Ironman Currie having another crack at Kona
New Zealander Braden Currie’s determination to win the world Ironman title in Kona on Hawaii tomorrow is stronger than ever.
The Wanaka-based Currie finished fifth at his second attempt racing Kona 2018 and while there were disappointing elements to that effort he looks back on it as a fair result.
‘’I wouldn’t be coming back this year if I didn’t believe I could win. But I’m still proud of that fifth.’’
Currie qualified for Kona by retaining his Ironman Asia-Pacific title at Cairns in June.
The 33-year-old will arrive at the start line with changes in place in the hope of taking a giant leap forward and ending a five-year lock German athletes have had on the men’s title, courtesy of Sebastian Kienle (2014), Jan Frodeno (2015,
2016) and Patrick Lange (2017, 2018). Lange set the race record last year for the epic distance triathlon where competitors swim 3.862kms, cycle 180km and finish with a marathon 42.2km.
Currie tuned up for Kona with victory in the Ironman 70.3 on Australia’s Sunshine Coast last month (September), clocking 3:44.48 including a personal best run leg of
1:10.57.
This year he opted not to return for events in the Philippines and the
70.3 Worlds in South Africa, having found himself ‘’pretty much wiped out’’ after them last year.
Cutting down on air miles is another associated upside, he believes, taking away the debilitating effects of long haul travel, and the accompanying strains it puts on training.
‘‘We’ve taken a little step back from racing this year so that the build to Kona was a lot smoother. ‘‘We based ourselves in Noosa again and the less travel to events has resulted in more consistent and longer training blocks.’’
The Sunshine Coast event, was just down the road from his Queensland base at Noosa. Everything has been planned with Kona in mind, including the strategic late arrival to the island.
‘‘We’ve come to the island a bit later; this allows me to have really good quality training right up to my taper.
‘‘Last year I came earlier and found it was hard to get the training done in this environment and I lost some of my top end fitness in the weeks leading into Kona."
One of Currie’s biggest focuses has been on race nutrition, working out how many carbohydrates his body can tolerate during the race, and hydration.
‘‘(Last year) I know there’s things I did wrong. I ended up on a drip straight after the race to pump nearly 4 L of water into me and bring me back.
‘‘There were nutrition and hydration mistakes and that’s what bit me at the end of the day. I’ve made changes already and I will be really conscious of how I manage hydration this year.’’
A former Coast-to Coast champion, Currie wholeheartedly believes his biggest evolution in the short 21⁄2 years he’s been racing Ironman is commitment.
‘‘I love racing the world’s best. I’m in as good a shape as I’ve ever been physically and mentally. I now understand the brutality of the Kona environment, after a few hard lessons in years gone by and I’ve come to enjoy the race for its challenges. Just don’t let me die out there.’’
Mike Phillips, the New Zealand ironman champion this year from Canterbury, also hopes to feature.