Kaitaia teen sets intense race goal

WHEELS ON FIRE: Nalani Karena Waenga - with her Far North Flash cycling coach Phil Gibbs - must enjoy a good challenge as she is about to set off on three consecutive weekends of racing long distances, staring today in Cambridge. PHOTO/FRANCIS MALLEY

AKAITAIA teenager is hard in training as she prepares to take on three major endurance events back-to-back across the North Island over the coming three weeks.

First up on the dance card for 13-year-old Nalani Karena Waenga is the Tri Maori triathlon in Cambridge today - an Olympic-distance event comprising of a 1500m swim, 40km cycle and 10km run.

Next Saturday will see her riding the notoriously gruelling 160km Taupo Cycling Classic, part of a an estimated half-dozen or so representing the Far North Flash cycling club at that event, before then heading east to compete in the Rangitahi division of the Iron Maori triathlon in Napier on December 5.

A busy girl then. A Year 8 pupil at Kaitaia Intermediate School, Nalani has been training hard for the upcoming events, which includes five swimming sessions, three runs, and four extended cycling sessions a week.

Her swim training is done with Jim Larkin, her swimming coach for the past six years, while her running and cycling training programme has been run under the guidance of Far North Flash founder Philip Gibbs.

The latter admitted he was quite impressed with the resolve shown by his teenage charge while being put through the paces.

"Thirteen-year-olds don't normally do these sort of things," Gibbs said. "[She's] very focused. Someone so young is taking on something so big. I don't think there's many other 13-year-olds taking on this sort of thing." Gibbs added that Nalani's mother had approached him a few months ago when her daughter stated an intention of getting into triathlons seriously.

He's since taken Nalani on a couple of 120km rides over the past few weeks, including cycling over the Mangamuka. Gibbs - who will attend the upcoming events with Nalani - noted the main plan was to get her "familiarised" with swimming, running and cycling among hordes of rival competitors.

"She's a real novice [in that regard] but she's used to doing endurance events because of her swimming training, disciplined since she was 6. Able to flow on from that," he said, adding he had no doubts at all about her ability to perform under pressure. "She's ice rock."

The pair's ultimate goal was to have Nalani represent Kaitaia and "medal" at the National Secondary School Triathlon Championships at Gisborne in March next year.

Gibbs believed she would gobble up the distances set for her age group at that event - a 300m swim, 10km cycle and 2.5km run.