Ironman 2007

After taking slightly nervous miners to the start, I grabbed a coffee and met up with Ellie80 and Jen_Runs. The start of an Ironman is pretty special – 1500 people getting into wetsuits, doing last minute checks of their bikes etc – very much in anticipation of the enormous challenge they are about to attempt.

After the national anthem, the canon went off and 1500 people started flapping their arms giving a piranha like effect. The pack slowly went past, with a cute little Port Macquarie dolphin following along behind.

It wasn’t long before the pros started to get out of the water, so we moved spots to watch the carnage of T1. After this, I put my running shoes on and went for a trot around the course. I found this to be a really good way of watching different parts of the bike leg. It was starting to warm up a little and the southerly was freshening all the time. I saw Rohan, Paul Every and *Archie*, who were all looking really strong on the bike. I also got a few other bikers yelling “go coolrunner”. I spent a bit of time at the top of Mathew Flinders Drive where there was about 2-300 people cheering people up the hill. I saw some people get off their bikes and walk up as well as a couple of people who couldn’t get their feet out quick enough – ouch! I even saw a lady who was too scared to ride DOWN the hill, so she got off and walked. I didn’t see Miners on the bike, but Mrs Miners told me he had been having a tough time, with a puncture and a small accident, losing his gear.

At this point, you get reminded of the great length of the race – approaching lunch time and most competitors are still on the second of three bike laps – with a marathon to go.

I ran back into town, bumping into Mr and Mrs Wildthing, then Jen and Ellie, then Gnome, TA and Tux. I continued to run a bit, walk a bit, stop a bit and talk a bit – very relaxing. After watching the pros come through transition, I continued out to settlement point, where I got to watch the leaders more closely. It was here that I bumped into a disappointed Hairy Legs. He was really disappointed not to be competing and I really felt for him. We studied the running styles of the leaders and it was very clear who was cruising and who was doing it tough. The Ironman marathon needs to be really efficient and the lighter runners really seem to have an advantage.

After hanging around for a bit and seeing Miners, Frank and Archie through T2, I headed back to the car to get changed. About 7 hours in the running shoes, and about 25k covered.

After this, and as the sun went down we alternated between watching the marathoners out on the track and hanging out at the finisher’s chute. The finisher’s chute is just a great atmosphere, lots of cheering and dancing, which must be a great reward for those finishing.

After a great swim and bike split, Paul Every seemed to struggle late in the run, however he still managed a fantastic 11:08 and seemed extremely happy to complete his 20th Australian Ironman.

Rohan, as he was all day, finished really strong and it was great to see him in the CR colours.

*Archie*, who looked a little surprised to get so much coolrunning cheers throughout the day, also came through sub 12, with a fantastic 3:56 marathon, she looked great and it must have been a nice feeling to pass apx 350 people.

Miners finished a tough day in the office, walking through the finishing chute with his 3 cute little boys. Miners had a ‘far from ideal’ preparation and ‘far from ideal’ race day with some bad luck, but it seems like he has some stories to tell, (with some photos to back it up). It was great that he got through it with a smile and showed us all that you can really enjoy an Ironman – even when it is not your day.

I had to shoot through, but managed to meet a happy Aunty K and Darren before I headed back. After waking up at 5am, the trip back to Sydney was a shocker arriving just after 3am.

A really fun couple of days and whilst I am not planning an Ironman just yet – I will do one that’s for sure.