Held each December on the West Coast of Australia in the quaint town of Busselton, Ironman Western Australia is one of the premier destination races on the Ironman circuit. The swim takes place around the Busselton Jetty, which is said to be the longest wooden structure in the southern hemisphere. The three-loop bike and run courses are conducive to record setting times.

This year SBTC we will we represented by 5 competitors taking on the 3.8km Swim, 180km ride and 42km run which takes place on Sunday 5th December 2010.

David Cutcheon, Melanie Gillespie, Kristy Harnett, Ben Horner and Adri-Anne Scholtes are among the field.

We are looking forward to their tales from a HUGE effort!!!!!!

Hello fellow members,
 
It seems we have two clear groups hard at training at the moment. Those preparing for the Gatorade Sprint Series as well as those getting ready of Ironman WA at Busselton on December 5th!
 
This Sunday will see Race 2 of the Qld Gatorade Tri Series down at Robina. For those of you yet to see the start times they are here below. Just a reminder that if would be great to see all of our club members at our camp which is along the run course. We will be on the same side of the water and not too far up from Transition. Whilst this is away from the Presentation area we believe shouting out support during the race is far more important than prime position at Presentations. Look out for our Club Banner!!!!!!
 
We have a number of first time competitors this weekend taking part. To all of you… THE VERY BEST OF LUCK. But most of all … HAVE FUN!!!!!! We will all be there to support you and cheer you along!
 
For those still keen to get your hands of some of our merchandise we will have a collection of this available for purchase as well!

Given that for Noosa’s “little sister” race, Mooloolaba, entries sold out in a week, it wasn’t entirely surprising that in June this year, thousands of people panicked and logged onto USM Events website the moment that Noosa entries opened . We all know the dramas that occurred there! Word on the street is, that while 5000 individual athletes and over 3000 team athletes were lucky enough to gain a Noosa start, at least 4000 others were turned away. So there was no excuse for the participating South Bank Tri Club members to have a fun and enjoyable race, and for those cheering on to enjoy the atmosphere and to have a great time supporting the club.

The weekend is full of events all swim-bike-run, from aquathlons, to ocean swims, fun runs, elite criteriums, elite running races, “legends” triathlons and finally the epic Noosa Triathlon.

Race morning started at 6.30am with the elites, with the age groupers and team waves spread out across another three hours. The elites were done before some of the age groupers began! Due to the water having a recorded temperature of 24.6, the swim was to be a non-wetsuit paddle for all. Many a word from the club spoke of how the swim leg is growing in its legend of becoming a contact sport! Word around the recovery tent was of that one poor guy was pulled from the water with a broken jaw. SBTC is still not sure if it is legitimate or urban legend, but we are no doubt going to hear that story at next year’s event.

On the bike leg, the SBTC competitors loved getting the cheer on from the club tent and then it was onto an “out and back” loop into the hinterland. Who noticed the SBTC chalk markings up the infamous “hill”? The cycle leg provided a much safer passage than that in 2009, largely due to the dry roads and evenly spaced out wave starts. Punctures once again seemed to be the order of the day, with many a competitor practice their bike mechanic 101 skills as quickly as possible.

Luckily the day was not as hot or humid as previous years, although the run leg is always a little challenging and seems to feel a little longer than an ordinary 10km run. While this course is nowhere near as vertically demanding as some events, it can get quite stifling due to the lack of airflow through the tree-lined streets and houses.

But of course, running through the last one kilometre of support tents with cheers from strangers as well as the good old SBTC supporters, and through the blue finish chute is something all athletes will remember about Noosa!

SBTC competitors had a range of comments about their race, including:

• “Loved it!”
• “I need to lose weight..”
• “I was fine for the swim and bike, but the run… I fell apart”
• “First race I’ve completed all season!”
• “I had so much fun!”

So well done to all athletes, and thank you so much to all of our support crew. Jeanie Bradford did a wonderful job of taking photographs all day, and has kindly uploaded a range of race photos to Facebook, and these can also be found on the SBTC page.

It was great to see a number of club members congregate at our tent post race. With so many waves and everyone’s race lasting for a good couple of hours, it is difficult to get everybody together at once. We are looking at ways to improve this even further and welcome suggestions on our forum – which is now up and running.

Congratulations to all who tackled the 2010 event and we hope you have all got your ballot entry in for 2011. Remember, you only have until the end of the week to lodge your entry. As disappointing as some may find the new system, we must remember that in a democracy everyone must be given a chance to participate!!!

Please take a moment to register and visit the forum, as we will now have a number of key topics to read and discuss – such as training schedules for your particular level, training tips and of course ideas for club improvement.