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Ironman South Africa 2011…… Loved it!

12 Apr 2011 / race reports

Hello Everyone,

I hope this blog entry finds you all well and in good fitness and health?

I wanted to write this because I have had the most fantastic week here in South Africa. At this precise moment I am sitting at my computer with my Mrs (@Marsha_RGA) taking a well deserved ‘power nap’ after completing yesterday’s Ironman South Africa.

I still have to finish off the packing of her beloved TT bike that carried her to a 6hr bike split, and this is only one of the many fantastic things that have happened to us both during our last week in Port Elizabeth, or ‘the windy City’ as it is commonly known, and for very good reason!

Our week started with arriving at our Hotel, a lovely Hotel right on the beach front and staffed by some of the friendliest people you could ever meet. Every shop, hotel, restaurant in Port Elizabeth is over staffed, but that is only a result for us, you are served quickly where ever you go and always with a smile. This was only emphasised yesterday when they had people spraying air freshener in the port-a-loos in transition after each person came out!!!!!!

We spent the week prior to the Ironman race, driving (Marsha riding) the course and making sure she did enough training, but not too much so she would be in perfect condition and sharp for the race. We did manage to squeeze in a trip to ‘Addo Elephant Park’ to see some wild animals in their own habitat including Lions, Elephants, Zebras etc. which was amazing but Marsha was great and she never lost her focus once on what she had come to South Africa to do.

The thing that impressed me most about Port Elizabeth was the way the whole town embraced the Ironman. The roads were shut to traffic the swim course was laid out all week for athletes to get used to the course and changeable conditions, the Hotels left ‘good luck’ notes to all the athletes and then on race day, literally the whole town came out and I have never seen so many people supporting and enjoying an event in my life.

Race day started much the same as most Ironman events… early! Eat, bathroom, get to transition, bathroom, warm up, bathroom and then line up on the line for 7am start. One thing was different however. Once again Port Elizabeth decided to change the weather conditions and the wind died down and was blowing easterly (known as ‘Beasterly’ by the Ironman athletes) and the heat came along to add a very different challenge to the mix on top of the 2.4mile swim, the 180km bike and the Marathon!

With the best elite field ever assembled at the South Africa Ironman including Chrissie Wellington, Raynard Tissink, Rachel Joyce, James Cunama. Marsha was the most prepared, the fittest and the strongest she had ever been for an Ironman so the day was set to be a good one for all concerned.

I won’t go into too much detail about the elite race but local favourite, and 2010 champion Raynard Tissink won the mens race and of course Chrissie romped home with ‘the fastest marathon of the day’ and a top 10 overall finish….. she is special.

But on to the age groupers, the important athletes that make the Ironman events what they are. These are people from all walks of life, from all backgrounds, these people are the reason I love the sport of triathlon and why I love coaching so much.

The swim was awesome. The full field consisting of over 1600 athletes hit the water for the 2.4mile swim in the Indian ocean that today was still and very inviting. All but one person made the cut off time of 2.5 hours and then it was onto the 112mile bike.

The bike course was a quick one but with PE being famous for the wind and with the heat of the day approaching 30 degrees, nutrition and hydration were going to be vital if you wanted to run off the bike. Marsha had a great swim exiting the water in 1hr 21mins and her bike matched that coming into T2 with a 6hr 14min bike. These times put her well in contention for her age group and that slot for Hawaii that she is chasing……..

But, the heat had played it’s part and Marsha like many of the other athletes didn’t run as they had hoped off the bike. I have never seen so many people walking so early into the marathon of an ironman?

Yes, it was a long 26.2 miles with no shade and heavy legs. People were walking just trying to put one foot in front of another, wanting to get to the finish and call themselves ‘an Ironman’. Another thing that made this mentally tough was that at 6pm it got dark, and even though this was only 11 hours into the race it makes you think it is later, which in tern makes you think you have been out there longer than you have…….

But, even with these tough factors coming into play, the darkness did bring with it cooler conditions and then there were the thousands of supporters that lined the roadside with BBQs, vu-vu-zelas, flags, banners and endless amounts of encouragement, it was hard not to be truly inspired by the athletes and the whole event.

Marsha didn’t have the run she wanted, but she did show huge amounts of character walking and running on what we think was a mix of heat stroke and exhaustion. She finished like so many others with a smile on her face and a huge cheer from the hundreds of people that lined the finish shoot into the late hours as the clock counted down to the 12am deadline.

I was truly humbled last night, by the athletes that worked so hard not just to finish but to be on the start line in the first place, on the start line of such an amazing event, well done South Africa, well done athletes, well done Port Elizabeth, well done Marsha!

I cannot say enough about how much we have enjoyed South Africa and the Ironman here in Port Elizabeth. If you want to do an Ironman, then pencil this one in your diary………. If I ever feel the urge to do another Ironman, this one will be easily at the top of my list!

I hope that wasn’t too long winded and I will speak again soon,

Regards

John