Hi there

Well I can finally rest and recovery after what was another tough New Zealand Ironman. I had a fantastic build up and we have had another great kiwi summer, so this made things a little easier in regards to the big training days before the race.

Race day dawned overcast, but calm and we had another near perfect swim. It was a little dark for the start as the Pros headed off on the 3.8km lake swim 15 minutes ahead of the age groupers at 6:45am, but it wasn't long before the skies brightened. I had a great swim coming out in the lead pack, with only Brent Foster ahead of us. All the main contenders: Terenzo Bozzone, Dirk Bockel, Jan Raphael and Stephen Bayliss were alongside me.

The bike leg was fairly comfortable for the first 90 km, there were a few passing showers to contend with, but little wind which was a welcomed relief. Just before the last turn around (135 km) Bockel opened a gap and and was starting to put the hammer down to try and get a big lead going onto the run leg. I had also managed to get a slight gap on the rest of the group, which was now splitting up after some five hours of racing.

Bockel came into transition with a 4m:50s lead on me with Bozzone a further minute back. I started the run at a good tempo, but through the first few kilometres I wasn't making any significant gains on Dirk. After 7 kms I started pulling in his lead and by 21 km the difference was only 1m:15s. At the 26km mark I was finally able to pass him and establish a comfortable lead of my own.

The last few kilometres in Taupo are truly amazing and Saturday was no exception. Thousands of spectators lined the roads and I tried to really enjoy those last 3 kms, soaking in the atmosphere and high-fiving my way to win number 8. It was very special and was also a world record for most wins in a single Ironman event. To top it off, I was able to break my own course record with my fastest ever marathon, at a respectable 2h:43m!

Now it's time to recover before I start training again for the northern hemisphere season, which will culminate with the Hawaii Ironman in October.

Thank you once again for all your support.

Cameron Brown

Below is video news footage of the race and some articles