NELSON Bay triathlete Pat Hay is one week away from facing one of the toughest endurance races in the world – the Ironman World Championship.
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Hay flew out of Australia for Hawaii, where the championship has been held for close to 40 years, on Thursday.
The primary school teacher, aged 33, qualified for the championship after placing second in his age group at the Port Macquarie Ironman in May.
It was his third ever Ironman event.
When the Examiner spoke with Hay in May, he said qualifying for the championship was indescribable.
“One of the last times I was chatting with her [mum] she told me to chase my dreams,” Hay said at the time.
“It’s what got me back into triathlons. Words can’t describe what it means for me to get here.”
Hay did his last training session at Top Coach Functional Fitness in Taylors Beach on Wednesday.
“I can't thank Chris and the team enough for pushing me so hard over the past year and for keeping me injury free,” Hay posted on his Facebook page, Ironman - my husbands journey.
“Words can't express the gratitude I have for giving me the chance to achieve my goals.”
Considered the toughest one-day endurance sporting event in the world, the championship consists of a 3.8km swim, 180km ride and a 42.2km marathon across the balmy Hawaiian landscape.
The inaugural Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon was held in 1978, which attracted a field of 15.
Honolulu-based Navy couple Judy and John Collins proposed combining the three toughest endurance races in Hawaii – the 2.4-mile Waikiki rough water swim, 112 miles of the around O’ahu bike race and the 26.2-mile Honolulu marathon – into one event.
In 1981, the race moved from the tranquil shores of Waikiki to the barren lava fields of Kona on the big island of Hawaii.
More than 80,000 athletes compete at 40 Ironman events held across the world for the right to be one of the 2000 athletes who take on the championship event.
Hay will be joined in Hawaii by his wife, Rebecca, and two young sons.
He will race in the championship on October 8.
EARLIER, May 17:
OCTOBER will be an important month for Pat Hay.
Hay, from Nelson Bay, will mark the anniversary of his mother’s death while living out his dream of competing in the Ironman world championship.
“One of the last times I was chatting with her [mum] she told me to chase my dreams,” Hay said. “It’s what got me back into triathlons. Words can’t describe what it means for me to get here.”
Hay, a teacher at St Michael’s Primary School, has been a long distance runner all his life. A significant injury at 21 years old, plus starting a family with wife Rebecca, put a hold on running for five years.
He started competing in triathlons again at 26, and, now 33, has worked up to the Ironman distances – a 3.8 kilometre swim, 180km bike ride and 42.2km run.
“The run is my strongest leg, but also the toughest,” Hay said. “It’s after the bike ride and your legs are hammered. The swim is my weakest leg.”
To improve on his weakest discipline, Hay sought help from Kelly’s Swim Academy at Horizons Golf Resort. He also trains with Top Coach Functional Fitness, who sponsor him.
The hard work has paid off for Hay who placed second in his age group, the men’s 30-34 years’, at the Port Macquarie Ironman on May 1.
It was Hay’s third Ironman, which he finished in a time of 9 hours 28 minutes. The placing has secured Hay a spot at the Ironman world championship, which will be held in Hawaii – home of the Ironman – on October 8.
“It’s the pinnacle of the sport,” Hay said.
Hay trains about 20 hours a week, before his two young boys wake up in the morning and after they go to bed, but will look to make it 30 hours in the lead up to the world championship.
Nutrition and the heat are two areas Hay will be working on before he and his family head to Hawaii.
“I hit a wall pretty hard Port Macquarie, I had to walk some of it,” Hay said. “So, I’d like to practice nutrition before I go. They say there’s three disciplines in a marathon but really there’s five: bike, swim, run, transitions and nutrition.
“I’m setting up the bike on an indoor trainer with a little heater infront of me. I’ll try and do some training in a sauna at one of the hotel’s around. Everything is completely unknown. It’s scary and exciting.”
Follow Hay’s story on Facebook: Ironman - my husbands journey.