Long haul for long race

Just getting to Taupō for the 70.3 Ironman World Championship this month is a challenge in itself for two local triathletes.

Renee Hunt from Brightwater, and Richmond’s Mandy Trass are training mates at the Nelson Tri Club who have qualified to compete in their age grade divisions at the half marathon.

With more than 6,500 competitors converging on the Bay of Plenty town, competition for accommodation was frenzied.

“We are both going by caravan. A family road trip,” says Renee who is in the 50 to 54 division.

“I can’t wait to be part of an amazing experience with athletes from around the world.”

Mandy is in the 45 to 49 competition and is delighted the worlds are in New Zealand, saving an even longer haul offshore.

“The only uncertainty is the weather up there. It can be really nice or horrible. Cold, windy and wavy on the lake,” comments Mandy.

The pair trains with Stoke couple Eileen and Rob Searle who are both in the 60 to 64 division.

Eileen is a regular age grade winner but is coming back from viral fatigue which limited her training for more than three months.

Richmond-based project manager Morgan Lumsden completes the local contingent, in the 35 to 39 men’s class.

He finished sixth in the long distance triathlon event at the World Multisport Championships in Townsville in August.

Morgan, who has also done the one day Coast to Coast multisport event, has been training for up to 20 hours a week for the shorter worlds in Taupō.