Sunday, December 6, 2015

GKENDURANCE at IMWA




Thought we'd get our two cents in prior to our athlete's blogs. 

A day Kate and I will look back on fondly (if there was one word we could use for Sunday's effort, it would be "PROUD"), because no matter what was happening we were proud of each of your efforts in different ways!!

We are not only proud because of your efforts on the race course, but because you're all amazing people before during and after each race and each training session.

When race morning rolled around I think I was more nervous that any of our athletes!!

So this is how this blog will roll out. In no particular order, here are your GKE IMWA athletes for 2015:


Janine Kaye, forever bubbly. Witsup ambassador, GK Coach. Watching the progress over the last few months has been wonderful.  She's grown in self confidence. Janine dealt with some serious stomach issues due to trying to drink the ocean on Sunday!! It was GREAT to see you staying positive, believing in yourself and finishing in a time you may have thought impossible. Proud!


Matt Bishop, Coached under Paul McVey, recently moved to Darwin with his family for work. In what I think was a VERY well put together day, Matt found the joys of coke after emptying his stomach on the 3rd lap. Coke and water diet is frowned upon most days, but encouraged on Ironman days. Matt  finished in a VERY impressive  10:36 and we couldn't be more proud!

Bianca Fitzsimmons coached under Ruth Chang. She's a life loving run ninja. Here she is putting the hurt on a couple of guys on lap 2 of the run. Always smiling and happy, I did see the determination kick in on the 3rd and 4th laps. when you really started focusing on the job at hand. I can say for a FACT, I have never seen anyone run that fast while holding a thermal blanket!! Proud.

Jono Considine. He's a mad man and biking machine. He's sometimes like cuddling a cactus, but under it he's one of the nicest dude's you'll meet. He didn't have a great day yesterday and unfortunlatey had to pull the pin due to an on going knee issue. However he didn't mope, he came out and supported and cheered for you all (as you probably noticed). For that we are VERY proud!!

Neil Hall, AKA Grumps according to his family. Neil put together a great day,  we didn't see any signs of his grumps and he even managed a few selfies on his last lap. Neil raced Kona last year and his IMWA effort this year was second to none. We are very proud that you stuck to the plan this time and got the job done! 


Marian Brennan, forced GK ambassador and mum to bobcat. You would have seen Mazzy dressed in a towel out on the bike and run course. Mazzy is forever giving her time to help us and our athlete's. She even helped support Kate at Ultraman this year!! Mazzy, you're crazy, but we're proud to keep your crazy company!! Thank you from us and all the GK team!
Dylan Brown, Margaret River local, 3 kids, full time job. First time Ironman athlete. We sat down with Dylan just a few days prior to race day talked through the race plan and as the day unfolded we watched him stick to that plan. With only a few "I'm hurting now" comments on lap 3 and 4 as he ran past!! You nailed it Dylan and in a GREAT time. Proud.

Lou Bishop, Coached by Ruth Chang, Lou is from Tasmania and you'll struggle to find someone more positive and friendly. Lou embarked on her IMWA journey earlier this year and throughout the race I was amazed at her positive attitude and pace even when her body decided not to play fair. Racing with bronchitis is hard core. This was Lou's comeback after fracturing her pelvis late last year. YEAH!! Proud!

Batman AKA Allan Amey. He's the run assassin !! One of our funniest athlete's, Alan always enjoys a good laugh "even mid marathon". Your positive/fun personality is infections!! The only man that remain's happy when half his body is
covered in chaffing.
Dave Bradley: Mr Muscles. I missed getting a picture of him yesterday in his Tutu and ear-rings. No joke... he had a bet with his wife Susan and like any 6 foot tall muscle mountain he agreed! Pretty sure not too many people were brave enough to give him grief about it. (Picture's to come) First thing Dave said to me was "I went out too hard". But what I was proud of was his ability to keep pushing on (at a great pace) and even laugh when he was deep in the hurt locker!! Proud! Dave, I hope you thought "at least this is easier than Norseman".
Renee Goodall, The magpie caller or deterrer? .. I only wish I could spell the call in words (think "aaayeeayayayyaya!!").  Renee Put together  a great day going faster than last year. Each Ironman is hard, but imagine doing it without really eating anything (that was Renee last year). This year was a different story with more planning and a PB. She'll be back for more even though I was told " never again". Never again only means "until next time"! Very proud.



Kate Somerville. The politest lady in Busselton. Not only did she say thank you each time we offered advice, but we were also address by name. Thank you Kate, thank you Guy. We could all learn something from Kate on how to pace and run long distance. An exceptional day over the swim bike and run. Proud!

Jarrad Bolton AKA Bolts. It's never a dull day when Jarrad's racing. he famously left all his nutrition on the fridge at 70.3 Busselton and raced on water (he still went fast)! This year at IMWA he got 3 flat tire's on the bike and still went sub 11 hours. The magic sub 10 is well within his grasp. Jarrad also has the best pain face in the business!! Although this shot was taken just a few K's from the finish so we missed it.  Very proud that despite the bike issues, you kept your head in the game!

Mick Hall dropping his coach (back right) by sticking to his plan 100%. Proud is a word we've used a lot in this blog and your performance on Sunday is one that will stay with us forever! Mick's had a few rough Ironman experiences over the last few years. But on Sunday he stuck to the plan even when he didn't want to and achieved something great. Confidence restored!! Onward and upwards Micky. Proud!
Jame's Martin. AKA Hard man. He's seriously fast and very talented. Jimmy had a series of blows leading into IMWA first his foot, then his hip. Most would have pulled the pin, but in his worlds. "It'll be alright, It won't kill me" he took on IMWA and was very successful. His first IM, sub 12 and despite having two blown out hip flexors he kept moving forward. A lot of you would have seen his running gait on Sunday and thought... "Ouch". Super Proud you got there Jimmy. Rest and recovery now!
Rae Dowling: Coached by Ruth Chang and another of our Tasmanian contingent! If you think training for IMWA in a Perth winter is bad, try Tassie! Rae trained in snow and lives 75min out of launceston... So that's a LONG commute to a swimming pool. Never once did we get a complaint (hard core). I took this photo in the last few Km's of the run and was met by an awesome person with great internal drive!! Proud!!

Paul McVey, We joke that he's the nicest guy on the planet..But really he probably is. He gives all of his attention and his knowledge. We are very lucky to have him as one of our GK Endurance coaches. Thanks Paul. Proud!! (I still want that branch)

Ruth Chang, Ruthy, RC and Super Ruth. The most educated and smartest of  the GK Crew. Although so humble that she'd hate me saying that! Ruth can fix your body like MacGyver can make a gun from a match box and a piece of cloth. Except Ruth carries a pack of needles with her!! She's been with us since day one and is forever giving her time and energy to make GKEndurance better! We're proud and lucky to have her as part of the team!! 

Kate Bevilaqua: The Queen of GK and probably the most feared person amongst the group.  Kinda weird for such a small person. She LOVES seeing you achieve your goals. Is VERY passionate about coaching and triathlon. To achieve something you thought wasn't possible is what Kate coaches for. She's so proud of all your efforts


Guy Crawford AKA Captain Awesome. What he lacks in normality he make's up for in crazy energy!! He's the mellow side of GK coaching, but equally passionate about seeing you achieve your goals!! He's so very Proud of all of you!


























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