At age 43 "the years keep ticking by so ..." he's mindful of Father Time casting a shadow on his enviable career.
So what keeps him going?
"Just the love of the sport. I'm still passionate about it," he says. "If you don't have those two things then it's just too hard."
He puts in 35 to 40 hours of training a week.
"So I'm still enjoying getting out there and punishing the body."
He prefers the adage of "you're a long time retired" to explain why many people remain in sport these days.
"It keeps me motivated so I don't want to give up my day job just yet."
Setting goals, whether they be short or long-term ones, have been an integral part of Brown's longevity.
"If you don't have that then it's very hard to motivate yourself so I make sure, no matter how big or small they are, you keep something in the back of the head to get ready for."
Dubbed the "undisputed King of Taupo", Brown will line up in the Ironman New Zealand with other Kiwis Gina Crawford, Terenzo Bozzone and Dylan McNeice on Saturday, March 5.
Professional entries have closed, with the seeds named this week.
With the cancellation of Ironman Melbourne due to a clash of dates with the Formula 1 Grand Prix, it is anticipated that some professional and age-group triathletes will descend on Taupo for the only early-season race in Asia-Pacific.
In March last year, Brown won his first Ironman NZ crown in four years before settling for runner-up at Ironman Cairns a few months later.
For the bloke whose lowest placing at Taupo has been third, Brown's best finish at the World Championship in Kona has been two silvers - in 2001 and 2005.
When he started in the sport as a 13-year-old at high school, the Kids TRYathlon-type events didn't exist.
They did emerge several years later and he appreciates their significance, not just in enticing children off the couch but also in helping moulding their character and lifestyle habits.
"You're getting 20 to 30,000 kids being involved [nationwide] in triathlon so it's pretty awesome to have so many athletes," he says, after inspiring close to 3000 youngsters in Hamilton last weekend and more than 1200 in Gisborne on the way to Hawke's Bay.
In his teenage years, triathletes Rick Wells of Auckland, and Erin Baker of Christchurch were his sources of inspiration.
"They were my sort of heroes in those days and they were world champions.
"To have those two neck-and-neck on the start line is what's so unique about our sport."
Brown played badminton and tennis and toyed with cycling during his childhood.
"I saw Tour de France on TV when in those days Sunday Grandstand used to be on," he says of the now defunct TV One sport programme.
Cycling in itself didn't appeal to him: "Oh yeah, I'd get bored. That's what I love about triathlons because if you've had enough of cycling you can go to swimming or vice versa."
It was more the intensity he saw on Sunday Grandstand that captured his imagination, prompting him to compete in his first foray in triathlon at Pakuranga College. He "loved it straight away and never looked back".
Of the three disciplines, Brown loves running and slots "probably biking" after that.
"Swimming's a tough sport where you're looking at a black line for two hours every day so we have a lot of athletes who get bored with that, so they cross over to become cyclists or runners."
It helps that New Zealand has traditionally been strong in the code and has a well-trodden path to glory.
He went running in the Bay on Thursday, something he had also done while promoting the sport in Gisborne because he loves to be in harmony with nature to keep his enjoyment at an optimum level.
Brown appreciates there will be a handful of younger guns in the mix at Taupo but embraces the challenge as an ongoing process to gauge his prowess and endurance.
On retiring he hopes to secure a career in mentoring athletes.
So when will he hang up his running shoes?
"Oh, I don't know. It should have been about five years ago," he says with a laugh but on a serious note accepts that time is catching up with him. "Hopefully I can keep on going for another couple of years."
He steals a smile when asked about his sons, Joshua, 12, and Braeden, 14, revealing the younger one will be racing with him in the Auckland Triathlon Championship next week.
"They are involved in their BMX riding," he says, adding his schoolteacher wife, Jenny, is a great pillar of support for them.
Frenchman Cyril Viennot, American Matt Hanson, German Per Bittner Australians Paul Matthews and Alex Reithmeier provide international zing for the Taupo event.
TAUPO ENTRIES
Hawke's Bay competitors:
Ann Drummond (CHB), Dennise Elers (Hastings), Albie Hawea (Hastings), Tineka van den Hoven-Mareikura (Hastings), Tamati Newbitt (Hastings), Nihera Huata (Hastings), Rachael Walker (Hastings), David Youngquest (Hastings), Emma Mackie (Hastings), Wayne Skipworth (Hastings), Heather Skipworth (Hastings), Jason Bird (Hastings), Andrew West (Hastings), Vicki Fuhrer (Hastings), Colin Hutchison (Hastings), David Moa (Hastings), Shayne Walker (Hastings), Tony Weber (Hastings), Caron Schollum (Hastings), Chris Lee (Napier), Jeremy Rameka (Napier), Jane Lee (Napier), John Humphries (Napier), Faryn Ngawaka (Napier), Diana Tonks(Napier), Tipene Cottrell (Napier), Michael Johnson (Napier), Oliver Postings (Napier), Gazel Makea (Napier), Karl Buchanan (Napier), Shane Janssen (Takapau), Andy Walker (Waipukurau), Stephen Franklin (Waipukurau), Rod Kirwan (Wairoa).
ELITE FIELDS
Men: 1. Cameron Brown (NZL), 2. Terenzo Bozzone (NZL), 3. Dylan McNeice (NZL), 4. Cyril Viennot (FRA), 5. Matt Hanson (USA), 6. Per Bittner(DEU), 7. Paul Matthews (AUS), 8. Alex Reithmeier (AUS), 9. Dougal Allen (NZL), 10. Antony Costes (FRA). Also: Brad Williams (USA), Callum Millward (NZL), Casey Munro (AUS), Chris Sanson (NZL), Clayton Fettell (AUS), Daniel Brown (AUS), Darren Jenkins (GBR), David Nasvik (SWE), Guy Crawford (NZL), Joe Skipper (GBR), Johan Borg (AUS), Mark Bowstead (NZL), Matt Randall (NZL), Matt Russell (USA),Michael Poole (NZL), Sam Clark (NZL), Simon Billeau (FRA), Simon Cochrane (NZL), Swen Sundberg (DEU), Younghwan Oh (KOR).
Women: 1. Meredith Kessler (USA), 2. Gina Crawford (NZL), 3. Melanie Burke (NZL), 4. Amanda Stevens (USA), 5. Michelle Bremer (NZL), 6. Mareen Hufe (GER), 7. Carrie Lester (AUS), 8. Lucy Gossage (GBR), 9. Mackenzie Madison (USA), 10. Kate Bevilaqua (AUS). Also: Anna Cleaver (NZL), Candice Hammond (NZL), Caroline Martineau (CAN), Jennie Hansen (USA), Jocelyn McCauley (USA), Kaito Tohara (JPN), Keiko Tanaka (JPN), Kristy Hallett (AUS), Larisa Cochrane (NZL), Laura Siddal (GBR), Lauren Brandon (USA), Lisa Marangon (AUS), Marina Jurjevic (AUS), Tracy Morrison(AUS), Vanessa Murray NZL).
