Ironman - Doing the double

Most people have a party when they turn 50 but that's just not Wayne Doughty's style. Instead, the Tauranga electrician set himself a goal of knocking over two great endurance events in the one season. Doing the double, knocking twin bastards off.
That's why he'll line up in Taupo tomorrow for Ironman New Zealand with a grin on his face - he's already halfway through his personal challenge, having completed the Coast to Coast just three weeks ago.
"They're close together and to train specifically for both has been a real challenge," Doughty admitted. "Age is catching up with me too and it's just been hard to keep up the volume of training. I might back off the longer distance stuff next year but the whole journey has been great."
His journey started after his birthday in October, though the seed had been sown well before. Tomorrow will be his fifth crack at Ironman New Zealand but the 243km Coast to Coast attempt was his debut in the race.
Doughty had no qualms choosing to do the two-day version rather than the Longest Day and came through relatively unscathed.
"It was a bit of a test to see whether I could do the one-day or not and I worked out there just isn't a one-day in me. It was a great experience and an awesome event and I thoroughly enjoyed it but the focus and the goal has been to do the double - that's the main goal I've set myself."
His last Ironman attempt was also his best, breaking the 13hr-barrier in 2009. But he's got no expectations of going near that mark again, preferring instead to kick back and enjoy the whole experience.
"It took me four to have a good one and I ticked that box. Any others I do will be for a reason and I'm expecting this one will be a very slow one.
"I found it pretty tricky to train for both effectively. Sure, all the disciplines cross over to a certain extent but specific training is hard to come by. You can be fit and not swimming fit, for example. There's a huge difference.
"I let my swimming go and that's been my biggest concern, getting that back up to scratch. Otherwise I've just let everything else go and I'm just going to be going off muscle memory to a large extent."
Doughty is one of 36 locals tackling the 4km swim, 180km bike and 42.2km run.
Leading the charge in Taupo tomorrow will be former Commonwealth Games marathoner Craig Kirkwood, who is back for his third attempt. He stunned the amateur field in his first crack in 2009, finishing in 9h 9m 26s. Kirkwood was 12th overall after a withering 2:54 run, the third-fastest of the day behind eventual winner Cameron Brown and runner-up Terenzo Bozzone.
Veteran triathlete Ken Knott will attempt his seventh, while Mount Maunganui accountant Paul Davidson has finished the world championships in Hawaii three times and will line up for his sixth Taupo Ironman.
Mount's Graham Webb and Tauranga Boys' College teacher Scott Furness have also done five, while 39-year-old account manager Duane Braithwaite already has eight ironman races under his belt.
Mother and son Jodi and Ben Poulter will also race, with 21-year-old Ben the youngest of the locals.
Among others making their debut are 23-year-old student Kathryn Lydiard, policeman Kane Hunia and clinical psychologist Maria Siegruhn.
The event is New Zealand's biggest one-day sporting event, this year selling out the 1500 starting positions with a record 680 from New Zealand. The elite professionals will race for prizemoney of US$50,000 with 55 qualifying spots for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.
Tauranga entrants
Rory Miller, Pete O'Connell, Paul Davidson, Jodi Poulter, Ben Poulter, Graham Webb (Mount Maunganui), Bron Healey, Paul Robilliard (Papamoa), Duane Braithwaite, Andrew Dixon, Dianne Dixon, Wayne Doughty, James Doust, Nick Ferguson, Scott Furness, Richard Hills, Kane Hunia, Jonno Kingsford, Craig Kirkwood, Ken Knott, Jessica Lawson, Nick Lawson, Linzi Littlewood, Kathryn Lydiard, Terri Mann, Paul Miller, Allastair Mouat, Tessa Ryan, Maria Siegruhn, Sam Stacey, Mark Stride, Craig Torr, Peter Tua, Meryl Wanless (Tauranga), Karen Shaw, Warren Taylor (Te Puke).