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70.3 Western Sydney Race Report 2026
Crazy Traffic The night before the race was rough. Sleep didn’t come easily, although that’s hardly unusual before a big race. By 3:30am I was wide awake and staring at the ceiling, so I figured there was no point fighting it. I was staying with my parents, which meant a 50-minute drive out to the regatta centre. This time the kids were coming too, so it was an early start for everyone — including Indie. We made good time getting there, but traffic into the venue was chaos. At 5:45am we were still crawling toward the roundabout entrance, barely moving. After sitting still for a few minutes I decided enough…
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Geelong 70.3 Race Report 2026
Friday night, my wife and I flew down to Melbourne, keeping things simple with a stay near the airport. Early Saturday, we grabbed a rental car and made our way to Geelong—though not without a few delays—eventually arriving around midday. From there, it was a bit of a rush. Building the bike didn’t go smoothly, with some frustrating chain alignment issues eating into the afternoon. By the time I finally got out for a pre-race spin, it was close to 2pm—and surprisingly hot. The rest of the day disappeared quickly: food, course recon, registration, bike check-in. Before I knew it, it was dinner time and race morning was only hours…
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Melbourne 70.3 Race Report 2025
The plan for Melbourne 70.3 was simple: go all in and chase a sub-4-hour finish.But that all changed when I broke my collarbone just a couple of weeks before the World Championships in Wollongong. In an instant, the entire season flipped upside down. I appealed to Ironman for a transfer, but the answer was a flat no. So, I had two choices — sit in frustration, or get to work. I chose the latter. Rehab became my mission. I pushed hard, probably too hard at times, but I managed to bank two solid weeks of training before race week. I wasn’t in peak shape — not even close — but…
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Taupo 70.3 World Championships Race Report
We touched down in New Zealand on Wednesday, just ahead of race day, and stayed at the airport for the night. Thursday, I made my way to Taupo, though not without a hiccup—our rental car had coolant issues, delaying things a bit. Finally, by Friday, I arrived in Taupo, ready for the big race, but not without a bit of drama! On Friday, I did a quick reconnaissance ride and had a heart-stopping moment. Coasting down a hill, a sudden crosswind caused me to experience terrifying speed wobbles at 80 km/h, according to my Garmin. Somehow, I managed to regain control, but it left me shaken. From that moment, I…
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Cairns 70.3 Race Report 2024
Years ago when I didn’t do triathlon, we happened to be on holiday at Palm Cove while the Cairns Ironman took place. Ever since then, the event has been of interest to me. With the long course world championships being hosted in Townsville in August, Cairns 70.3 seemed like the perfect prep race to get some familiarity with the conditions likely to be experienced. It certainly didn’t disappoint being among the best courses I’ve ever raced. We arrived the Thursday prior, which allowed enough time to go for a snorkelling day trip (on Friday) before shifting focus onto the race. I was generally relaxed, and quietly confident although my run…
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Husky Ultimate Triathlon Race Report 2024
I was up at 3:30am, it was always going to be an early start when I had an hour drive to the race venue. My amazing wife travelled down to support me, and we arrived at Husky at 5:10am. Plenty of time to get sorted and ready to race. I even had time to do a short swim warmup before the professional race started. Swim Leg I was the third person into the water for the 30-39 AG rolling start. Straight away I managed to bridge to the lead two, and sat on one of their feet almost to the first buoy. I felt them slow far too much and…
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Hobart 70.3 Race Report 2024
I was quite relaxed leading into the Hobart 70.3. Although, training had been going well, I’d been travelling + had some sickness in the weeks prior. I wasn’t as fit as I might have been otherwise, but on the upside I wasn’t really fatigued either. My focus was on getting a good training stimulus and seeing where my current fitness was at. No expectations, and no limits on what I was ‘supposed’ to achieve. I arrived Thursday before the event, which was a nice change from the usual arrival the day before. However, the weather had me a little anxious as I struggled to ride the course with 45-50km/h winds…
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Challenge Canberra Race Report 2023
Just after a storm passed, I drove to Canberra Friday evening with the family. The weather wasn’t looking good for the weekend, but although I was a little worried about bike safety, I was committed to racing. Saturday morning I got up and did my pre-race spin/run in light rain, and then the weather started to improve! At registration and bike check-in the weather looked great, until a heavy rain shower hit, but the forecast for race day was now sunny. Mentally I felt a little different than usual about this race. After absolutely smashing all expectations (and myself) at Western Sydney 70.3 I wasn’t hungry to test myself. I…
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Western Sydney 70.3 Race Report 2023
The day before the race during my pre-race spin and run, my shins were quite sore during the run. It had me quite worried, but I tried not to dwell on it and just prayed it would be okay on race day. I’m not a morning person. I hate early starts, yet I woke up before my alarm at 4:15 am race morning. I always try to organise as much as possible the night before to remove any thought process when I’m still sleepy. I mindlessly ate and prepared bottles etc. and it was then time to hop in the car and drive to the race venue. I arrived, signed…
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Australian Long Course Triathlon Championship Race Report
Race morning. I arrived at the start area a touch after 5:30 am, giving myself over an hour to get set up and ready before the race started. I felt surprisingly relaxed, probably because my fitness wasn’t as good as it’s been, and I knew I could only do my best on the day. Whether that was enough or not I’d no idea, but a top 5 finish was the goal and I looked forward to having some battles to get the best out of myself. Swim Leg I made sure to get near the front of the swim start, and saw a face I knew, James lining up. Wished…
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