“Step outside of your comfort zone and give things a go."
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He toa wae kai kapua nō ngā wai karekare o Maru
Ko te whakaputanga o te manawa ki te ao marama te take e hoki ai a Ian Rangitutia ki ngā kaupapa whakataetae ā tinana, whakataetae ā hinengaro pēnei i a IronMāori me te kaupapa Ironman.
E rima tekau mā tahi te rahi o ōna tau. He uri rangatira nō Ngāti Raukawa engari i whānau i pakeketia i Rotorua. He pouwhakahaere waihanga i Red Stag a Ian. Nō te tau e rua mano, kotahi ngāhuru mā tahi timataria ai tana whakataetae Ironman.
" I kuhu atu toku hoa tata a Damian Hawe ki te whakataetae Iron Māori mā te rōpū Tau Te Mauri. Ka kite au i ngā kūwhewhewhewhenga o ōnā pāpāringa nā reira ka toko ake te whakaaro kia kuhu atu hoki ahau ki taua kaupapa rā. Kātahi te hui whakahirahira, me tono moata hoki kia whiwhi tūranga ai te toa. Ko taku whakataetae tuatahi i tū ki Taupō, ko te Ironman hāwhe nei.He kaupapa e hoa mā, wheoi anō ka puta taku ihu he ahakoa he kore hiahia nōku ki te whakataetae, ā, nā wai rā ka kuhu poka noa atu ahau’.
Hāunga tana kore hiahia ki te whakataetae i taua taima, nō ngā tau kotahi ngāhuru mā rua kua oti i a ia e ono ngā whakataetae Ironman, e whia hoki ngā omanga roa ā hāwhē nei, kotahi ngāhuru mā tahi ngā omanga roa hurinoa i te moana o Rotorua , te kaupapa tiketike ko TOA, he omanga roa i Bath, Ingarangi whaihoki i kuhu atu ia ki Ironman World Championship hoki i Nice i te whenua o Wīwī.
' Whakawhiwhia ai ahau te tiwhikete uru ki te whakataetae World Champs, ka poho kereru katoa taku tarouma ki a tu hai kanohi mō Hawaiki Tahutahu nei. E kore e memeha tēnei haerenga i taku whatumanawa’.
Ian Rangitutia at IronMāori.
Ka wāwahingia te whakataetae kia toru ngā wāhanga.E toru ira waru te roa o te whakataetae kauhoe moana, he kotahi rau e waru tekau ira rua kiromita te roa o te whakataetae pahikara, whaihoki e wha tekau mā rua ira rua kiromita te roa o te whakataetae omaoma. ' Ko te taha ki te whakataetae pahikara he wāhanga poroheahea hoki, ka piki, ka piki, ka piki ka mutu kua oti noa i te toa whakataetae te piki e rua mano e wha rau mita te teiteinga maunga. Kāore rawa au e whakaaro ka tae taku tinana ki Wīwī, engari he whenua ataahua hoki. Tae hoki mai taku whānau i Hawaiki Tahutahu me Ingarangi hoki, ko te hiku o te haerenga he wā hāneanea ki Disneyland Paris’.
Wheoi anō rā ko te whakangungu mō te whakataetae nei, he uaua me mārō te tangata. He wiki, he marama otīā he tau huri noa, huri noa e Whakapakari ana te tangata. ' Ko te aronga ki te whakataetae me noho tuturu te ihu ki te rautaki e toru tekau wiki te roa. He kauhoe, he pahikara he omaoma kai ngā rangi, kai ngā wiki. Ko te hiki taumaha hoki kia kaua ai te tinana e whara. Ko te wāhanga roa ko te pahikara e ono haora te roa, kātahi ka kauhoe mō te kotahi hāora kai te rāhōroi tēnei tikanga. Kai te wāhanga ngoikore o te tau ka kaha tonu ahau engari he kaha iti nei’.
Ka nui hoki tana whakamihi ki ona hoa ki te hāpori o Rotorua e whakapau kaha ana kia uru atu ai ki ngā momo tauwhāinga -toru.
Tokowhā āna tamāhine, he tamāhine whakaangi hoki tāna, ā, me tana tama he ahakoa i mate noa atu e toru tau ki muri.Nō Ingarangi tōna makau rangatira ko Kelly Mitchell tōna ingoa, he wahine whakataetae hoki ia, nā reira i tūpono ngātahi ai rāua.Ko āna kupu whakamutunga ēnei ki a tātou te hunga e whaiwhai nei i tana kōrero. ' Ko taku hiahia kia whakaaro nuitia au e te iwi me he tangata whakapau kaha, i mate ururoa, he tangata i kuhu atu ki te mura o te ahi kia mārama ai ahau ki toku wana, kai ētehi taima ka puta te ihu, kai ētehi taima ka āhua hē, ko te mea nui ko te hāpai tangata, e puta e hoa mā i tō ao mahana, tiakina tō hauora, tiakina tō wairua – kai te pae tawhito te kaha o te tangata’.
See below for English translation
English Translation
A sense of achievement is what draws 51-year-old, Ian Rangitutia, to continue entering the gruelling Ironman and IronMāori events.
Rangitutia, of Ngāti Raukawa decent, was born and raised in Rotorua and is currently a Remanufacturing Plant Manager at Red Stag.
His first attempt at an Iron Māori event was back in 2011.
“One of my friends, Damian Hawe took part in IronMāori through Tau Te Mauri Group. He loved doing it so I thought I would give it a go. It was a huge event, you had to enter early to get a spot.
“It’s an amazing whānau event where everyone is supportive and giving it a go. My first race was the Taupo half ironman. It was a great experience and finishing was an amazing achievement.
“I actually didn’t want to do it but then I ended up doing another one.”
It wasn’t just one more event that Ian competed in, in the last 12 years, he has taken part in 6 Ironman NZ events, numerous half marathons, 11 Rotorua Marathons, the inaugural Ironmāori TOA, a Marathon in Bath, England, and 1 Ironman World Championship held earlier this year in Nice, France.
“I qualified for the World Champs, and it was amazing to represent NZ and line up amongst the best athletes in the world.
“Out of all the events, this has been the most memorable.”
This race consisted of a 3.8km swim through blue Mediterranean Waters. The tough bike course was a one-loop 180.2km ride and is arguably one of the most spectacular and challenging out of all ironman races, it featured challenging climbs and technical descents with elevation gains of up to 2400m.
Competitors then finished off with a 42.2km run.
“The bike leg was insane; it was climb after climb up mountains. I got wasted, but what an amazing experience. France was never on the bucket list, but it was incredible. Family from NZ and England came to support me. We also managed to get to Disneyland Paris after the event which was good quality family time.”
-Ian Rangitutia with whanau who were his support crew at the Ironman World Championship held earlier this year in Nice, France.
As you can imagine, training for such events is an all-year-round journey.
“The lead up to a full ironman is a 30-week training plan. This consists of swimming, biking, andrunning numerous times a week. It’s also important to do strength training to prevent injuries.
“The longest training session is probably a 6-hour bike ride followed by a one-hour swim on a Saturday. I also keep training during the off season, just not as intensely.”
Inspiration for these events comes in the form of friends, the Rotorua Community who take part in triathlons and of course, his whānau.
Ian is a father to four daughters, one stepdaughter and a son who unfortunately passed away three years ago.
His partner Kelly Mitchell, originally from England, is also a competitor in these events and it is how the two met. When asked about what he wants to be remembered for and if he had any advice for others, Ian shared the following.
“I want to be remembered as someone who gave it their best all of the time and tried to better myself each time. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn’t. Always encourage others.
