Ports of Tauranga Half Ironman

Happy New year

With just under 6 weeks to Ironman New Zealand I'm pleased with my current form. Yesterdays race at the 29th running of the Port of Tauranga half Ironman was the perfect last little hit out before some more big mileage training begins this week for the next 4 weeks. This was my 20th race at this event and it's always a highlight over summer. Perfect conditions greeted the athletes race morning and it was going to be a warm one with a high of 28c forecast. 

Being away from my swim squad for the last 4 weeks due to the annual family holiday was not ideal, I really miss not being in a squad and getting my arse kicked each morning by younger swimmers, I had done plenty of ocean swim training but not specific interval work in the pool and when this race attracted some of the best swim Triathletes in the world then I knew i might be in trouble! Dylan McNeice is one of the best swimmers on the circuit and after the 2km swim I found myself nearly 3mins down on him and three others. I knew I had to regain some time before hitting the run, I've had some great training while being away at Whangamata putting in some massive mileage on the roads and trails in our yearly holiday destination. 

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The two 45km loops are dead flat and your in the Time Trial position the whole time, The first loop I was averaging 44-45km/hr and the gap to the leaders had stayed the same but there were 4 riders in the front group all pushing the pace so I lost another 1:30min in the last 40km which was not ideal. I was off the bike in 3rd 4:15min down and knew I had to make inroads to Dylan and Mike Phillips fast other wise the race was out of reach. 

The two lap run course is one of the best in the world following the main beach of Mount Maunganui and then features a 3.5km trail around the Mount base track, this is where athletes can lose a lot of time with the dirt trails and undulating terain. I went through the first 5km in 17:23 sec and was slowly gaining time back but would it be quick enough? After the first lap I had the leaders down to 3mins so I kept pushing the pace as much as I could. I managed to claw back a good chunk of time but ran out of road in the end with Dylan taking the win by 2:17 and Mike Philipps in 2nd just 46 seconds in front of me. 

Again I'm very happy with my current form and I'll be meeting the guys again in 6 weeks time for a rematch over my specialty the Ironman distance on March 3rd for Ironman New Zealand. The weather here in New Zealand is fantastic at the moment so it will make the 40hrs of training a week a little easier over the next month before the taper starts.

Thanks again for your continued support. 

 

29th Port of Tauranga Half Ironman, 2km swim, 90km bike, 21km run. 

1st Dylan McNeice       3:54:16

2nd Mike Phillips          3:55:47

3rd Cameron Brown     3:56:33

4th Simon Cochrane    4:01:17

5th Dan Plews              4:01:57

1st Place at Miyakojima Strongman Triathlon

Konnichiwa from Miyakojima

Its been 20 years since I last raced in Japan and I was excited to come back and race in the 33rd Strongman Triathlon one of the oldest and biggest races in Japan, so popular is this event over 3500 people apply to race but only 1700 can take part.

The Strongman Triathlon is nearly an Ironman distance event with a 3km swim, 157km bike and finally a 42km run. The race takes place on the tiny Island of Miyakojima some 1900km south of Tokyo and just off the coast of Taiwan. The Island has three smaller islands just off it's coast and are connected by bridges the longest being 5km long which we go over during the bike course. 

Race morning came and I was not feeling well, I was coming down with something and was thinking about not racing or just finishing the swim! I was one of the last athletes into T1 and only arrived 5mins before registration closed. I was not motivated at all to race because I didn't think I would be finishing. I prepared all my Balance gels and electrolyte drinks and walked down to the swim for the 7am start. Once the gun went off I actually didn't feel to bad swimming and made sure I got on to the lead pack of swimmers which was around 6 athletes. The swim course was in clear blue tropical waters and at around 24c it made the wetsuit swim very warm. The course was marked off in typical Japanese accuracy as we just had to look up every few hundred meters to see how far we had swam with volunteers holding the exact distances on signs. 

I finished the swim leg in 6th but made up some time in transition and headed out in 4th trying to chase down Germany's Simon Jung who I eventually caught at the 10km mark. I was able to get a slight gap just before the second bridge and went about trying to increase the lead from there on. The road surface was just fantastic! super fast but the only problem was the wind was building by the hour, add in the undulating bike loop and it was one tough little course. The coastal loop around the island was spectacular especially the southern end of the island which featured a loop out to the famous Higashi lighthouse. By the bike to run transition I had built up a lead of some 4:30mins to Simon and 14mins to Canadian Shawn Wilyman, I wasn't feeling my strongest but I was getting through the race so far! Only a marathon to deal with now! This was where I was starting to worry about how I would really feel as it's hard enough to run a marathon at 100% let alone feeling 70%. The run was quite brutal as it was a out and back one loop course, 21km out and 21km back, put in a head wind on the return leg and the sun coming out just before the end of the bike and it was turning into a warm day. Every aid station I would grab around 4-6 sponges putting them over my head or into my 2XU race suit to try and cool my core temp down. 

 

I was hoping my lead was building during the run but I wasn't able to get a real split to 2nd pace until I reached the half way point where I could see I had a lead of some 6mins to Simon. The final 21km back to the finish line was tough as we ran into a head wind and rising temperatures. The final 400m of the run was on the Miyakojima running track so it was great to finish just under the 8hr mark for one very hard but beautiful race. The awards party was quite amazing, I received over 7 trophies to take home and 4 which stay on the island(probably because they are just to big for anyone to take!) Plus A years supply of Beer! I'm now having a very easy week off and then I have the Asia-Pacific Ironman Championships in Cairns, Australia on June 11th. Thanks once again for your continued support.

 

Kind Regards Cameron Brown

 

Miyakojima Strongman Triathlon 3km Swim, 157km Bike, 42km run

 

1st Cameron Brown 7:49:10

2nd Simon Jung, Germany7:56:26

3rd Shawn Wilyman, Canada 8:02:03

4th Viktor Aloshyn,Ukraine 8:17:12

5th Damien Collins, Australia 8:18:14

 

Highlights of the race can be seen here

https://www.facebook.com/TriathlonNews.TriX/videos/1327631647328006/?pnref=story

 

 

2nd at Ironman New Zealand

Well that was one tough day at the office. I Couldn't quite pull off the win but I got close!

Race morning dawned and the wind was already blowing strong at 5am! 1200 very nervous Ironman athletes awaited the start on lake Taupo which was getting rougher and rougher by the minute. I was worried there might not be a swim but the wind didn't turn the lake into a surf beach thankfully. Still this was one of the hardest swims ever here with a very nasty chop hitting the lake and it was hard to navigate your way around the course. I was swimming with Marino Vanhoenacker and Cyril Viennot in a bunch of five athletes but we came out of the water 5 minutes down on the main group of Marko Albert, Terenzo Bozzone, Clayton Fettell and Braden Currie. 

Onto the bike and my legs weren't quite there and felt like I couldn't push as hard as I wanted. I knew the bike was going to be extremely tough as the wind was still building, we were sitting on 50km/hr on the way out to Reporoa but coming back into Taupo and speeds were only hitting 30-35km/hr and the 2nd lap was even harder. The lead to Terenzo was increasing as every kilometer passed by and when it hit 15minutes I thought that was the end of my day. Around 130km the gap finally started to turn back in my favour but only a little. As we reached T2 the time to Terenzo was now 11:30 minutes and 9:30 to Braden. I was off the bike in 9th and started the run with Cyril who is a great runner.

I felt more in control running than I did on the bike and felt like I had more power and immediately started gaining back time on the leaders. The run leg is not flat and has rolling undulations the entire course with a few steep pitches on some of the hills. We managed to take 2mins off the lead in the first 14km(lap) but it was going to take some of the athletes in front to start blowing up and that's exactly what started to happen on the 2nd and 3rd run laps. I was now in 4th with 14km to go and had 6mins to chase down, you can never give up in an Ironman as you never know what can happen just around the corner. Suddenly I had Terenzo Bozzone and Marko Albert in my sights and passed them with 10km to go, there was only now one more athlete in front of me but I was running out of space to catch him in time. Not even my fastest ever marathon(2:42:30) here in Taupo was enough to stop Braden Currie from winning. I was happy to see the finish line as my legs were absolutely smashed at the finish along with everyone's!  

I'll take a short break to let my body recover and then begin training for my next race on April 23rd in Miyakojima, Japan and then the Asia-Pacific Ironman Championships on June 11th in Cairns, Australia.

Thanks again for your support. Kind Regards Cameron Brown

Ironman New Zealand | Men

Ironman New Zealand this Saturday!

Hi there

Well this coming Saturday marks my 20th Ironman New Zealand, hard to believe I have raced for that long and especially at one event but I couldn't imagine not training through a kiwi summer and getting ready for this amazing event. 

My first race in Auckland back in 1997 was a bit of a shocker. It was my first ever Ironman as a 26yr old and although I had a great swim things quickly changed on the bike with a bad back that kept going into spasm, I was lying on the road at one point with my back out of place only to get told to get off my arse and keep going by my wife. I finished 23rd and it was a big shock to Ironman racing. When the race moved to Taupo in 1999 I wanted to be on the start line again and give this Ironman racing another go, I finished 2nd by only 13seconds behind Tim Deboom a 2x Ironman world Champion! 

In 2001 I finally won my first Ironman New Zealand and it was a dream come true, I had watched the race as a teenager hoping to one day race in this incredible event and also dreamed of maybe winning it! To win it now 12 times is also quite amazing and again I'm lining up on Saturday to give it another crack as a 44yr old. As always you can watch the event unfold on http://www.ironman.com from 6:45am NZT. I'll be in touch after the race to let you know how I did. Thanks again for your support. 

Cameron Brown

Here is a list of my Ironman New Zealand finishes throughout the years

 

1997 23rd

1999 2nd

2000 2nd

2001 1st

2002 1st

2003 1st

2004 1st

2005 1st 

2006 2nd(shortened to 90km, 21km run due to weather)

2007 1st

2008 1st

2009 1st

2010 1st 

2011 1st

2012 3rd(shortened to 2km,90, 21km due to weather)

2013 3rd

2014 2nd

2015 1st

2016 1st 

2017 2nd

 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11801756

Defending champions top seeds for IRONMAN - Times

 

 

 

2nd at NZ Half Ironman Championships

My 19th Port of Tauranga Half Ironman turned out to be a solid day at the office. With the race starting at 6:15am I was hopeful of a calm swim but it was quite the opposite with very strong winds churning up the Tauranga harbour. I even had to swap out my front wheel due to the winds being that strong. The swim start was the only bad part of my race as I struggled to get my arms turning over, once I got going I was fine but the front group was gone and I exited the water 1:50min down on the leader Eddie Rawles.

Onto the bike and I went about trying to catch the guys in front, the 90km course is dead flat but still a hard ride with half of the course on a very rough chip surface. I reeled in the main group to be in 3rd at the 45km mark with Braden Currie the defending champion and Eddie Rawles 2mins up the road, in the final 5km I caught Eddie but still had the pack just behind me. I was off the bike 2:10 down on Braden but still had company, Hayden Wilde took off like it was a 5km race so I just settled into a pace I could control for the entire 21km's as I knew the 4km trail section around the Mount Maunganui base track is a killer in the final part of the race. I eventually caught Hayden with 6km to go and was able to drop him around the base track to finish in 2nd place. It's only 8 weeks until Ironman New Zealand where I'll be racing in my 20th IMNZ! My form is right on track so I'll be getting stuck into the big mileage until March 4th.

I'll be in touch soon, Cameron Brown

TV news coverage

http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2017/01/braden-currie-and-amelia-wilkinson-blitz-fields-at-port-of-tauranga-half.html

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503345&objectid=11778400

 

Port Of Tauranga Half Ironman, New Zealand Championships, 2km swim, 90km bike, 21km run

Elite men
1 Braden Currie 3:45:38
2 Cameron Brown 3:47:55
3 Hayden Wilde 3:48:33

Elite women
1 Amelia Rose Watkinson 4:16:30
2 Julia Grant 4:19:04
3 Teresa Adam 4:20:08

New Zealand Half Ironman Championships this weekend

Happy New Year

 

Well I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years and have fully recovered from your celebrations. It was the usual quiet night for me but a very special day on the 1st of January with being awarded a New Years honours for services to Triathlon with a New Zealand Order of Merit, a very prestigious award. I will be receiving the award sometime in February at a special presentation so I'll have to dust off the best suit for this. December started off racing the Taupo 70.3 Ironman event, I was in good form leading into the race but I had blocked sinuses before the race and 100m into the swim I could not breath and had to stop to regather myself and regroup, It was not a nice experience and I was one second away from pulling out. I lost too much time in the swim and ended up finishing in 8th place and tried to turn it into a solid training day. 

 

TV Coverage from January 1st

Links below:

'I'll try and continue as long as I can' – Ironman legend Cameron Brown awarded New Zealand Order of Merit

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/87963762/new-years-honours-new-zealands-ironman-cameron-brown-hopes-to-have-inspired-next-generation

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11775128

Last week I raced at the Mount Maunganui sprint Triathlon which is an old favourite of mine having competed in this race since 1990, I think I have won the event some 10 times. It's a tough ask stepping down to this distance when you are against the best under 23 athletes in the country who specialize in this short distance. I had the lead off the bike but a slow transition and the speed these guys run over 5km made it to hard to win. I was pretty happy to finish 3rd only 40secs down especially when you know your old enough to be there father and have 25yrs on them! It showed I have some good form for this weekend which was the main reason to race and gain some confidence.

Mount Maunganui Sprint Triathlon

Swim 750m, Bike 15km, Run 5km

 

1st Tayler Reid 46:10

2nd Hayden Wilde 46:35

3rd Cameron Brown 46:51

 

I'm now in taper mode for the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman this Saturday 7th of January, this race also doubles as the New Zealand Half Ironman Championships and again one of my favourite events on the New Zealand calender, it's a perfect lead up race for Ironman New Zealand which is only 9 weeks away. Having won the race 10 times helps but another stellar field is lined up for what should be a fast race over a completely flat course. I'll be touch after the event.

 

Kind Regards Cameron Brown