Teeming Taupo can't stop Torr

Craig Torr could have been excused for keeping his wetsuit on for the full 226km ordeal of Ironman New Zealand on Saturday.
Instead, the 31-year-old osteopath blinked back the torrents of water streaming down his face, gritted his teeth and busted out Tauranga's best performance in one of the most gruelling full days of athleticism.
In conditions that would have been unplayable in most other sports, Torr even managed to take two minutes off his debut time last year, finishing 39th overall in 9hrs 30mins 55secs, 11th in the 30-34 age group.
"Last year was my first time and I think I only went about 2mins quicker this year, but it felt a whole lot harder," Torr said. "I'm so glad it's over."
The former Tauranga Boys' College runner was just over 3mins clear of training partner Craig Kirkwood, who clocked 9:34:19 after getting pinged for drafting on the bike and struggling with an achilles tendon injury on the run.
For Torr, the key to Saturday's monumental effort was simply keeping his wits about him.
"I'm all new to the longer stuff but the nutrition and pacing are the two most important things on the day. I was trying to have something to eat every half hour and drink a bottle of fluid every hour, but that was a real challenge because there wasn't the heat to make you feel thirsty."
After a slick 52:29 swim, he backed up with a 5:10 bike on the drenched 180km course, spending long periods riding with Kirkwood, before making a break near the end.
He admits he went through several low patches, unsure whether he could even make it to the finish.
"I really wasn't looking forward to the run because of how I was feeling. Last year I got off the bike feeling pretty comfortable, so to feel like I did with 30km to go on the bike was pretty hard mentally.
"A few times on the run, it felt like my legs were falling apart but I chucked back some gel and coke and it came right. The quads hurt on every step in the second half, so that was a real mental game pushing through that."
Kirkwood, meanwhile, had a great swim and broke his personal best in the 3.8km distance by nearly 5mins. He even felt good about the ride but ironically for the former Commonwealth Games marathon runner, it all fell apart on the run.
"I've had an achilles injury for the last four weeks and it kind of came right last week but up the last climb it started to ache," Kirkwood said. "I walked the majority of the hill and started jogging, which felt okay, but it was pretty slow. But I finished in 3:16 ... I've run an hour faster than that!"
Two other Tauranga athletes broke the 10-hour barrier, with Tauranga Boys' College teacher Scott Furness cracking out a brilliant 9:51:18 to be 100th overall and 13th in the 40-44 division.
Nick Lawson was 29th in the 30-34 division with a 9:56:04, while Jessica Lawson was the fastest local female in 10:07:12.
They were among the lucky ones, however. As the exhausted race leaders trudged off, the persistent rain thickened further, pelting the slower athletes.
Tauranga electrician Wayne Doughty capped an extraordinary month by finishing in an epic 14:45:41, three weeks after completing the Coast to Coast, while Mount Maunganui teacher Jodi Poulter ground out a 15:39:38 time, just 9mins slower than 21-year-old son Ben's 15:30:48.
Tauranga results

Duane Braithwaite12:00:09
Paul Davidson10:15:54
Andrew Dixon12:56:23
Dianne Dixon14:36:41
Wayne Doughty14:45:41
James Doust...DNF
Nick Ferguson12:44:48
Scott Furness9:51:18
Bron Healey10:50:52
Richard Hills10:55:21
Kane Hunia12:42:48
Jonno Kingsford10:56:31
Craig Kirkwood9:34:19
Ken Knott11:56:52
Jessica Lawson10:07:12
Nick Lawson9:56:04
Linzi Littlewood13:59:05
Kathryn Lydiard12:20:11
Terri Mann11:12:59
Paul Miller11:42:38
Rory Miller10:51:14
Allastair Mouat11:05:23
Pete O'Connell10:52:01
Jodi Poulter15:39:38
Ben Poulter15:30:48
Paul Robilliard11:45:34
Tessa Ryan15:30:17
Karen Shaw13:14:50
Maria Siegruhn13:06:15
Sam Stacey11:29:30
Mark Stride10:15:09
Craig Torr9:30:55
Peter Tua15:28:21
Meryl Wanless12:52:11
Graham Webb10:40:58