2013 Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival

Although I ruled out any idea of racing over the Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival weekend, there was no way I was going to miss out on an action packed weekend.  And with so many DAT athletes in action in almost every event for the weekend it's also a perfect opportunity to get stuck into some writing and give those guys and girls some recognition as we come towards the end of another domestic season. 

My journey to Mooloolaba this year was slightly different, choosing the man powered two wheel option over the standard motor vehicle.  The usual one hour trip straight up the highway turned into a four and a half hour, 130km journey that still had me there in plenty of time to recover from my efforts before any racing got underway.

The first race for the weekend was the 5km bolt where we were represented by Jodie Duff who even managed to crack a smile for our cameras while completing the hilly four lap course and finish in fourth place overall.  We also had our very own DAT leprechaun; Jamie Hanelt strutting his best St Patricks Day outfit over the 5km course!

I was back on the bike Saturday morning for another trek through the countryside and even though both Dan and myself had to resort to coke, chocolate and lollies at the midway service station stop we still cranked it up to average 36km/hr on the return trip home.  It was a quick turn around from there to the ocean swim where Jodie was again testing her skills, as was Angus Gibson in the elite men's event.  I chose the much more relaxed option of a recovery swim with the other squad members preparing for the race on the Sunday.  Jodie was again at the point end of the field finishing 2nd in her category and Angus was narrowly out sprinted to finish 3rd and pick himself up some prize money.  Codie Grimsey won the event and I'll be out to see if his swimming credentials translate to his coaching credentials this weekend at one of his open water training sessions; anyone interested should definitely check it out!

 

Probably the only event for the weekend where DAT wasn't represented was Saturday afternoons World Cup but it was the perfect afternoon of racing to inspire and excite all of the athletes preparing for Sundays races.  And enough to get me back out the door again and hitting the streets of Mooloolaba for a much faster than expected run as thoughts of upcoming races flowed though my head.

With a 6:30am start time for the ITU Continental Cup on Sunday morning there was never really going to be much chance for a sleep in and the sound of tyres being pumped up outside my bedroom door in the very early hours of the morning made sure of this!  I've been in this race for the last few years now and standing down at the river I really wished I was out there again but instead was there to support training partners; Emily, Maddi and Holly who were all backing up from their Wellington race just one week prior.  All showed promising signs for upcoming Conti Cup races in China in the coming weeks and Worlds selection later in the year with Maddi finishing 8th, Holly in 10th and Emily in 12th.

 

In the open age category Courtney pushed through an illness she picked up early in the week to finish in 3rd place and be the first DAT athlete to tick one of her goals off the board of DATspiration and it is only a matter of time before those next two goals are ticked off as well.

 

Other age group performances included a very impressive and slick 2:07:18 and a sub-1hour bike time for Dave Sangster, a 27th place and 2:26 for Dave Mcdonald, a 2:16 and 7th place to Dave Kelly, a 2:31 and 26th place for Rob Murdoch, a 2:32 and 9th for Geoff Lemmon, a 2:51 and 144th place for Richard Tareha, a 2:31 and 12th place for Kate Gibney and a 2:51 and 421nd place for Meg Coffey.  If anyone is daring enough to ask Curtis Lindsay will share a long-winded story about his race but the short version is that he finished in 23rd and did a 2:34.  The once "Unbreakable" Jamie Laverty failed to make it to the start line after being struck down with gastro earlier in the week but Mooloolaba is just a stepping stone on the Unbreakable path to Rio 2016.  The other half of the Unbreakable team, Jackson Haigh finished in 2:11 and claimed himself a 2nd place position in his age group.  And there is one age grouper I have left to last, and for very good reason.  Not only did Jamie Hanelt run the fun run in a ridiculous looking costume, he finished the triathlon in 2:19 and 30th in his age group and then proceeded to in his own words; party harder than any other triathlete as he took up his DJ post at the after party and seeing as though he goes out of his way to give us VIP treatment at the after party I'll return the favour and give him the VIP treatment in this blog ;).

Rounding off the weekend of racing was the women's ITU World Cup where last years Continental Cup winner, Sarah was stepping up to race in her first World Cup.  Unfortunately the day didn't pan out in her favour and she was lapped out on the final lap of the bike course.  In a true sign of the DAT spirit she was almost swamped by training partners showing their support and no doubt will be back stronger in her next race.

That wrapped up the weekend of racing for the 2013 Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival and one that I thoroughly enjoyed every second of and after my ride up there was even more appreciative of the car ride home!  There is nothing like being on the sidelines to make you want to be out there racing and it's safe to say that Mooloolaba 2014 has immediately been added to the list of goals to target!
 

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