Category Archives: Triathlon

TRIATHLON – April 6th – ITU World Series, Auckland, New Zealand

Different sporting events seem to follow me around rather than vice versa. On my last day in Auckland there just happened to be the first round of the World Triathlon Series. Amazing – but to those that really know me they would think “no surprise!!!!” Triathlon is not my ideal kind of threesome, but that’s another kettle of fish completely. It is however full of world class athletes and seeing as this is part of the World Series, most of the world’s best are at this event. The deep-seated question is though; are these the best in the world or are they just not at elite level at 3 different sports but have unbelievable endurance?

I guess that’s one for the purists – but if you are doing a 1.5km open water swim, a 40km bike ride followed by a 10km run all in one go then perhaps they are elite level masochists instead. It is said that triathlons don’t build character, they reveal it. And the less said about Ironman events the better! A 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride followed by a marathon run (26 miles) – this taking a mere EIGHT hours to complete for the elite guys. Whatever mentalist thought this event was a good idea really does need sanctioning!!!! And in researching this, I inadvertently found out why they do the swim leg first – if you stop running, you can walk; if you stop pedaling, you can freewheel or coast; but if you stop swimming………. glug, glug, glug….

If God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, triathlons must have taken Him completely by surprise.

If triathlons were easy, they’d be called your mum!

What I have discovered in the past is that a triathlon is bloody hard to follow if you are a spectator, unless you do it like Auckland does it. The hosts closed off the city centre lock, stock and barrel. They use the harbour for the swim and the CDB streets for the bike and run legs. None of the action is too far away and you can effectively catch and follow the race without too much difficulty. The start of the race is pretty spectacular too. 67 competitors spread across a pontoon all dive into the water at the same time.

The men’s winner completed the course in 1hr 54mins. The swim takes around 18 mins, just over an hour on the bike and just over half an hour for the run. I was amazed at how far the guys swam just to warm up – probably half a mile or so – just to warm up! There was a really good crowd in for the start of the race who stayed until the end of the transition between the swim and the bike leg. The transition area is possibly the best hive of activity for spectators, but as soon as that was over, they soon dispersed into the city streets as there were a large number of really good vantage spots around the course for the other disciplines.

The bike course even had a few short, sharp hills to test the competitors too, although the run was flat. You are able to get up real close to the competitors and during the runs, you could see that their bodies were hurting. Some of the runners genuinely looked like me trying to drag my sorry butt round on a normal jog. The only difference being they had already done an hour and a half’s worth of swimming and riding, and I would be just at the end of my road!

What is truly a complement to the sport was that in the women’s race there were 9 different Nationalities in the Top 10 – and there were 2 Brits on the podium too!! There were 6 in the men’s race; where Aussies finished 3rd, 4th and 5th, all within 10 seconds of each other too. This race also doubled up as a Commonwealth Games qualifier for the Aussies and Kiwis so there was a lot riding (no pun intended) on it for them. The top Kiwis finished in 6th place in both the men’s and women’s races. After flogging yourself for 2 hours, what is the prize? A trip to Glasgow…… Second prize, two trips to Glasgow…

All in all, it was quite a nice way to pass a day. The weather was good, the course was quite tight through Auckland’s CBD, so that you were never too far away from any action and you couldn’t possibly get lost. There was a sizeable crowd that were always encouraging. And if you did get bored, you could always pop into the shops to break it up. It was good to see an event that was so well planned and ably managed.

Speaking as an International marketer, Barfoot & Thompson would have shelled out a pretty penny to be the naming rights sponsor of this event. Quite how they got or will get value for money intrigues me no end. I’m guessing that they are very keen triathletes themselves, but they would be marketing to a fairly specialist group. Don’t get me wrong, their branding is everywhere, and even I now know that they are New Zealand’s largest privately owned and Auckland’s leading real estate company – thus, in a sample of one; if brand awareness was their target, then they have succeeded in their goal. I am just intrigued how a triathlon event sponsorship fits within their marketing budget and what they would hope to return from it. Going back to an age old adage though – “without publicity there is no prosperity!” – I suppose it’s all about exposure – and the prestige of presenting the medals!