Ironman New Zealand 2002

I think it would be fair to say that the influence of Col Stewart was the biggest single factor in my decision to start competing in Ironman triathlon. Initially, he gave me some perspective on Ironman racing by insisting I train with both Jarrod Brauer and Garrett MacFadyen in their preparations for Ironman Australia 2001. After this experience, he encouraged me to enter Ironman New Zealand 2002. Immediately after committing to this race, I was galvanised. It had been a long time since I felt such a feeling of motivation.

Much of my training in the lead up to New Zealand was done with Garrett. Unfortunately, Jarrod sustained what turned out to be a career ending injury in the lead up to Ironman Australia the year before and was unable to join us.

Garrett was the ideal training partner, constantly motivated and extremely generous with his time and knowledge.

The lead up to the race was quite exciting for me. I had no expectations and hence no pressures. I really enjoyed the pre-race atmosphere and felt very comfortable, quietly confident I had the fitness and mental approach to surprise a lot of people.

The night before the race was wet. At times during the night the noise of rain on the tin roof of our accommodation was loud enough to wake me up. It continued to rain intermittently in the hours leading up to the race, which made preparations a little on the tedious side. The most harrowing time of the morning for me was putting on the wetsuit. It signalled that the longest and most demanding day of my competitive triathlon life was not too far from commencing. At this point, like almost everyone else, I was eager for the start cannon to fire and put me out of my misery.

The Ironman swim start was no different to starts I had experienced before, a mad dash followed by a settling down period and then a consolidation of your space and position when those around you fatigued.

I settled into a good pace swimming just behind a group which included Cam Brown, Jonas Colting and James Bonney. Just after the half way point I lost contact with this group and was swimming solo. Not long after, Wendy Ingraham cruised up alongside. I caught the train and she towed me all the way to the finish - thanks Wendy! I exited in 49.51, almost 2 minutes behind Cam Brown’s group.

I felt great in the initial stages of the two lap cycle leg. After around 30 kilometres I had caught Cam Brown, Craig Percival and Steffen Liebetrau and we rode together until the first turnaround in Reporoa. What I did not realise at this time was that a rather large group of athletes had caught us and tagged onto the back. Not long after we made the turn at Reporoa, I went to the front of the group and rode very hard for 5 kilometres or so. My attempt to disperse the group was futile, so I played the game and dropped to the back of the pack to save some energy.

The last 15 kilometres of the loop includes a significant hill and it was here that I decided to make a move. I dropped all those in the group and rode through town solo and continued to do so until Cam, Steffen and Jan Rehula caught me about 10 kilometres into the second loop. We rode together for the next 25 kilometres before I lost concentration and let a gap of 100 metres or so open between me and my fellow combatants. At this point I dug extremely deep and ended up closing the gap in the next few kilometres. Just as I made the juncture to Cam, Steffen and Jan, we caught the lead group which contained Stephen Sheldrake, Jonas Colting and James Bonney. The pace seemed to drop somewhat after the capture, and I was pretty happy about it. If the pace increased again at that point, I may not have been able to go with it and was likely to be dropped.

I stayed at the back of this pack for most of the return journey, leap frogging Jan at the 150 kilometre point when he pulled the pin. As I was at the back of the pack, I failed to notice that James had made a move and broken away from the group. Like in the first loop, I made a move with about 15 kilometres to go as we climbed the last hill before the drop down into town for the finish of the cycle.

I was successful in dropping everyone up the climb and rode into town solo, getting off the bike in second, just behind James. I was a bit of a mess after the ride and it took me some time to regain my composure. My transition was quite slow as a result, but when I got out onto the road, I felt relatively good, much better than I had expected to feel. Despite this, Cam blasted by early and was never seen again and Jonas went by also.

I managed to keep pace with Jonas until the first turnaround point of the double out and back marathon before disaster struck. Not long after the turnaround point a modest climb of 800 metres or so must be negotiated. About half way up this climb my adductors started to cramp violently and I had to stop. The cramping would not go away and I really thought that this was the end of my race. I am not sure how much time I lost, but eventually with stretching and a lot of hoping, the cramps subsided enough to continue running again. I was on tender hooks for the rest of the journey, but luckily, the cramps did not return.

From this point on, I had given up on chasing down Jonas and concentrated on running down James and taking third position. There appeared to be no immediate threat coming from behind until I reached the turnaround point of the second loop. As I made the turn I noticed the large frame of one G.Macfadyen bearing down on me at a great rate. With 8 kilometres to run I caught and passed James to move into third but, not long after, Garrett cruised by, usurping my third position.

That is how it stayed until the finish. I ended up fourth in my first Ironman behind Cam, Jonas and Garrett. I experienced a feeling of absolute ecstasy as I ran down the finish chute. Garrett was there to give me the high five. I will never forget it and the feeling has not been replicated since.