We had a small but awesome stable of athletes toe the start line yesterday at the Geelong 70.3 Half Ironman. Such an iconic race on the Oceania racing calendar and brings athletes from all over the country to this magnificent location.
Regan Hollioake – 1st F30-34, 3rd Female AG overall
Swim 26:26
Bike 2:25.52
Run 1:39.47
Overall 4:37.21
A super impressive race from Regan, in her first Half Distance and a 30+min PB ! She was 2nd out of the water in her AG. With the work we have done on her bike leg, we knew this too was now going to be a weapon to go with her swim/run combo and hat it was, with the fastest bike split in her AG and coming off the bike with a very handy lead and went on to dig deep on the run and win by nearly 3min. Putting her everything into the race and her finish down the finishing shoot showed that – literally NOTHING left in the tank as she stubbled across the finish line to take that much deserved win.
“I over cooked it!” Regan after emerging from the med tent. ;-p
With her win she also went on to secure her place in the Half Ironman World Championships in Utah later in the year! Let the journey continue ! !
Rachael Dols – 8th F25-29 a mighty fought out race!
Swim 28:19
Bike 2:46.11
Run 1:54.07
Overall 5:15.48
If you haven’t read Rachaels story yet, make sure you do as she shared her story with us here after recently being diagnosed with External Iliac Artery Endofibrosis (EIAE). So to push through immeasurable pain barriers to have a bloody great race is a testament to her character!
She had a great swim, pushing from the get go, coming 2nd out of the water and taking that into a strong bike – managing her symptoms that come along with EIAE. But we’d done LOTS of work on her bike and this showed with a massive 30min bike PB! She then worked her way through the run, managing pain and symptoms to finish with nearly a 30min PB on the run also and claim over a 1hr PB overall. What a legend!
“Thank you so much fo your support, especially the last month! It honestly made me feel better knowing you were going to be there, so if anything – a massive mental boost!” ~Rachael
Robyn Bourke – 10th F35-39
Swim 39:09
Bike 2:59.56
Run 2:19.17
Overall 6:07.42
You know those training days when you just feel a bit ‘meh’, when the legs just don’t want to go from the get go and it just feels like a slog? Unfortunately for Robyn that’s how her body felt today. So her time on the clock don’t reflect the awesome training and the hard work she has dedicated over the months to get her to this race. That can be a bitter pill to swallow. For her as an athlete and for me as a coach. It hurts because knowing how hard and diligently she worked for this and sometimes we may never know the answers ‘why’ either.
“I just felt like my tank was empty all day. Def didn’t think I was going to finish!” ~Robyn post race
BUT on the flip some, what I (we) do know, that she is one resilient athlete. To keep pushing through and on a day that wasn’t ‘her’ day, with a smile everywhere she went, that is why we do this sport. To PUSH our minds and our bodies with what we have on the day. I’ve always said that. If you can give 100% of everything you have on the day, then you cannot lose. And lose she did not. She gained. Experience. Knowledge. Another notch on her race belt. And comes out even more driven and determined. THAT I a bloody proud of !
You can check out full 2022 Geelong 70.3 Half Ironman Race Results here.
Next key long distance races for our athletes include Ironman 70.3 Melbourne and Ironman Australia and Ironman 70.3 Port Macquarie.