Tauranga athlete Hannah Wells back in action at Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast

Hannah Wells celebrates as she runs towards the finish line to win Challenge Wanaka in February. Photo / Getty Images

Reigning Ironman New Zealand champion Hannah Wells is preparing to hit the start line for the first time in almost six months at Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast in Australia on Sunday.

Wells, who claimed victory in her first-ever Ironman in Taupō in March, returns at the weekend to the racing format in which she's had much success, taking on the 1.9km swim, 90km ride, and 21km run on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

"I've been over here on the Sunshine Coast for a bit over two months and the idea in coming over was to put in a big block of winter training this year, I've been doing that over here and it's been going pretty well," Wells said.

"A huge amount of volume has been done, I haven't done a heap of intensity because the focus has been on the volume block at this stage.

"Going into the race, I'm excited to have the opportunity to race first, a nice chance to break up the big training blocks that I'm doing here, it's so nice to have the opportunity to be on the start line."

Wells said she took a lot from her debut Ironman win earlier this year and has been able to put those lessons into practice as she prepared for Sunday's race.

"We learned a lot over that period of training for my first Ironman, which was super- valuable for me moving forward in the Ironman distance, and also the Ironman 70.3 distance.

"It highlighted some areas of my training that I could improve on a lot, to become a better athlete, especially at the longer distance."

Hannah Wells has put in the work with a big block of winter training. Photo / File

The Bay of Plenty-based athlete has had great success racing on the Sunshine Coast, claiming victory when she last raced there in 2019, along with a third in 2018 and a second in 2017.

"I really like the race venue and the atmosphere on the Sunshine Coast, it's right in the heart of Mooloolaba and it gets such a nice vibe down there.

"The swim is beautiful, it's a beautiful beach and sometimes it gets a bit of a swell, which makes it interesting as well; and then you're up out of the swim and you're in town and there's a lot of people around, the whole race is very enjoyable.

"The ride is really nice along the highway, and then you have support along the run, pretty much the whole entire way and it makes for a great atmosphere."

Like many athletes, the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have made planning difficult for Wells and her team.

"It's a pretty tricky one at the moment. I know a lot of athletes are struggling to plan ahead and I'm no different.

"At this stage it's been let's get to the Sunshine Coast and let's enjoy that race, and then we sort of have to wait and see if there are any updates from our government back home about what the future of travel might look like and then we'll make a plan from there.

"It's tricky for everyone as we need to plan our training, which is a little difficult at the moment, but we just have to make the most of the races we have like Sunshine Coast and make the most of the training and stay positive."