Weekly Newsletter 6th May 2013

Australian Ironman
Yesterday Port Macquarie hosted the Australian Ironman Triathlon in testing conditions with strong winds battering the competitors in the cycle leg. Luke Bell from Sandringham in Victoria dominated the men’s competition and raced solo to the finish line to claim his maiden ironman win in a time of 8:30:22 while Rebecca Hoschke, from the Warringah Triathlon Club in New South Wales, had a much closer race in the women’s field and showed poise and purpose to claim her debut Ironman victory in 9:34.54.

It’s interesting to hear people talk at ironman events and compare times from one event to the next. One thing to consider is the course itself. For instance, look at the last two ironman races in Australia.  Melbourne and Port Macquarie.  Now look at the cycle leg, both had the effect of strong winds.  Melbourne has smooth roads the hills are long and even thus allowing for even cadence, while on the other hand Ports roads are coarse and rough with more hills that are short and steep thus taking the sting out of the riders legs.  Times, an interesting statistic.  In Melbourne over two hundred competitors completed the 180km cycle in under 5 hours.  Now for Port Macquarie only four riders were able to go under the 5hr mark.  To me Port Macquarie is the toughest ironman in this country.  So I congratulate all those that completed yesterday’s race.

Coffs Harbour Triathlon Club had 11 starters in the field of 1500 and as expected our club representatives all handled the testing conditions well.
Clint Rowlings who was testing himself over the 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and 42km run for the first time, showed maturity and patience in all three disciplines as he executed his race plan to almost perfection as he crossed the line in  10:09:09.  Without doubt, someone to watch in the future as a time well under the 10 hour mark appears to be a formality.
With a competitive 10:33:43 Rod Jozeps  again looked comfortable throughout, with a sensibly paced ride and his customary strong run serving him well on the day. The attention to detail in his training and preparation always ensures Rod arrives on race day ready to perform at his peak, with Sunday being a PB on the course.
Glenn George  looked in control from the start as his long and steady training regime payed off with a PB of 10:47:21.
Jon Waites  who trained harder than most  started with a slick swim and then pushed through the tough times to complete his second ironman in 11:31:42.  Jon who lost of 5kg in body weight then spent time in the medical tent. By all accounts Jon was feeling much better today.
Andrew Wellington  was consistent in all three legs with a solid performance, had to dig deep for the last 13km’s of the run to cross the line 12:05:24.
Kath Porter  showed guts and determination to cross the line 12:25:17  which placed her number 1 and Australian Ironman Champion in her division.  This was a fantastic result considering most of Kath’s run training consisted of water running due to a nagging leg injury. 
Jason Limbert  stayed ahead of his father Chris and looked well in control for his finishing time of 12:43:28.
Cliff Lloyd  pushed hard all day and had to call on his mental strength in the later stages of the marathon to collect yet another finishers medal in 14:36:23.
Will Cliffy go for another ironman?  You ask him because I’m not.
Chris Limbert  chassed son Jason all day, as he recorded at  14:38:28 finish time.
Jenni Williams with renewed self-belief and confidence notched another finish, recording a 16.21:36.
Peter Woods what can one say, this man has a heart larger than Phar Laps.  Made even more friends in his time of 16:48:28 which included one of his quickest swim times to date.

Presentation Night
Don’t forget to purchase your tickets for the clubs presentation night this Friday night the 10th of May from 6:30  The event is being held at the Coffs Surf Club Bar & Restaurant and will include canapés and $500 on the bar for the early starters. Tickets are $20 per person and can be purchased at     www.stickytickets.com.au/10919
If anyone has any special dietary requirements please contact Lisa Alford  onthealfords40@bigpond.com or call on 0488 032 881.

Wise Words
You may think you know your limits but you don’t. You’re capable of far more than you realize.