BRIAN Fogarty is getting ready to take on some of the best triathletes on the planet at the Ironman World Championship.

The 31-year-old from Blackburn headed to Kona in Hawaii last weekend in preparation of this Saturday’s big race.

It is the third year running that Fogarty has competed at the Worlds – and this time around he is determined to break into the top 100.

The Blackburn Harriers member, who operates his own Fogarty Insurance Triathlon Team (FITT), said: “Top 100 is a goal of mine, and I think it’s doable if I have the race I am capable of.

“I’ve got to understand that I’m not going to win overall but if I can make the top 100, and be the fastest amateur Brit – I was second last year – then I would be happy with that.

“I’d also love to go sub nine hours for the first time but I lot will depend on the conditions.”

The Worlds is the event that Fogarty has been building up to all year.

The insurance broker suffered frustration at July’s Ironman UK in Bolton when a puncture prevented him from achieving his double aim of being the fastest amateur and a top-10 finish.

He did, however, still managed to cross the line in 12th as the second fastest amateur.

Fogarty, the cousin of four-time World Superbike champion Carl, said: “It wasn’t what I wanted in terms of result, but in terms of performance, it was.

“I punctured and lost about 15 minutes, which if I hadn’t have lost, I would have hit my targets.

“It was one of those things.

“You’ve got to learn from it and, in hindsight, I did overcook it in trying to gain the time I had lost in the next 10-15 minutes on the bike.

“I felt I suffered because of that in the run.

“But, as I say, it’s all a learning curve, and I know I’ve made improvements. I’m feeling good, I’ve had some good races lately, and now it’s for the big one.”

Fogarty, who recently finished an excellent second in the Rubicon Middle Distance Triathlon, swiftly put any disappointment he felt at the UKs behind him by marrying his fiancée Maria.

He will be cheered on in Kona by family and friends including his sponsor Paul Slone of Universal Cooling in Oswaldtwistle.