Ironman Cairns

On Sunday, I finished Ironman Cairns in a time of 10.16, 4th in the 18-24 age group.

It was a late start to the day with the age group wave of the ironman race starting at 7.55am. I seeded myself towards the front of the group and after the initial argy bargy, I settled into a nice rhythm. I was feeling really great heading out for the first lap however once we turned at the far end, I realised that may have been because we had some assistance with the tide… the return lap was pain and I felt like I was moving very slowly. The second lap was much the same, but by the return section I was excited to get out onto the bike!

A quick run through to T1, I picked up my gear bag and with the help of the volunteers was out onto the bike for the next 5 hours.

The days leading into the race were windy and race day was no exception. We had a wonderful tail wind for the first 65km up to Port Douglas and then as you can imagine the polar opposite on the return leg (much like the swim…). The bike course is spectacular. Once passing Palm Cove we were along the coast up to Port Douglas. I struggled into the head wind from 90km to 140km and my legs came out to play in the last 50km.  I managed to get with a group for the last part of the ride which helped me A LOT!

I entered T2 with the race clock around the 6.05 mark, 4mins down from Amos Gollach who was destroying our age group. The plan for the run was simple, go out at a conservative pace for the first 15mins and then build into the marathon. Well the first 15km were perfect and then things started to fall apart. The first half of the run is lonely and windy before we get back into town, where we have two and a half 8km laps to complete. Once in town the support is amazing. Running down the Esplanade is awesome, all the bars, cafes and restaurants were packed with spectators, music was pumping and the atmosphere was amazing.

It was a long day out on the road for me however I made it to the finish and I enjoyed the Ironman experience. I smiled all day (apart from a few tears during the run) and high fived every spectator who wanted one.

Ironman Cairns is an awesome event which I would recommend to everyone! The course, the crowds support, the atmosphere and the organisation of the event is world class and what better way to recover than relaxing is tropical far north Queensland.

A huge thank you to Lisa, Dave and Teresa for coming over to support me! Also so all the other WA crew who were out there racing and supporting, thanks for the cheering and to everyone that finished, well done!

Finally, to LMW Hegney, Team Break Your Limits/Kswiss and my coach Bill Scanlan for your continued support in my Triathlon endeavours!

Now it is time to hand the Ironman batten over to Lisa who will be racing Ironman WA in December!