EPWORTH MUDMAN 2011

RESULT: 1st OVERALL

After last weekends result at XTERRA Grabouw, I arrived at the Epworth Mudman on a bit of a high. It was so great to get to the venue and see all the familiar faces and happy families getting ready for loads of fun in the sun. Things have changed at the mudman events since last year, there is no longer a clear favourite and there are a number of athletes who could be out front depending on the day they having, this definitely keeps things exciting.

The swim got going and it was the usual frantic scramble to get to the first buoy unscathed. Thanks to the many boats driving round the swim course it felt like I was doing a sea swim and was battling to find a rhythm in the oncoming swells, I even resorted to trying The Zohans swimming maneuver and double the swells. Obviously this didn’t work out well for me. Need to watch Zohans style more carefully.

I exited the water 4th individual and during the run upto transition I heard a team cyclist shout out with a taunt of “Im coming for you” I soon realized this was World Downhill champion Greg Minaar when he came running by with his bike while I was getting my helmet on. I set off after him and Ryan Redman up the first climb. I got settled into a good pace and could already see the leader Ryan Redman who had another strong swim up ahead. After catching him we worked together for the rest of the lap and I had the chance to bring my heart rate back down after the initial push. We started the second lap straight into hundreds of back markers beginning their first lap and I used this chaos to make my break from Ryan. Knowing my run is far from the strongest around I used the bike to get a comfortable gap over the chasers.

Onto the run I just had to keep a consistent pace to hold onto the lead I had built up. It felt good to back up my result at XTERRA with a win at the MudMan. But even better was getting to watch the huge number of young Mudskippers enjoying what multisport has to offer. Hopefully the bug has bitten for them and they will continue with the sport and enjoying what the outdoors has to offer.

XTERRA SA Champs Grabouw

 

RESULT: 1^st in category and 4^th Overall

After a pretty bad start to 2011 with sickness and mechanicals, I woke up at 4am on race morning feeling a lot more nervous then I usual do for a race as I was desperate to put in a result that I knew I was capable of.

Once my bike was racked and transition area set up the butterflies slowly started to disappear and I started to look forward to getting the swim done and getting onto my favoured discipline the mountain bike leg. I was just hoping to get through the race cleanly with no fights in the swim and no mechanicals on the bike.

It was so good to be back down at Grabouw on the waters edge again, crammed in amongst the 100’s of other excited competitors. Knowing I needed to get out fast so as to avoid getting involved in the mid pack bumping and barging I jumped straight onto Ryan Redmans feet and tried to stay on him for as long as I could. Unfortunately those hopes were short lived as he was having a cracker swim and soon disappeared. I found a good rhythm and just kept focusing on my stroke to try and get out the water still in reach of the faster swimmers up front.

Once on the bike my plan was to hammer the climb straight away and chase the leaders who had exited the water around 2m40 ahead but for some reason my body was having none of it. My breathing was erratic and my legs felt like lead. Fortunately after a couple of kms hanging onto Justin Porteous my riding legs returned and I set off after the front runners. Further up the road I caught Raoul De Jongh and just reminding me why I do XTERRA, instead of being upset about losing a position he offered me words of encouragement, this is what XTERRA is all about. Then thankfully up the tricky hike-a-bike section I managed to ride most of it and get past Lieuwe Boonstra and into 3^rd overall. I kept a steady tempo from then on trying to save a little in the legs to get through the run only pushing the single track sections which I knew I could make up time without having to exert any extra energy.

I came off the bike with Nico Pfitzenmaier, with us lying 3^rd and 4^th overall. I would have my work cut out for me on the run to try and hold off Boonstra, Porteous, De Jongh and training partner Carleton. Thankfully my legs felt great and I climbed strong to the highest point on the run route, looking back I could see I still had a manageable gap over Lieuwe.

I crossed the line elated with my result and form after having been off for 3weeks with a virus I couldn’t have asked for more. It was a great day for me with absolutely no troubles. The course was brilliant and the vibe at the event was better than I had ever experienced.