Records tumble at Ironman Oz 2009

Written by D'Wayne Hogan

Wednesday, 15 April 2009 12:57

The week leading into the race at Port Macquarie was one of the unknown; had I done enough training, was I fit enough, was I going to swim into a dead cow floating down the river from the floods of northern New South Wales. With so many fit looking athletes around town and the millions of dollars of equipment (what economic crisis is the world in?) it was easy to get sucked up by the atmosphere. The sighting of an ironman world champion in a bike shop turned a few in to stalkers. The 6 ETOWC athletes, Luke & Tarryn Whitmore, Ingrid Trotter, Craig Lewis, Peter Whitmore and Stephan Booth, along with two of Luke Whitmore coached athletes, Mark Bateson & Ruth Bloom had the look of fear, excitement, joy and business on their faces as the carbo party got underway on the Friday night. A few jokes by guest speaker, Ben Darwin (ex Wallabies rugby union player) broke the ice. Especially his version of the marathon, ‘a 42km buffet’. As the bike check-in neared, the late rush for gear and nutrition took place in preparation for the big day ahead tomorrow. The heavy rain over the week had turned the usually lovely banks of the Hastings River in to a swamp the might have been there some 100 years earlier, with gum boots the fashion equipment required. With the last minute bike checks down, the bike in, it was now time to sit back and wait for race day. Lucky enough everyone had turned the clock back and the village filled with athletes from all over the world ay 5am on Sunday morning. The tension grew, until the pro athletes started there day 35 minute before the age groupers, all our athletes then prepared for the long day ahead with a hugs and kiss from the well wishers. The river was flat, with a fast current flowing to help the athletes on the return section of the swim. Luke headed the Eltham crew out of the water in a fast swim of 53:25, with Mark, in his first ironman, just in after that in 58:35. Tarryn just behind in 59:40. Craig in his first Ironman was next in 1:04:04 closely followed by Ingrid in 1:06:035. Steve was next in 1:110:31, followed by Ruth in 1:11:55. The biggest smile of all was when Peter came out of the water in a time of 1:44:10, going under his goal time of 1:50. As everyone headed out onto the bike the drizzle started and if made for a slippery road in parts, but kept the temperature down. Spectators headed to all parts of the course to give a cheer, no spot was noisier than the famed ‘Matthew flinders hill’, which claimed a few riders during the day. All our athletes made it through the bike leg without too much drama, other than the rain, the hills, the wind, but what can you expect in an 180km bike ride. Luke lead into T2 inside the top 30 age group athletes in a bike time of 5:09:34 and headed out like he had stolen something in transition or was of to a fire. Mark was next in, out riding the coach in 5:07. Ingrid had a great ride and arrived next in 5:34:59, followed by Tarryn in 5:47:22.Craig wasn’t that fair behind, even asking me where the beer was, in 5:55:42. Steve in and out of T2 for the ‘42km buffet run’ in a bike time of 6:45:03. Ruth was next in T2 with 45 minute PB ride of 7:03. As she entered T2 she was heard saying ‘the coach didn’t lap me’. As the crowd waited for Peter to come back off the bike, Luke was catching runner after runner, putting together a great time, actually chasing down the pro athletes. He finished with a run time of 2:51:46, an amazing time for the marathon, giving him a 18 minute PB and a sub 9hour race time of 8:58:38, placing him 2nd in his age group and the 3rd age group athlete overall. Luke had a quick feed and massage and was out on the side of the road waiting for Peter to come back, coming off the bike in 8:18:04. With the bike done it was off to T2 for a quick change then out for a run with friends. Ingrid was having a great run as she and Tarryn past Mark toward the end of the marathon, giving her a run time of 3:50:15 and a race time of 10:38:36. Tarryn was next over the line a few minutes late, with a run time of 3:48:57 and a race time of 10:50:25, and a PB over this course. Not able to hold of the girls after a great ride, Mark finished with a run time of 4:44:14 and race time of 10:53:56. Craig was also putting together a great run for his first ironman and finish with  a 4:16:26 run and race time of 11:16:13. With Steve unable to hang on to Tarryn in the run, finished with a run time of 4:56:01 and a race time of 12:55:36. As darkness fell on the town of Port Macquarie, still half the field remained on the run course. Ruth keep ploughing along to put a run time of 5:52:50 together, giving her a race time of 14:18:56, a 45 minute PB from last year. The crowd grew around the finish chute as every athlete from around the world was cheered home. Peter kept ticking off the k’s and the aid stations with a big smile on his face, and finished the run with a time of 6:04:21 and race time of 16:21:13. The finish chute at an ironman is a great place and it was a pleasure to watch Peter finish his first ironman with a cuddle from his wife. He then grabbed the hands of his inspiration and took them down the chute with him. You see athletes carry their kids down the chute, well Pete took his (not carrying), Luke and Tarryn for second time for the day went down the chute. What an amazing day. Thanks to Marg, Elise, Erin Georgia, Carla, Paul, Jenny, Travis (there supporting his brother, Brad) and the rest of the Cocks family for the support of our athletes. By all reports the awards dinner and after party was even better, less said the better (feel free to question Craig about his association with the Austrian team), as some of us had to retreat back to Melbourne’s lovely rain and work. Written by D’Wayne Hogan