As a rower the Blue Lake has been more of a rowing destination for Twaddle. It was always one of his favourite regattas when at the lower stages of his rowing career. He loves the atmosphere of the lake, the jewel in Rotorua's crown, so any excuse to be there racing - whether it's on the water or in it - is a welcome one.
Triathlon is usually the bastion of runners not quite fast enough to race pure runners, or swimmers who lack that edge. However, it's also a sport for those who want to have a go at something different and for rowers - Storm Uru finished 30th at the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman last year in a not too shabby time of 4hrs 24mins 37secs.
It also features a discipline that rowers are familiar with.
"I'm probably not as good [a cyclist] as Hamish Bond, who has done the Tour of Southland, but we do a great deal of cycling as cross-training. Some guys go to Rotorua or Tauranga for training sessions.
"The mileage is good. Most cyclists find rowers annoying. We're good enough to keep up but not good on the etiquette.
"Now I'm having to juggle work and family and trying to keep fit. I've huge admiration for anyone able to maintain a high level of fitness. I've a better appreciation for that now.
"I wouldn't mind doing a half ironman but I would want to do it well and the amount of time to train I couldn't justify doing one this year. I was finding training tough so I'll use the next couple of years to take a step back, it's more about doing exercise [than racing]."
Twaddle is in the sprint race, which starts at 8am on Saturday. It involves a 750m swim, 20km cycle around the Okareka Loop and out to Buried Village and a 5.5km run around the lake.
In just two weeks he'll be racing in his next triathlon - the Auckland ITU Triathlon World Cup 2011. This is a test event for the world championships, which will take place in Auckland next year and is guaranteed to be competitive with age groupers hoping to secure a berth in the New Zealand team.
