On Sunday 28th March 2010, in the balmy waters off the New South Wales coastline, FM Environmental’s Kevin Fitzpatrick took the plunge for the start of his third long-distance triathlon challenge, Ironman Australia. Having already completed Ironman races in France and Lanzarote, Kevin was going for a personal best time in almost ideal warm-weather conditions.
The Ironman is triathlon’s toughest endurance test combining a 2.4 mile swim with a 112 mile bike and ending with a full 26 mile marathon. The mass swim start is one of the most exciting spectacles in sport with around 1500 competitors turning tranquil ocean waters into a threshing frenzy of arms and legs.
Australia’s Port Macquarie was the picturesque setting for the 25th anniversary of Ironman Australia and even at 6.30am the town was packed with spectators many of whom would still be there 17 hours later when the race officially ended.
Kevin completed the swim in a personal best time of 1 hour 11 minutes and was enjoying a fast bike leg until strong winds picked up near the latter stages. His 6 hours 47 minutes was a solitary minute quicker than his 6:48 two years ago in France.
By the time he started the marathon the temperature had risen to 30 degrees and many of the competitors were beginning to feel the effects of a long day in the sun. The run had some steep and testing climbs but with dusk falling early in the Australian autumn the day eventually started to cool off. Kevin completed the marathon in 4 hours 36 minutes giving him an overall time of 12:47, nearly half an hour faster than his previous best time in France.
“I was thrilled to get under 13 hours and improve my time. It was a tough course but conditions were excellent, apart from a strong wind during the bike. The support from the locals was amazing with people partying and barbequing along the entire course!” remarked Kevin.
Kevin squeezed his Ironman adventure in between business meetings in Sydney and Melbourne where FM Environmental export their range of wastewater treatment products. He is grateful to the Company for their support and looks forward to flying the FM Ironman flag in another corner of the world next year!
Kevin’ Times:
Swim: 1:11:11
Bike: 6:47:06
Run: 4:36:34
T1: Swim to bike: 7:23
T2: Bike to run: 5:13