Almost everyone I have met in the last 10 years of my life has
called me crazy at least once, and one of my friends only refers to me as
“Krazy Kiwi”. So I thought it was time
to share the craziness, and in doing so, amuse, entertain, inspire or empower
people by demonstrating that, with the right amount of hard work, even the things
that seem impossibly crazy are indeed possible!
Many crazy adventures have gone before, but the current crazy
adventure is the “Decatriathlon World Challenge”, a race being held in
Monterrey Mexico from 22nd October 2012 – 5th November
2012. This race is ten times the
distance of a standard ironman
triathlon, so 38km swim, 1800km bike ride and finished up with a 422km
run! It’s hard to imagine a race of that
distance (even for me), but those distances are roughly equivalent of swimming
from the Auckland Viaduct to Waiheke island and back, getting on a bike and
riding down to Invercargill via the west coast, and then turning around and running
up to Timaru (and a little further).
Usually by this time in the conversation people will have already told
me that they think I am crazy, and if not, the next bit certainly does – the
swim will be in a 50m pool while the bike and run will be completed by riding
and running on a 1km loop!!!
Is it physically and mentally possible to complete this race in
under the 14 day time limit? Well a
small handful of people in the world have finished, so it must be possible. But
can I do it? I believe I can. It’s a
huge goal, not only physically and mentally, but also logistically. But part of
the reason that I undertake these crazy goals (which include Double and Triple
Irontriathlons, Taupo MaxiEnduro bike race, and a PhD in molecular biology) is
to work out HOW to do it – mentally, physically, and logistically.
This blog will not only track my progress in getting to and
competing in the race (as well as live race updates), but I’ll also share with
you how my life as a scientist is intricately important in my life as an
ultradistance athlete and as an inspirational speaker. I plan on sharing my aspirations,
inspirations, and motivations. Who knows, I may even surprise people by showing
them how normal I am – even though I most definitely do crazy things!
