Cairns
Endurance sport brings out the best in people. Yesterday I got to see that in our squad but of course you see it all day too. The grit and toughness needed kicks in and you tap into who you are and what you can be proud of the most about yourself.
In the 70.3 Vanessa Herbert raced really well across the whole day for 5:32. Vanessa’s run is a weapon and the new bike went like a dream - all set up by a cracking swim. Nicole Westlake was overcoming things all day with a flat, a dropped chain and having to go back for her run belt in transition but still went 7:54. Great effort !
Chris Visvis killed his first 70.3 and loved every bit about it. He went 4:46 with a strong swim, great bike and a run hampered a bit by cramps. Scottie Allison was on a flyer all day with a 4:46 as well. So good to see him put that dream race in and grab a big chunk off sub 5.. Jarrod Crump suffered a bit in the run but held sub 5 nicely with some guts and determination for 4:57. I feel like the next one will be huge for Crumpy. Paul Humphreys as we know was head butting cars last week and doing 70.3’s this week. It was hard but it got done in 5:20.
In the Ironman it was Darren Alchin leading the way and wow he raced so well battling his way up the rankings and hunting down athletes with each lap. Daz went 10:03. James Bonamy had quite a race with his legs and guts challenging him on the run. Bonners went 11:18 in a tough display which was a great reward for hanging in there. We were all stoked to see Quinton Westlake turn his day around on the run and go from head shakes to smiles. Busso redemption and an 11:29 for Q.
For Pete Ruskin we didn’t know what was going to happen. After injuries hampering his prep he managed to get a few good weeks in prior to the race but maybe not quite as many as we would have liked. Rusko is as tough as they come and went 12:18. Dave Hurst had a bad start to the day like Pete with a flat in transition. All good but as he sorted it out and got going again. Dave is putting the pieces together gradually and went 12:48. Steve Mackay, the enigma wrapped in a riddle was desperate to break the shackles of a back injury and a run of races he wasn’t able to complete because of this. We were all stoked to see Sheldon keep pushing on all day for that elusive Ironman finish and a 16:01.
I don’t know whose idea it was to put a 70.3 and an Ironman on the same day but I bet they weren’t a coach. It’s a big day getting around the course, giving coaching prompts, taking photos and tracking times and places. Where better to do it but than Cairns. It was a great day and I’m stoked how we all went
Well done to all the athletes and supporters. Thanks for making it a great weekend of racing. Have an easy week team and we will see you back at it soon.
A Very Proud Coach