Hundreds of competitors will be waiting for the starter's gun before heading off on the swim leg in Lake Taupo. PHOTO/ MARK MCKEOWN
Hundreds of competitors will be waiting for the starter's gun before heading off on the swim leg in Lake Taupo. PHOTO/ MARK MCKEOWN
Months of training and discipline have all come down to today for the hundreds taking part in the Ironman New Zealand in Taupo. Dana Kinita talks to three Rotorua locals who will be tackling this gruelling annual event that consists of a 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42.2km run
Hugh Bootten, 22, felt he was too young to do Ironman New Zealand before today. PHOTO/BEN FRASER
HUGH BOOTTEN Hugh Bootten has been doing triathlons since he was 5 but today is the first time he will tackle an Ironman.
"I always felt I was too young in the past and had other triathlon goals to work towards," Bootten said.
The triathlon coach said he'd been specifically training for today since September last year along with competing in various other half marathons and triathlons - a sport he loves.
"I love getting out there and doing it, it's a solo sport to a point, but there's quite of large hub in Rotorua who also do it, so there's that group dynamic," he said. "I'm also a little bit of a bike nerd, I love the technical bike stuff and enjoy running as well."
Up to 18 hours a day had been spent training as well as mentally preparing himself for the course ahead.
"The most challenging part is the middle third of the run ... I know how difficult it's going to be.
"I've raced a lot before and know my bike is in perfect condition but there's nothing else I can control. You just have to take things as they come." His parents, family and close friends will be cheering him along the way. "At least 30 to 40 people from the Rotorua Association of Triathletes and Multisport (RATS) will be there too. I get a huge amount of support and I would hate to fail in front them," Bootten said.
He aimed to complete the race in 10 hours 30 minutes.
"A few people have placed bets on me or [Rotorua local] Sarah Pitcher-Campbell. She thinks she's going to kick my arse. We started doing New Zealand triathlon seven years ago together, so there's a friendly rivalry racing together."
But there will be plenty of celebrating when he finishes.
"I'm going to go straight to the pub. Well, I will have a beverage after and go to the Ironman after-party the next day," he said.
"The days afterward I will go for a bit of walk, so rigor mortis doesn't set in and no doubt go for a trip to the hotpools and maybe 10 days to two weeks later start training again."
Bootten will next take on the Adventure Race Whangamata in November.
HUGH'S RACE DAY MENU: Breakfast: "Half-a-dozen pieces of honey on toast, always, and a bowl of muesli and yoghurt." Pre-start: "Two hours before the start, have another small snack." During race: "Fifteen minutes before the start of the race, first kilometre of the bike ride and every 45 minutes I prefer to have a mixture of energy gels and eat on the run. The last hour-and-a-half, I'll be hitting the Coke pretty hard. That's for the sugar."
Charlotte Porter still gets nervous despite this being her eleventh Ironman race. PHOTO/BEN FRASER
CHARLOTTE PORTER It's the eleventh Ironman start for Charlotte Porter but she still gets nervous.
The Fit as a Fiddle personal trainer and triathlon training coach became addicted to Ironman when she first competed in Taupo in 2010. Each year she returns, and also takes part in the Cairns Ironman annually.
"It's always something I wanted to do, I come from a marathon background and in my early 30s started distant swimming and cycling, I just got a bit bored with marathon running," Porter said.
"Even though it's my eleventh start, I still get nervous. You don't know what will happen on the day, things could go wrong, the weather conditions you can't control, flat tyres.
"The last Ironman I did in Cairns, I had my bike and wetsuit stolen and had to borrow others and the bike had two flat tyres and ripped tube but I had an awesome run, so you just learn to deal with things as they come."
Porter turned 44 yesterday and was hoping for a personal best time to celebrate her birthday.
"At a couple of weeks, the excitement starts to build and you arrive in Taupo and feel the atmosphere of everybody competing, the glamour of it, it's great to be a part of it. To go out there and have your supporters with you the whole day.
"It's my last year in the 40-44 age bracket so I want a really good time. My personal best is 11.34hr but I hope to do 11.15hr," she said.
After years of competing, she has "finely tuned" her training and spends an average of 20 hours-plus a week. "I do quite a lot of mental training, long runs and swims and wind training on the bike.
"It's challenging to keep up with all the training, it does take discipline and focus to keep going even when life steps in, but I'm an organised person and you need to be." Porter has also developed race tactics to help her overcome mental and physical obstacles on the day.
"Keep calm and take each discipline as it comes, no matter if you get tied up, just deal with it and get through it and once you come off that focus on the next one.
"One of the hardest things is the transfer from the bike to the run, the first half kilometre or so is hell, after coming off a 180km ride. The run discipline is the hardest but I just break it up into six races. I never think 'oh my gosh, I have an Ironman to do' but I break it all down," she said.
A group of up to 12 family and friends will be on the sidelines tracking Porter's progress and cheering her on.
"The crowd definitely play an element in the race. Even if they don't know you, they're cheering. In all honesty, I just want a really good time, I don't want to let my supporters down. If I have a personal best then that's a successful day for me," she said.
And after the race is over? "It can be a real high or a real low because you think, 'oh my gosh, it's come to a close' so you need to have your next Ironman in sight.
"It's a great, conquering, wonderful thing to belong to the Ironman family, even if people only do it once and never do it again. There's a connection and only those who do it understand," she said.
"I never seem to sleep after an Ironman. But I will probably go to one of the Taupo cafes, have a big bowl of fries and some snack food and be with my supporters. I am looking forward to my first glass of bubbly to celebrate though."
CHARLOTTE'S RACE DAY MENU: Breakfast: Rolled oats, cereal, bananas, berries, dates and Greek yoghurt. On the bike: "Hydration drinks and gels and various bars that I will eat periodically." During the run: "Take in more gels during the first half and second half eat Moro bars and Coke for the glucose and caffeine."
Mel Rika will be racing for her children but is determined to finish before midnight. PHOTO/ BEN FRASER
MEL RIKA Mel Rika has one goal for today - to finish within the race timeframe.
The mother of five missed the midnight cut-off by 23 minutes last year and was stopped by officials during the last leg of her run.
"They said to me, 'Sorry Mel, Ironman is over for you,' and I said '[piss] off, I'm going to finish and carried on with the last 14km'."
An extraordinary feat considering she only learned how to swim the year before.
"I went and did swim lessons with [swim coach] Henk [Greupink] and started swimming by myself. I did my first open water swim in December [2013]. I was shocking, I only did about 70m in the Blue Lake and my husband came out in the water in his kayak for safety."
In two weeks, she was swimming across and back. "I was sticking to it and had to believe in myself. I had no option but to keep going because I had already paid my entrance fee."
The intermediate school teacher took time off to train. On average, she has been training between 20 to 25 hours a week and has kept a training journal since last year of what she needs to do and eat to prepare fully for the Ironman. It also included a weekly calendar, her reflections and photos from last year.
"Lucky I'm not working, it was really hard working fulltime last year and with the kids, coming home and cooking dinner and then train on top of that." This year, the 40-year-old is determined to reach the finish line in time. She will be cheered on by 14 of her family members including her husband, Thomas, and children, aged between 3 and 23.
Earlier this week she had started to prepare, including making sure her family would be well fed.
"I've been cooking the kai for the whanau which they will be eating while I'm out on the course," she laughed.
"I'm quite relaxed about it, a lot more relaxed than last year. I just want to get in by midnight and get my medal," she said.
"I'm bringing a bottle of Asti (sparkling wine).
"I'm going to have some celebration bubbles. I just think there's nothing wrong with me, I have two healthy legs, body and heart and it's a shame I don't do anything with it," she said.
"I just want to do this for my kids. That when you set a goal you can do it and don't get put off by barriers and obstacles."
MEL'S RACE DAY MENU: Breakfast: Three eggs on Vogels and drinking electrolytes. Pre-swim: Banana. Bike: Peanut butter sandwiches and baked kumara. Run: Half a EM Power Cookie every half hour to an hour and 750ml of electrolytes every 45min-60min.
