the big thing that we all search for in
sport is finding the ultimate challenge
toner is the pinnacle of endurance sport
you have to be the best of the best to
face theory it's a race that chews
people up you've got to be in the
ultimate condition and have the perfect
day of racing
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
Kona's definitely in the biggest race of
my life I've raced off-road World
Championships before and multi-sport
World Champs before but what it takes to
even just qualify to valve to do this
race there's a huge task in its own but
to be able to put myself in the
situation where I get to compete against
the world's best on one of the biggest
world stages that's what I thrive for I
definitely believe that my background of
adventure racing it has led me to think
in quite a different way to a lot of
Ironman athletes I'm always kind of
searching for different ways of doing
things what he's done to turn himself
inside out to win races is a very very
unique quality people who know the sport
see him as a wild card and he's seen as
a wild card for a very good reason
people are fearful of racing him he
races in a way that is not traditional
giant-man racing
I always kind of thought Iron Man would
be a distance that potentially ilex our
way so to turn up at Ironman New Zealand
and doesn't manage to come away with the
pretty convincing when was this an
amazing result and pre that Kona was
probably on the radar within the next
five years with the successor Ironman
E&Z it's definitely jump forward a few
years and given me a great opportunity
to get a taste of it
[Applause]
[Music]
it's five weeks solid and to training
now and I haven't had a break since I
started so the motivation it takes is
huge and their reward you do get from
winning some of those big races is
amazing but it is one day out of
potentially three or four months day-in
day-out of work
Skol never really worked for me I was
diagnosed as dyslexic when I was 12 I
couldn't write I couldn't spell and
really struggled at reading and I kind
of made my own way I can get away with
the ability that I have to survive and
do what I really enjoy doing and
following my passions has led to a
pretty amazing life for me
triathlon Ironman is a sport that I can
fully hundred-percent apply myself to
and I get a lot from having their
motivation and that stimulation to
achieve my goals
I feel as bad as I've ever been you know
work so hard for it in the last sort of
nine months now
not too fast just settle it down a
little bit
those nerves start building and their
pressure definitely starts weighing on
you for me I know that I love racing and
I know that once I'm out there that and
the racer with them they will come out
[Music]
now balancing those levels of excitement
and nerves and trying to draw on
everything you can to bring on the best
race
[Music]
man it's amazing it's a really hostile
environment I think a lot of people can
be really intimidated by at all in the
competition's brutal here it's
definitely the deepest field that you'll
come across in the world for them and
and if you have an off day then you're
not gonna be anywhere near the race
last night I decided to take my suntan
out for a swim on the way back in put my
foot down and managed to stand on a sea
urchin and get a bunch of spines and the
sole of my foot I was lucky enough to
get into a pretty good doctor and his
thoughts was you're looking at sort of
four or five days for the spines to
actually have grown out it's pretty
frustrating and I tell you it's pretty
hard to have a positive mind frame at
the moment but I'm just hoping that I've
got you know two and a half days still
up my sleeve and that but time race day
comes that I should be able to manage it
and tolerate it on the racecourse
[Music]
fifty-five of the world's best Miller
fleets are underway with a 2017 Ironman
World Championship the swimming was
going really well I was in a really good
place I had good feet to follow and I
felt like I was really comfortable
a couple of the guys at the front really
picked up the tempo to try and spread
that front bunch out but I was happy to
come out of the water in that group had
a great transition and got out onto the
bike then I managed to work myself up
till third I was at that point of time
when I decided that I'd go around and
get onto the front of the race the heat
is just about the stuff sweltering vanam
Braden curry continues the chase toward
enverga
pretty amazing moment being surrounded
by all these guys that are royalty in
the sport and looking back and I follow
in my tempo and at the same time I felt
like I was really really comfortable
reading for
his tail off he is really pushing and I
would speculate he's putting that gap
into exactly he's getting away
he stepped on some coral the other day
so he hasn't run in the last couple days
so we'll have to see how that goes
things were going really well it wasn't
too much longer after that when I
started feeling my back we all sliding
out on me it looks like bread and curry
has a flat tire this is nothing you like
to see
you just hope for you best stay out and
and this is a part of the plan it's not
part of anyone's plan I got going again
I was done pretty well when I managed to
just about bridge back up to the front
group again when I saw that I had a
penalty
pretty much worst-case scenario yeah we
pretty gutted it looks like he's dropped
about seven minutes let's just hope he
doesn't lose her face because the
runners are strongest League and he
won't give up he'll he'll fight till the
very end
[Music]
[Applause]
it's pretty character building day out
there to be honest
that's okay today like I kind of just
made the call to go our bagger I'll go
to the front and I'll just do the work
because the last thing I want is a
penalty and then I got a flat tire and
then I thought that's pretty angry and I
just sunk myself actually and for about
the ADK I wrote as hard as I could and
that was pretty much my day I just say
myself Peter deep trying to chase people
and I would love to have pulled out but
I just felt like it was just that a life
that I had to go through so I made to
the finish and it's always next year I
guess
I think every experience that we have
probably as human beings it makes us who
we are and it's always character
building no matter what and the biggest
things I'll take away from this is the
dedication that I gave it as an athlete
you can see yourself develop and get
better and get faster and get better and
get leaner and I did all that as fast
and as fit as I've ever been so it took
this kind of challenge to get me to that
place and I'll forever be thankful I did
it and I definitely won't ever regret it
[Music]