Having come out of the Port Macquarie Half Ironman a little disappointed with my race, I was excited to return to the Shepparton Half Ironman. I had raced in my first Half Ironman in Shepparton, and I have to say, I was far more relaxed than two weeks previous at Port Mac. The calm nerves seemed to be a good omen because I had such an enjoyable race and was relieved and stoked to have some good form and an awesome result.
The swim around Kialla Lakes gave me a good start, and by the second buoy I found I was in the lead. From there, I led the swim out of the water with about 12 seconds on the group with a time of 24:49, a great feat for me as swimming is usually my weaker leg.
I got onto the bike where I was quickly joined by fellow Port Mac training mate, Adam Holborow, and we had a nice little lead on the chase group. I was feeling awesome on the bike, considering the rain and wind, and ended up averaging over 40 km/hour. With about 10 km to go, I was feeling good and got a gap on Adam. I entered transition with a 1:20 lead on him and 6 minutes on the chase group. I had the fastest ride of the day with a time of 2:14.
I got onto the run feeling pretty good and was able to maintain a solid pace throughout. I came across the line lapping up my first win and a personal best of 3:58:36, with the legend Pete Murray once again calling me in as Commentator. In all, it was an awesome race for me. I really enjoyed it and was happy with the form I had on the day.
A big thanks to all the support from my mates on the day and a congratulations to some notable efforts: Adam Holborow and John Cornish, who were doing an awesome job on the ride before they flatted. A bit of bad luck, guys.
Shepparton Half Ironman Results: Top 5 Finish Times
- TIM BERKEL 3:58:36
- Matt White 4:03:48
- Troy Drinigan 4:05:14
- Adam Holborow 4:08:45
- Klayten Smith 4:14:39
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