An Action Packed Week

'Swim 2.4 miles. Ride 112 miles. Run the marathon. Brag for life!' - JIM COLLINS, Co-founder of Ironman Triathlon


The Ironman Triathlon World Championships takes place this weekend in Kona, Hawaii. A new king and queen will be crowned on the Big Island, where the 226K-race comprising swim, ride and run was born in 1978. Ex-Navy Seals and their spouses asked the innocent question: ‘Who is the fittest? Swimmer, cyclist or runner?’

The early predictions have been cast. Some believe that Chrissy Wellington will return with a vengeance and win her fourth victory in Kona; others believe that 70.3 world champion and last year’s Kona Queen, Mirinda ‘Rinny’ Carfare may repeat her win. The field is wide open for the Men’s race, although many predict that Andreas Raelert who was second last year (closely behind Macca’s two-peat feat) may win it – if he is injury-free. Others think that Crowie has a chance of a three-peat if his ride improves significantly, as he is a solid marathoner. Pete Jacobs, who had a good year in 70.3 races, may be carrying wild horse card, as he is a Triple Threat with the best marathon last October. The younger professionals will pit their wits against the more seasoned and race-savvy veterans of this glorious race.

Will this be another Aussie landslide year, like 2010? Macca has retired from Kona, and is focused on his delayed dream of earning a sure spot on the Australian Olympic triathlon team for London Olympics 2012.

All the best to our Singaporeans racing in Kona! We wish you a beautiful race, and may the Kona gods smile upon you in their fiery and windy ways.

My certificate for the Singapore Bay Run arrived today. This was, particularly, rewarding and memorable for I clocked my personal best half-marathon. It was not one of my easiest runs as I ran, intuitively for the race; I referred little to my watch. I went a little hard on the first 10K, as I realized with a near-PB. Overall, it was my third of four consecutive and memorable races in September. Another BQ is definitely in the design; next week’s TNF100 Duo will be my next challenge. I’ve not done this race yet, although I gave up my TNF100 Solo spot last year when I clocked a surprising 9:30 in the Sundown 84K evening race.