Six local athletes face a long day of sport on Sunday when they take part in the sixth edition of the Spec-Savers Ironman South Africa which hits the shores of Nelson Mandela Bay.
The Ironman triathlon covers a 3.8km sea swim followed by a 180km cycle and then ends off with a 42.2km run.
Six local athletes face a long day of sport on Sunday when they take part in the sixth edition of the Spec-Savers Ironman South Africa which hits the shores of Nelson Mandela Bay.
The Ironman triathlon covers a 3.8km sea swim followed by a 180km cycle and then ends off with a 42.2km run.
The event starts at 7am at Hobie Beach, Port Elizabeth and the cut off time is midnight. Grahamstown athletes taking part are Richard Hall, Keith Hoskin, Katjana Hoskin, Johan Conradie, Neil Currie and Mike Loewe.
While many competitors will be going all out to improve on previous times or taking part in their first Ironman, local triathlete Johan Conradie will be going for his third Ironman finish and he expects it to be his toughest.
Conradie lost his training partner, Dave Hanton in a tragic accident which saw Hanton killed while the two were on an Ironman training run.
Conradie said this week that “preparations went very well until the accident, then it went pear-shaped”. This will be number three for Conradie who is not worried about time but just wants to finish.
Richard Hall, who had a brilliant half Ironman race in East London in January has battled with a couple of bugs and a few injuries since then, but is hoping that everything comes together on Sunday.
“I’m hoping that the weather is cool, with quite a lot of cloud cover and very little wind. Hall is hoping to better his 2008 time of 11 hours 43 minutes 7 seconds, “anything more than that will be a major bonus and if I could somehow come in under 11 hours, I’d be ecstatic, but it’ll really just come down to the day and how everything pans out”.
Katjana Hoskin said: “If I can put my Ironman journey into one quote it would be that I have gone from a tricycle to a tribike in less than one year,” adding that it has been an incredible journey of self discovery. “I have learnt that anything in life is possible if you put your mind to it,” she says.
Hoskin admitted that the training has been tough “but I have thoroughly enjoyed every training session,” saying that she has been lucky with her “incredible training partners” Kerry and Neil Curry.
Hoskin is aiming for 14 hours but “first prize will be a finish. Anything under 14 hours will be a bonus”. She concluded by saying: “Good luck to all the other Grahamstown athletes, see you on the road.”
Makana Moon editor, Mike Loewe said: “My goal is to finish in 16:59:59 – within the 17-hour cut-off.
“I was not drawn to try the full Iron by taunts from my family that doing the half Iron meant I was merely a Tin Man. Instead, I was struck by the simple thought: it must be lekker to merely swim, cycle and run for a whole day… and some of the night.”
Loewe also chose his 50th year to fulfil some lifetime achievements. “So far, in my 50th I have run my first full marathon and cut 20 minutes off my half time. It was such a jol!” But Loewe also suffered after Hanton’s death.
“Dave’s death was a blow and training got reduced by half that week. I still managed to do an average of 15 to 16 hours a week.
I was encouraged in my aspirations by my mates, first Johan Conradie, whom I have twice watched finish, and then Dave Hanton.
These guys never gave up on me. They were inspirational.” He added “I dream of finishing, but I think I’ll mostly just have a great day out!
Should I make the IM cut-off, I will be giving Comrades a go this year.” Over 35 000 spectators are expected over the course of race weekend, with a number of locals making the trip to support the athletes.
Organisers have lauded the involvement and participation of the spectators saying that the people of Nelson Mandela Bay make the success of the event possible.
As the host city, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality works closely with Triangle Events to make the race the world class event it is.
Ironman title sponsor, Spec-Savers has been involved with Ironman for its entire six year existence and is committed as ever to bring yet another successful event to Nelson Mandela Bay.
Adding to the weekend’s activities is the Corporate Triathlon Challenge as well as the Pritt Ironkids, both taking place on Saturday.
The race briefing, pasta party and awards ceremony venue for athletes has changed from last year. All these events will take place at Cold Storage in Coega.
Due to the current water crisis in Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth based Hydro Dynamics has agreed to assist.
Race Director Paul Wolff and Hydro Dynamics owner, Brian Wilson, have reviewed the event’s water needs and are working together to eliminate any unnecessary water usage on race day.
Hydro Dynamics will set up a tank and pump system, complete with 5 000 litres of their own harvested rainwater which is to be used in place of municipal water for the athlete’s shower at the swim exit.
