearance in the extended triathlon distance, Hawley finished eighth. She competed in the professional female division and completed the swim in 26min 2sec, bike leg in 2:21:26 and the run in 1:24:59 for an overall time of 4:17:32.