Kevin does Ironman!!

St Bart’s CFO Kevin Siah does more than crunch numbers. Outside the office, Kevin trains an average of 15 hours a week to prepare for the Ironman triathlon in Busselton on Sunday, 4^th December 2011. The event, which comprises 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42.2km run, is one of the 27 races across the world, all in the same format under the Ironman brand, owned and trademarked by World Triathlon Corporation. Each participant has a 17 hour cut-off in order to be eligible to be called an ‘Ironman’.

Busselton is becoming an annual pilgrimage for me. Each year I ask, ‘Why do I put myself through such pain and torture?’ but I find myself at the start line again the following year. The swim takes place at the iconic Busselton Jetty. Participants swim a loop out to the end of the jetty and return on the western side of the jetty. The jetty refurbishment works that took place earlier this year, allowed spectators to view us swimming from the jetty itself.

The currents were pretty strong this year and I was pushed away from the jetty on the return lap. On to the bike, what seemed like a relatively calm morning had turned into turbulent winds, which proved quite challenging as we rode out. Jason Shortis, the course record holder and has taken part in this event many years, mentioned in his interview that this is the toughest wind conditions he had ever experienced in this race.

If there was anything that I would have benefited from my new training regime this year under a new coach, it was the run. My legs felt surprisingly fresh after the long day. The sun was in all its glory as it was already midday, but the support from the crowd was amazing. The local residents set up tents outside their lawn, blaring music and even sprayed us with their garden hose to cool us down.

I finished in 10 hours 24 minutes, more than 70 minutes quicker than last year. I came in 9^th in my age group and 155^th overall out of 1,360 participants. I was ecstatic as I ran down the finishing chute in the centre of town with the crowd cheering and my fiancé standing in the crowd, and crossed the arch with plenty of emotions.

Looking forward to experiencing it all over again next year!