Thousands of Lifesavers from around Australia train all year to compete in the ferocity of the ocean at ‘The Aussies’ – the greatest spectacle of watermen and women in the country. The first year back Kurrawa after 3 years in Western Australia, stepping off the plane felt like coming home.
Before I mention anything about my one and only event, I cannot continue without mentioning the tragic passing of Saxon Bird in the semi final of the under 19 Ironman. Mother Nature was each competitor’s biggest competition over the first few days of racing. And Saxon’s life was lost in battling the ferocious conditions. My deepest of sympathy goes out to all of Saxon’s friends, family and club mates at Queenscliff Surf Life Saving Club.
On the first day of open competition – the first event the 2km beach run. Up until this point, I hadn’t done much to prepare for what in essence has now become a sprint. If the training fitted into triathlon training, then great, but not much thought was given to this race. Except for the fact my inner demons of last year’s Aussies made me determined to be one of the top 3 beach runners in the country.
The morning of the race, I knew I needed to see it like a training run, if I didn’t I would freak out and would again let nerves get the better of me, and would have regrets for another year. An early start meant no pre race coffee, and a quick jog to the race start. The event, now its’ 6th year has attracted a lot more runners, and I knew this year if I wanted a medal – I had my work cut out for me.
The open females were second off the rank after the men. 4 x 500m meant down on the soft and back on the hard. RACE TACTIC = settle on the soft sand, I hadn’t done enough work on the sand to have a really solid pace on the soft. I knew then I would have no choice but pick up the pace on the hard sand to emulate the track work which I had been doing. As the gun went off I knew that Alison O’Toole having won the past 5 was not settling for any other colour than gold. I jumped straight on her feet, and a few other girls went with us. I heard their breathing, and looked at their form and new they weren’t going to last long, so I used them to pace until they were too slow. Alison is an amazing runner, and took off with me having to spend the next 1500m trying to catch her. Each 500m I pulled away from more and more girls, and attempted to edge closer to Alison. In the end, her skill, and experience led her to a 6th straight victory, and I finished a convincing 2nd. BUT it felt like gold. I never wanted to ‘narrowly miss’ a medal again. I didn’t. I had a convincing lead on 3rd, and took the silver medal. I am now 2nd in the country, and it took 5 years to do it. Although, I thought after The Aussies 2010, I was hanging up the clubby cap – I can smell the gold medal, and I don’t think I will stop until I get it.
RIP Saxon Bird
