 The excitement really kicked in the evening before, dancing whilst packing my tri gear to Michael Jackson’s Thriller! (haters gonna hate) The joy didn’t stop there, I got to carb load on a full pizza following my brothers advice (triple full distance Ironman fuelled on pizza and wagon wheel sandwiches ) So sleep alluded me…nerves, excitement, pizza overload who knows but it irked me to not get my 8 hours in.
Arrived keenly early and parked down at the hospital so I had to cycle up to transition, the first of the extra work outs of the day! I was spurred on though by Gabriel’s (awesome human) reassuring comment the day before, “think of it as a warm up” thanks Gabriel. I latched on to Shannon (awesome human) and following her every move I set up my transition area paying special attention to the fabulous transition towel that Deanna (another awesome human) gave me for volunteering at the time trial, thanks Deanna this was literally the highlight of transition On to the second extra work out of the day, the walk down to Collins beach, lovely walk with Sally and Nina (more awesome humans) despite the cold. At the beach I followed Sally’s footsteps literally placing my new neon go faster runners right next to hers, well placed next to a rock for sitting (she’s done this before) but not out of reach of the bleedin bush Chuck! Ok here we go…swim start, following Sally like a puppy, she looked at my head and said “your doing the long course” shiiit I had a pink hat on what have I done? I dutifully stepped aside and watched them all take off into the deep Pacific Ocean. Ok now it’s my swim start 54321 go…heart racing, fumbling my Garmin I entered the water and face planted into sand…my heart was going so fast I could not get on top of my breathing and one by one everyone overtook me, with renewed spirit I latched on to the feet of someone then remembered we are not allowed to draft, I wondered if this meant swimming too but whilst I pondered the swimmer took off like a dolphin. I Finally found my rhythm and it was over, just when I was starting to enjoy it. On to the next extra workout of the day…the uphill run to transition! I’m sorry but I’m my book this bloody counts and the long course is therefore a 10km run in total. Yay transition, ooh look my lovely towel, it feels so soft on my feet, stop it Jen, focus, get on the bloody bike! Out of transition and off we go, lost in the excitement of salted boiled potatoes and trail mix I lost track of my laps! I’m sure I did an extra one but we will never know. What I do know is those 7 (or8) laps were very cautious, wishing I had a mountain bike…bunny hopping the speed bumps is just not the same on a road bike! One particular bump was a real tooth breaker, nearly chocked on my potato! Back to transition, nearly done Jen, only 2 laps running the track to go. Final leg, the run…my main concern was making it to the finish line with no injuries. Playing over and over in my head was Deanna’s advice to enjoy it and run my own race, so I did, I took in the scenery and paced to not get injured and soon enough the finish was in sight. What a rockstar finish it was, the pain of the UPHILL finish evaporated with the cheers and claps of the Warringah Tri club as I made it across the finish line, overwhelmed to be part of this awesome club. I felt amazing, yes I came last in the results but for my first Triathlon I think that’s a great place to start, it was indeed a real thriller.
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Well my first Ironman could not have gone more off plan and how I wanted but I got pushed to the brink and got to understand how much pain I can handle. Turns out quite a bit. The day started well enough and I actually had the fastest swim time overall including the pro’s which included the world number 1 and 3 seed. The storm off the Florida coast churned up the ocean and the 25 knot winds caused havoc with over 400 ppl having to be rescued out of the water or just couldn’t complete the swim. Onto the bike and things started well enough but after the first turn around I missed a turn and biked an extra 9km.. I was pretty devo’d when a cop rode up to me on his bike and told me I was off course. Even more upsetting to follow him for km after km before getting back to the turn. I then got off the bike and sat on the side for 10 min thinking race was done and that maybe I should just go do Ironman Cozumel 3 weeks later, but I eventually decided to push on (with the encouragement of a race Marshall). All up losing about 30 min. Despite this I was still off the bike 3rd in my age group. The real issue however occured 18km into the run when the pain in my ankle reduced me to a walk and then the race really became about finishing. My grandfather who recently passed was ever present and the thought of him ensured I didn’t quit no matter how painful. @bigmetztri who suffered a day of attrition himself summarised this race beautifully when he said about this sport that he gets to wake up every day and gets to see what he’s made of and that he hopes his resiliency to get back up and finish shows what he’s made of. - it does In the end I now have an opportunity to take some time off and try get this injury resolved without trying to train through it and hopefully with discipline I can, because I want to have the opportunity to race injury free and nail my race execution. In the meantime I’m hobbling around NYC and enjoying time with the family.  Hi, my name is Logan Campbell and I’ve been racing with Warringah Triathlon Club since 2018. I’ve been into sport since I could walk, playing AFL, soccer, rugby league, tennis, touch footy, golf, and whatever else I could get my hands on. Last year I was selected into the NSW talent ID program for triathlon, and have been lucky enough to be chosen to receive the 2021/22 season Emma Jeffcoat scholarship from Warringah Tri Club. The scholarship will help me to improve my skills and abilities in triathlon, whilst promoting the club and all of its sponsors. I’m looking forward to an action packed year with plenty of racing opportunities and plenty of PB’s along the way. I look back on my first ever triathlon very fondly. I began swimming lessons at 12 months, learnt to ride a bike before I was 5, and enjoyed running the school cross country. I decided that I would try my hand at combining the three disciplines at the kids Weet-Bix Tryathlon out at the Olympic Park in Homebush. Like many other first time triathletes, I took my time in transition, drying myself with a towel, making sure I got in between my toes, putting on a shirt, some socks, and tying the laces on my shoes, and hopping on a mountain bike. It didn’t occur to me at the time that you could be passed in transition, and really I was in it for the fun (Of which, there was plenty). It’s safe to say that my transitions have improved since then (Although they slowed considerably when I used a triathlon wetsuit for the first time at club champs and spent a good 30s searching for my timing chip). I began to race at Manly Dam in the Go Series events, before heading out to All Schools (my first race on a road bike) and joining Warringah Tri Club. I started to put in some more miles, and whilst I saw an improvement, the following year I developed my first overuse injury. It was in this time when I couldn't run, that I decided that triathlon was the sport for me. I dived head first into swimming and riding, and decided that I would start to focus more on triathlon. Last year I made it into the Triathlon Development Pathway, which helped me earn my draft legal licence, opening up a whole range of further racing opportunities. I also gained some new skills, including racing some double and reverse triathlons, which had me transitioning from run to bike, bike to swim, and running back into the water to complete the same course twice. In the coming year I’m looking to qualify for the National All Schools Triathlon and am looking forward to training and racing with the club. If the borders open up I’d love to head interstate and go toe to toe with some of the best junior athletes in the country. Thanks to the club and the sponsors for giving me this opportunity and fingers crossed I can keep the updates rolling in when races return soon! 
After arriving in Cairns on Thursday night there was a lot of commotion finding our bikes, it turns out the airport had shipped in a few flights full of bikes that hadn’t been able to arrive the day before. After almost taking someone else’s bike (oops!), we bundled into our accommodation and found some rather dodgy pizza to eat. Friday and Saturday we seemed to be rushing around doing things like bike testing, athlete check in, and organising gear for the race. Kat and I had the pleasure of cycling up to Palm Cove (the race start, around 30km north of Cairns) on Saturday to check our bikes in. After dropping off our transition bags we headed back for a communal dinner and had an early night in anticipation of our 03:30 am alarm.
I absolutely love the moment my feet hit the sand. I've never been a fast swimmer, so for me this is where my race starts. I grabbed my bike “Pammy” and got away swiftly feeling the buzz of race nerves and caffeine working well. The bike course was second to none. The first 33 km we headed north on the Captain Cook highway, a road that follows the coastline towards Port Douglas. On the right the sun rose over the ocean and on the left was a tropical rainforest, painting a postcard-like picture. The day before David Wiles had given me some valuable advice “make hay while the sun shines' ' which seemed to stick with me through the bike course, knowing the last 60 km would be going into the wind. The first 30km seemed to fly by and I had so much fun, I even managed to pick up a bottle without dropping it this time. There was a very strong headwind coming back into cairns which made it hard to hold on at times, but knowing the end was near I pushed hard the last 30km aiming for a sub-3hr bike split.
I arrived at T2 and almost couldn’t get off my bike. I was excited but also nervous to run, this was my second half Ironman distance race, and though running is my favourite discipline I wasn’t sure if going so hard on the bike would impact my run. I started off way too quick and after about 4km decided to back it off and try to keep a consistent pace. The run course was amazing! 2x10km laps up and down the cairns esplanade which was lined with supporters. I don’t think there was a single spot on the course where there weren't any supporters. It was also good for spotting all our Warringah buddies, on the run course I saw Fred, Becky and Caroline. We all cheered each other on and gave a few sneaky high fives along the way. It was hot during the run, about 29 degrees and very humid. I took nutrition and/or water on board every 10 minutes and at every aid station. With 3km to go and after keeping a relatively consistent pace I called out to Miriam (Chief support crew) ‘is it too early to go for it?’, thankfully she said not yet, at the next turn. At the next turn I tried to up the pace, there wasn’t much left but the sound of the finish line made me smile. As I turned down the finish chute I saw my amazing coach and idol, Bec Hoschke, who gave me a high five. I looked up to the clock realising I had no idea what time it was. I remember thinking ‘6hrs would be great’ (my first 70.3 was 06:36), as I crossed the line I saw a time next to my name: 05:35. At first I didn't believe it so I checked my watch. It matched, taking me by complete surprise. Feeling elated and rather dizzy I went and found Miriam and Bec and sank into a deep fog of post race bonk. We waited and cheered on the rest of the Warringah athletes. We found some food conveniently on the side of the bike/run course and cheered people on as we ate some salty chips and pizza. Later in the day after we walked up the esplanade cheering all the full Ironman competitors. For me this was just as much fun as the race. The atmosphere at the finish line was incredible, you could hear the roar of the crowds from 2km away. We waited for Kat to finish the run, she amazingly managed to take out the full distance in 11hrs 48, placing 8th in her age group- and she smiled the whole way. It was an inspiring performance. Huge kudos to all the brave Warringah’s that tackled the full, you’re all amazing and hard as nails! Thank you Warringah for allowing me to fit into such a welcoming and supportive community. Massive thanks to my coach Bec who inspires me to bring my best self to training and to race day, and thanks to Miriam for coming up to support us. I can hands down say that Cairns has been my favourite race day yet and I can’t wait for next year!  I knew it was going to cold but also that I couldn’t be late as I had the club tent. The great thing about volunteering is the parking, in this case a reserved spot right at the start line -winning already.
In the early morning dark, the usual friendly faces appeared, everyone was cold, hands frozen and noses running. Having grown somewhat proficient at putting up and packing away the club tent in recent times, it went up in a jiffy with some help and at least the wind wasn’t blowing in through one corner anymore and the mark of any professional volunteer a camp chair was now set. Now I’m sure there was a race on around here. This was my first proper test post-shoulder surgery so I signed up for one lap. With my new bike under me, I needed to prove to myself I’ve got the gear and some idea. Its only 20ks and I’ve done West Head 100’s of time. “I’ve got this” I tell myself. Deanna secured a 7:20am start for me so the sun was up and my best side would reflect in the soft hues of the morning light. Great to see so many MWCC competitors and their bling bikes and skin suits, they obviously hadn’t heard of NOSH trail run or Ironman Cairns where most of WTC’s finest were at. I always get lost in counting the hills (crests pfft) and corners on the West Head rd but I think everyone knows what hill comes after the basin trail. God that wall is a killer and then one after just to kill the legs. Still it’s all downhill on the way back, isn’t it? A mate from MWCC gives me shout on my way back he’s on 2 lap flyer I catch up with him later turns out he’s not twice as good as me as he claims only ½ as good again. With the remaining 5 or was it 6 hills completed my lap is done and now straight in to the tracky pants to warm up. You need to be in it to win it and 2nd in my age category, I’ll take the win when I can. Thanks to all the WTC and MWCC volunteers, I highly recommend getting involved if you can’t race. It’s a great way to see another side of any event check out equipment, technique,and to stay connected to the club. Club champs and my first triathlon: recap.
I didn’t sleep the night before. Not because I was out partying or because I was dreaming of sharks. Nope. I was panicking about how big those hills would be on the bike leg and wondering if anyone would notice me skip a leg. For me, riding my bike is the biggest challenge of a triathlon. But it turns out I didn’t need to worry at all. When my family dropped me off near transition, I was amazed how many smiling faces were out there and how helpful everyone was. I had been told club champs was a very social event but I was overwhelmed by the friendliness. My nerves calmed down quickly and I started looking forward to the race. For me club champs became a learning experience because it was my first ever triathlon event…. And I had a lot to learn. Lesson 1: a fear of sharks does NOT make you swim faster! The water was beautiful, clear and a lot warmer than I expected. The organisers did a great job spreading out the swimmers and the course was relatively clear. But no matter how great the conditions and how confident I was going prior to the swim, once I was in the water I just couldn’t catch my breath or get into a good rhythm. It took most of my swim to reassure myself that Jaws was not approaching and the swim was as safe as I had been told. Next time I will focus more on enjoying the swim and making the most of my time in the water. Lesson 2: listen to people when they tell you to practice taking off your wetsuit before your first race! I had imagined a super quick transition that would barely affect my time. In reality, I spent 5 minutes rolling around on the ground, grappling with my wetsuit and laughing at myself. I also gave some officials a giggle too 😊 Lesson 3: there is no shame walking your bike up a hill….. six times. I knew I was going into the bike leg completely underprepared. Not only do I have no idea how to fix a puncture, I also have actively avoided hills on most of my bike rides. I had some great advice from club members on changing gears before getting to the bottom of a climb and building up speed on a downhill. But I found putting this into practice without training was harder than I realised. It is a skill I am now working on for my next triathlon. Lesson 4: No matter how tired and sore you are, Powerade, some friendly smiles and music at the turn-around point in the last leg will give you the energy you need to finish. Sometimes this is all you need to remind yourself to enjoy your time on the course. Going into the event I was very worried I would be too slow to finish the course. But club champs really is a very inclusive event and once I was racing, the support on course from our club was more than enough to get me through. Lesson 5: Being part of a club really is a great way to train, experience a triathlon and connect with people. The club champs dinner was my family’s first large social event since covid started. It was such a fun night and definitely the highlight of the weekend for us. Thank you to everyone that made this such a special weekend. There must have been a lot of planning, time and effort that went into making this happen and I am very grateful for those that made it happen. We can’t wait to be back again next year! Congratulations to all our athletes who braved the cold this morning to take on the West Head course!
Results are now available at the following link:
This month WTC and Manly Cycle Club offered a 1,2 or 3 lap option and having chosen the 3 lap course along with a dozen other mostly WTC members the pressure was on not to keep the volunteers from their Sunday breakfast arrangements. To assist chief organiser Deanna Waters slotted me in as “first off the ramp” at first light. The strategy was to take it easy on the first lap and try to even split each lap. I thought that may be more difficult than it might otherwise have been as my legs were telling me that I had struggled at Husky Ultimate the previous weekend. Fortunately conditions were ideal and you can’t help but appreciate what a beautiful place West Head is to ride a bike early in the morning. As usual some great performances were put in by WTC with president David Wiles going sub 2 hours for the 3 lap course. Mathilde Batailler was strong throughout for a 2hour 17mins.
In the 2 lap course Francesco Puccini went 1hour18 narrowly beating Chris Cleland and the evergreen Pete Walker. In the 1 lap dash Tony Barbers posted 38.21 and Caroline Chappell went 51.35. A special note for Johan Lequien who did the 3 lap course and who I passed powering along Forest Way on his way home after the event. As usual great support was evident between club members on the course . Special thanks to Deanna Waters , David Wiles and the committee for organising the event and to all the smiling WTC volunteers at check in.
How many people are racing? Swim Exit, no swell help, push, get up, Run! That way up? ⛰ Like a lost ball in the high weeds. Found bike, lovin’ COVID Social Distance. Wettie stuck, Can’t take my Leg out. Massive tracker! Run out - smile for the Camera! [Check out photo ☝️] tho HR is high like a Fake Witness under testimony. Visor on? Did I said Humidity before? Fogged up. Smell the course. 2nd lap traffic jam. Cutting’ inside like Valentino Rossi. Hurts as F. Don’t give up the ship! Ingest Nutrition. Café Veloz — feeling like Diego D10S Maradona. Picture: Washing machine spinning = husky roads. Port Mac is an ice field next to it. Swapping empty bottle at station. Bargain! I’ll hold to this one - tight. Run off. 3:34’ pace. Way out of zone. Forgotten shades. Sunshine blindness - fast looking face. Wyn Republic Suits are everywhere! Feeling part of something. Warringah tri colours are the best (Boca Juniors ⚽️) 2nd Lap. Where’s JK? Hopping his okay. X big unit after us. Surges. I flounded. Colonial statue legs. Pain. 1 more lap. It’s Coke o’ clock. Aid St. drive thru — Maccas cup feels like... Nostril,mouth, ear -> cola ingested. Teen Red beard sticky as blue tac. Noted, shave for next. Anxiety is onsets as momentary run stride 4 stride with 5th place Pro W. I smite her! Kudos. Last K Determination. Coach sighted. Power up. Endless K. Erin filming, Julez screaming. Double pow up! Rufo pulling Cata. Olivia kicking tummy. Myself sprinting as fast as 125L out the Spit Bridge. Face planted finish line 🏁 glory
 This was my first ever triathlon and I was extremely nervous and excited days leading up to the event. I was worried about every possible thing imaginable and unimaginable. From being lost, not finding the transition point, not finding parking spots, not knowing what to do at the transitions or even how to set up etc… the list goes on. This nervous excitement had me staying up all night to only get 2.5hrs of sleep because I decided to leave an hour earlier then I had to. But to my luck the 1 hour of less sleep I could have got did not go waste as I managed to secure a parking spot right next the transition point. First win of the day.
After attempting to nap in my car for 30 minutes waiting forthe awesome WTC volunteers to set up the transition station I cluelessly hung my bike and laid my towel looking around to see how others had done it only to see lines of naked railings as no one else had arrived. Luckily after 5 minutes of looking like I was stranded in no man’s land I bumped into David Wiles who graciously showed me the ropes on the essentials of how to set up and what to do when transitioning. I was extremely grateful for David’s helping hand, for in that moment, there was a sigh of relief as the nerves calmed knowing my transition set up was all good to go. Second win of the day. Registration began. People had started arriving. People were queuing up and with that my nerves did to. I trudged my way down to the back and tepidly joined the line. I registered, got the timing tag, wrapped it around my right ankle, then my left and back to my right, then back again to my left. The indecisiveness and state of fluster was prominent and very visible. The excitement was still there. It was just smothered under a blanket of nervousness. The emotions received a pick me up when I received some free WTC first timer merchandise from Simon Horrocks who also gave me the most amazing pep talk before I made my way down to Collins beach. Simon’s pep talk was exactly what I needed in that moment as he made me realise that everyone is nervous even those who have done tons of triathlons and that all I needed to do was focus on enjoying the experience. Third win of the day. I was making my way down to the starting line. The long walk to the beach and the friends I made along the way filled me with excitement. Everyone was smiling. Everyone was happy. Everyone was so warm and welcoming. That energy, the community and the culture perpetuating from the WTC members was contagious and addictive. I already knew by that point that I was going to come back for more. Fourth win of the day. The race began. My feet touched the water and I jumped right in. The heart rate was high and the joy was immeasurable. The nerves were gone. The swim was beautiful. I loved every second of it even though I am not a great one and its my biggest weakness. Despite that I exited the water to hear thephotographer say “That was an excellent swim. Well done!”.He unknowingly filled me with confidence – a testament to the fact that small acts of kindness go a long way. I began my run up to the transition station. My legs felt weird and calves were cramping. I decided to walk for a bit as another racer said “Come on mate, you got this!”. It was moments like thisand seeing Brooke with the “Go Vidit” sign and Doug, Gabriel, Mah, Simon, David, Grace and the many other amazing friends I had just made cheer me on throughout the race that made it an experience I’ll never forget. Fifth win of the day. Crossing the finish line! Sixth win of the day. |
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