It was the Labor Day long weekend in Victoria and it was fitting that the MEC crew racing were indeed racing long.
The Ironmum made her way to the high country for what would be the test of how she is travelling and a personal challenge in competing in the Australian Alpine Ascent triathlon. A 3k swim in lake Jindabyne followed by 113k’s in the saddle with 2400m + of climbing and finishing off with a half marathon with the turn around being the highest point in Australia, Mt Kosciusko mad for an honest day. Nac has not being shying away from her swimming of late and while Saturday wasn’t one of the flashes of form she has shown in the water she is piecing it together more consistently. On the bike is where she is at home and when she was spotted 8k from T2 she was looking as strong as ever. Her run showed that she handled the tough course well and had her coming home strong and taking 2nd female overall in the event and collecting herself some hardware. Still plenty of work to be done between now and her next race but it is clear how much Nac has grown as an athlete and is going from strength to strength.
John Winterburn took on the infamous ‘3 peaks’ ride that makes its way over Towaonga Gap, Mt Hotham and the back of Falls Creek. With Ultraman nearing there were plenty of sideways looks at John as he completed the 230k 4500m of climbing course on his time trial bike however any doubters of his ability were quietened with a 2.5hr improvement on last years time and cracking his sub 11hr goal time. A front of Falls Creek climb the day before the event meant the weekend was a great run through for Johns main focus in Noosa in May.
Sam Elliot was back in his motherland of South Africa for the Cape Town Cycle Tour. The event was called off last year due to dangerous weather conditions and Sam was out to crack the 3hr mark for the 108km course. He timed it to perfection reaching the finishing line in 2hrs 59min.
Sarah Hardy pieced together a great race at Mooloolaba for the Australian Standard Distance Championships. This was her first test back against strong competition and she held her own on the day. This race was Sarah's first 10k continuous run since coming back from injury so confidence in her body is returning day by day. A final race in St Kilda next month to collect some more WC points and then we see where the final points tally positions her.
It was also a great weekend at camp for a dozen of the MEC crew who based out of Jindabyne for a great long weekend of training in great surroundings and good company.
