Ironman faithful return for more

THEY say practice makes perfect and two Far North men could admit to knowing most that there is about the Cairns Ironman course.

Cairns’ Gary Bryant and Mareeba’s Joe Pilat are among an elite group of local athletes who have been on the start line of all four Iron-distance events held in the city since 2011, and both are back for more this month.

Perhaps gluttons for punishment, the two are expected to be among the top contenders in their age group with the 46-year-old Bryant in particular pushing for a third World Championship spot in Hawaii.

“I’d like to go there again, more so to redeem myself! I’ve had two out of two bad races on the Big Island,” he said.

“You have to put all the pieces together over a period of time, then finish it off on race day.

“It’s a long hard road to get to the start line of the Ironman, and the greatest pressure is applied from within more than anywhere else.”

The June 14 Ironman will be his seventh attempt at the full distance and he has set his sights on an impressive 9.5 hour finishing time, pushing himself through up to 23 hours of training a week.

Mareeba-based 51-year-old Pilat is a virtual veteran of the sport, with this year’s race likely to be almost the 20th Ironman he has contested around the world.

It has been 30 years since he started competing in triathlons and 24 years since his first Ironman, taking a 10-year break in between when his two daughters were born.

Having spent his early days travelling as far afield as Canada and Japan to race, he said having an event in Cairns over the last few years had been a big bonus.

“The Cairns event is pretty good ... it is at your back door,” he said.

“(My preparation) started pretty poorly, I had an injury I couldn’t get rid of, but it’s improved now and I’ll just see how it pans out.

“I won’t stop doing them (Ironman), I’ll just have to see what the family thinks.”

The Cairns Ironman and 70.3 will start at Palm Cove on June 14.