There was a slight issue with this idea as previous 8 time winner Cameron Brown wasn't copied in on this email and had other ideas. We had previously met twice, firstly at this event last year and also last month at Taupo Half where I had run away from him to win each time. But your only as good as your last result and over the weekend Cameron turned the tables on me and edged me by 36's to win and take his 9th title. He is 39 and showed why he has been the bench mark of Half and Full Ironman racing in NZ and around the World since the earth started cooling.
It was rainy, overcast and fairly windy as the day grew on. Sounds like the start of a Tom Clancy novel. The swim was great for me in my new Orca Alpha wetsuit, I was able to push the pace on my Specialized Shiv and clear out with a German Olympic distance athlete, putting 1minute on Brown. I pushed the bike fairly hard and held our lead until 50km's when Brown and 2010 Champ Michael Poole joined us. The pace cranked up as attacks started coming from both Brown and Poole as we sent the German packing. I understand this is not ideal for tourism so I have contacted Sean and explained to him that Kiwi's are a competitive bunch.
It was disappointing to see Poole pushing the boundaries on the bike. I understand he may get excited at the sound motorbikes make, but accelerating onto the draft of the media bikes each time they pulled next to us was questionable. At times he was riding so close to Brown's rear wheel, that the dirt flicked up and caught by Poole's teeth provided temporary comic relief. I was happy to schedule a meeting for my foot and his backside as the run began and put this behind me.
We headed out onto the 2nd lap and at the far turn around Brown tightened the screws. I thought this was unfair as we had really bonded and got our breathing in sync. Our umbilical cord connecting us eventually broke at about 19km, halfway around the Mount track, as he shot off down one of the downhills and opened up a slight gap going on to win by 36's. I was unable to answer the attack and was outclassed. Two time Ironman winner and Aussie Tim Berkel had a great run and rounded out the podium.
What a great run by Cam and an extremely humble guy. He is a fantastic ambassador for our sport and has the sporting resume that is unlikely to be matched with 10 Ironman NZ wins and 4 Ironman Hawaii podiums. I have learnt a lot off watching him and its a privilege to race him. I learnt a lot from the race and have no doubt this will help me as I try to break through into the International Half Ironman/70.3 scene this year. I have no plans to race Ironman this year- like a fine wine, theres a maturing process which takes time.
After a short rest, I will plan the upcoming International season where I plan to base and race from Boulder, Colorado. Unlike last year when I spent 3 weeks working on my Kim Kardashian booty and became injured, I'm having an active break of swimming, biking and surfing to keep the body in shape.
Callum
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