Dreaming big
Horsham triathlete Kelly Miller went from a breakthrough ironman win in 2019 to competing on the world stage at events in Hawaii and the south of France.
Full of excitement, possibilities and a commitment to endless hours of training in water, on bike and on foot, Miller was embracing all the sport had to offer. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Like so many sportsmen and women – amateur or professional – Miller’s best-laid plans were soon dashed.
She was due to compete in Ironman Australia’s Port Macquarie race in New South Wales on September 5, however, event organisers have announced the event will not proceed as planned, following an extension to a lockdown of Greater Sydney.
This was not the first time Miller’s plans to compete in ‘Port Mac’ had been thwarted, with last year’s event, scheduled for May, also cancelled due to the pandemic.
“Because of COVID they postponed it to September – and that didn’t happen either,” Miller said.
“So I thought I’d race in May this year, and then due to the flooding – it wasn’t even COVID – Port Mac got cancelled.”
With the event rescheduled for September this year, Miller thought she would try her luck again.
In the meantime, she was able to transfer her entry to Ironman Cairns in Queensland.
“That event actually went ahead, but it was on June 6 and that’s when we had our snap lockdown,” Miller said. “So I missed that one too.” Given the ‘snap’ nature of the lockdown, Miller was physically primed for the event, which involved a 3.8-kilometre swim, 180km bike ride and a marathon – 42.2km – run. The Cairns event also acts as the Asia-pacific Championship, with qualifying slots for next year’s Ironman World Championship in Hawaii up for grabs.
“I had completed all my training, I was on my taper week, four or five days out from the race when Victoria went into lockdown,” she said.
“I’d trained really hard for Cairns and the race still went ahead, but without Victorians, who couldn’t get there.
“A few of my team-mates left early, they crossed the border, but I couldn’t make it.”
With the Cairns event out of reach, Miller started plotting a plan C.
“I thought, I’ve still got all this work and my legs and my training – what am I going to do?” she said.
“When Port Mac cancelled back in May, I thought, do I have a rest and do the race in September or do I try for Cairns?
“I thought I’d try for Cairns and then that got cancelled, so I thought I’d do plan B and do Port Mac in September.
“Now with the outbreak, that’s been cancelled.
“It’s frustrating. I’ve been able to cope with this one better than the Cairns one, I guess. The Cairns one, I was so close, but I’m really happy ironman made the call six weeks out.
“I was just starting to build my training, but now we’ve been given the notice, it’s not so bad.”
Miller will continue her daily training program, under guidance from her coach, to maintain her fitness while she decides on her next course of action.
She is considering a half-ironman in Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast in September, which she expects will be a last-minute decision based on restrictions at the time.
“I’ll see what’s happening the week before and if Victorians can get to
Queensland then I might just book a ticket and go,” she said.
“I feel like I’ve got enough training under my belt that I could do that.”
Her ‘big hope’ is an Ironman Western Australia event in Busselton on December 5.
“I’ve signed up for that one, so if sunny coast in September doesn’t happen then I’ll just be doing another ironman build for December,” Miller said.
“I haven’t raced since Hawaii, but I’ve been training the whole time. I will keep trying until I get there.”
Running bug
Miller, 41, a mother of three, grew up with an interest in sport but concedes she was not ‘overly sporty’.
“As a little tacker I was six when I was in the Horsham swimming club, so I used to do the Wimmera champs and do the racing,” she said.
“I played table tennis for Victoria and I did a little bit of cross country at school, but I wasn’t overly sporty.”
She was bitten by the running bug after participating in a Mother’s Day Classic run in Horsham.
“It was eight kilometres and I don’t think I’d run further than five or six,”
Miller said. “I thought I’d give it a go and I ran the eight kilometres. Then I ran into Mark Pumpa and he was like, ‘Come run with the running group’, and I thought, I can’t, they’re the elite.
“Anyway, I started running with them and then thought I could do a half-marathon run. So I did that, then I did a marathon.”
Miller completed a few marathons and then gave the Horsham triathlon a whirl. “I really liked it,” she said. “I did the short course and then the next year I did the long course. Then I thought maybe I could do a half-ironman in Geelong with a few Horsham people.
“I went down there and thoroughly enjoyed it. Then I had a go at the ironman Australia at Port Macquarie and then the following year I did one in Ballarat and qualified for the world champs in Chattanooga in America.
“I went to that and just thought, I want to keep doing this. My aim was to try to get better. I’m more interested in that than competing against others.”
Miller’s ‘breakthrough’ win was at Port Macquarie in 2019.
She won her overall age group, 4045, earning her a spot at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.
“My best achievement was the ironman world champs in Kona, where I placed sixth in my age group,” Miller said.
“It was a big dream to get to Kona because you have to win an ironman to qualify for the world champs.
“That was October 9, 2019 and at the start of September the same year I raced the half-ironman in Nice in France, which was amazing.
“Combining my love of triathlon and travel, it’s been a dream, really.”
Miller’s career as a travel agent has also been affected by the pandemic and restrictions on travel. “It’s been really tricky,” she said. “It’s sad – really devastating. But it is what it is. Now because of the travel agency being closed, I’m in fitness, working at the YMCA.”
Miller juggles work and home life along with her busy training schedule.
“I have to be careful to keep a good balance,” she said.
“But I do enjoy the training – sometimes the training is just as rewarding as the actual event.”