KIT Walker is aiming for a strong start to his first professional Ironman season when he races the Ironman 70.3 Mallorca on Sunday.

The 26-year-old turned professional in January after a string of impressive results last year.

Astonishingly, Walker has only been racing triathlons – let alone races at the Ironman distance – for just five years. He initially took on the Osprey Sprint Triathlon on Portland in 2011.

Since then his career has seen steady progression but the Portland-born athlete knows he is facing his toughest challenge yet.

He told Echosport: “It’s almost like starting again because the racing is much more intense.

“I’m heading out there to collect the experience. There’s some big names racing and I’m not putting myself under a lot of pressure to say I want to do this time or result.

“I want to experience it, bring that back and try and work out a plan to improve.”

Since the start of the year, Walker has been training for 24 hours a week in his quest to fit into the professional ranks, however it has not been as straightforward as he had hoped.

He added: “It’s not been as smooth as I thought it would be but I’m starting to find my form.

“I’m feeling pretty good and the runs around the track in Weymouth have indicated good fitness and I’m happy with the numbers I’m seeing out on the bike.

“I wanted to race the best in the world at the Ironman and improve.”

For many, the feat of completing one of these gruelling ninehour tests feels impossible and Walker’s feelings towards the event are surprisingly similar.

“The feeling of achievement when you just finish one of these is incredible.

“It’s hard balancing everything, but I get up at 5am without any distractions and get things done.

“It becomes part of your lifestyle. I like the regime and routine of it, the racing is the reward.

“Holidays are based around races. Training is hard, you’re tired, and it means you don’t go out over the weekends. You have to make sacrifices.

“I do 24 hours of training a week for it, it’s quite a lot and you have to make it interesting.”

Making his training workload entertaining isn’t tough for Walker, who uses his home trails for every part of his training.

Walker said: “I think Weymouth and Portland is stunning for training. I’m so lucky to be able to have good open water swimming on my doorstep and the ability to run around Portland is great.”

Once his first big race is completed, Walker will be heading back to familiar shores.

“I will be racing in Nottingham in July and obviously I will be racing the Weymouth Ironman in October,” he explained.

“The season is flexible and I can enter more races closer to the time and I will be looking to do that.

“But I’m looking further afield and you can travel the world through this sport and that is where I am aiming.”