Wow what a weekend it has just been! I am writing this after a pretty demanding and physical weekend for yours truly, and the body and mind is feeling pretty buggered. I feel quite confident in saying that my Monday will be a day of recovery even though it will still be a day at work. I just hope the boss isn't reading this column today.
On Saturday I clocked a time of just under 13 hours on the Taupo Ironman, and then on Sunday it was quite a bit shorter at the Rotorua Off Road Half Marathon.
Now don't for one second start thinking I donned a swimsuit, cycling lycra or running shoes at any point of the weekend. I was purely the mouthpiece covering the Ironman for radio and then onstage as event MC at the half marathon. It was honestly pretty full on and tiring, but obviously nowhere near as tiring as for all of those who actually took to the start lines.
The eventual Ironman champions Cameron Brown and Meredith Kessler are just absolute machines. Brown deserves so much more recognition as one of our country's all time great athletes, even more so after winning his 11th Ironman event, and setting a new world record for the oldest Ironman champion a couple of months shy of his 43rd birthday. The American Kessler recorded her fourth straight win, smashing her own race record. These champions and the other elite athletes take most of the limelight, but it was the hundreds of other amateurs facing the challenge that were truly motivating. A year's worth of training coming to fruition, pushing boundaries. Some didn't make it all the way with the body screaming enough, and other would fail to make the distance in the 17-hour time limit. But they pushed to achieve the ultimate in the first place - well worthy of admiration for lesser people like yours truly.
Sunday's Off Road Half Marathon is another iconic local event based out at Waipa, and the different levels of competition from the half all the way down to the kids' 1.5km run make this just as inspiring. From those training for bigger things, to first timers attempting something physical to the possible future stars of running and Ironman, it is a great feeling to be on the finish line calling them all in and seeing the joy as they complete the challenge they have set themselves.
