IRONMĀORI Toa
It's important for the Triathlon Community to get in behind and support our independent Race Directors to secure the future of the sport. IRONMĀORI is one of those events that has grown a strong community culture and has a special vibe to it that we saw in the early days of Triathlon.
I’ve been around the sport for a fair while. I started Triathlon in the early 90’s, the exact year escapes me right now, as it was nearly 30 years ago. But back in those days the sport in New Zealand was shaped by dozens of Race Directors who put on some fantastic events. All these races were independent of each other, but all shared the same philosophy….give people something they can train for, take part in and remember forever. Some of my most loved Triathlon memories have come from doing races in far flung places, hours of travel away from home. Just a few locations that spring to mind are Mangawhai, Kai-Iwi Lakes, Timaru, Napier, Kinloch, The Blue Lake and Whangamata.
Sadly over time these races have disappeared from the New Zealand triathlon landscape and unfortunately the Triathletes of the modern era don’t often get that opportunity to travel to a destination to do a race in a place they don’t often visit, meet some new people, and have some wonderful memories to share for years after.
The demise of these events has come about from a number of reasons; increased compliance costs (Traffic Management, Insurance etc), reducing entry numbers (people have so many things to pack into their lives now), increased travel costs and a probably a level of apathy for something a bit left field. Unfortunately with these factors we have seen fewer and fewer Race Directors able to put on these great events, and us Old School Triathletes are left lamenting the good old days of Triathlon. When I catch up with my mates, who have been in the sport for a few years, we always find ourselves talking about races that once existed and wishing they were still around.
Well guess what, some of these events are still out there, and I was lucky enough to be on the sideline for one of these races recently. The inaugural IRONMĀORI Toa is a race that is put on by some very passionate caring people, and has evolved on the back of a strong community spirit. A few years of working away with shorter events to build up to putting on one of this most historic format, a Long Distance Triathlon over the famed 3.8/180/42km distance. This is no mean feat, much like racing it, to put an event of this scale on requires guts, determination, enthusiasm that comes from loyal people doing previous events and a reliable and supportive volunteer base.
The IRONMĀORI whanau did things just right on this first weekend of December 2022, and from talking to people that took part in the event, the experience was electric, unforgettable and something we want to see continue for years and years to come. But it won’t happen without the support of the athlete community. Adding this event on your calendar early, committing to it and telling people about it will encourage more and more to enter, giving greater support to those putting it on.
Here at Foot Traffic Coaching we had a small but very determined group of athletes training for the IRONMĀORI Toa, all from varying levels of experience. Some were first timers, some had been doing these sorts of events for years. I had a unique inside view of each of these athletes training through monthly Zoom calls with them and direct messages through the 24 week process. As we got closer to the event the excitement levels increased, nerves started creeping in, but most of all there was a sense of pride knowing they were going to be part of something very special.
Standing on the sidelines watching athletes coming in off the bike and seeing the encouragement given by the volunteers, the friendliness of the atmosphere and the smiles on the athletes faces I knew this was something quite unique. This wasn’t just your everyday Triathlon event, it had the feel of the good old days of triathlon that I remember so fondly.
After the event talking to some of our members who raced, their sense of pride and sense of being in a family was palpable. They all remarked how special it was, how electric the atmosphere was as they passed the finish area each time on the run, and how absolutely unforgettable crossing the finish line left me wishing I had been in the race too. The metaphors and expletives coming out of people as they recall their day sums it up so well. It all started for them a few days before the race with a very moving Powhiri at the Houngarea Marae, and that carried them through the race. Each person felt very special. Tim Corbett refers to it as a ‘Victory Lap’, a chance to show the work and dedication he has put in to making the start line. Cherie Scott fondly talks about the young volunteers who accompanied her on part of the run course once the sun was down, there wasn’t much lighting and they wanted to make sure she was ok. And just reading Karina Ormsby’s race report you get a feel for the immense pride she has from finishing it.
I had a chance to catch up briefly with Race Director Heather Skipworth, while she was on the microphone encouraging runners as they passed, and I could tell by the look on face that this was something she was immensely proud of. It’s an event that is going to stick around for a long time. And those lucky people racing on this day were the pioneers that got to race in the first IRONMĀORI Toa Triathlon.
Entries for the next IRONMĀORI Toa race have already opened, and I encourage people to sign up sooner than later. The hardest part of the training is committing to it, so once you have signed up you know all you have to do is follow the process to get yourself to the startline, and onward to the finish line from there. Do a favour to Heather and her IRONMĀORI organising team by showing your commitment and enthusiasm now. It will give so much more to them knowing people are already pumped for the next one, and it will make people around you also make the move to enter as no one wants to be that guy who missed out (like I was).
Enter your details below and we will keep you in the loop on when these are kicking off.
