Geelong athletes blitz in China

Aussie Bodies' sponsored athlete Belinda Harrison and Geelong High Performance Triathlon Program athlete Renee Lane have recently returned from China very pleased with their individual successes, ending the 2007/2008 triathlon season.

Renee Lane was tackling the China Ironman 70.3 race in extremely hot conditions and wind. The first female out of the water after the swim, she continued her 1st place position into the bike leg, at which stage it was already 39 degrees with 80 percent humidity! Attempting to keep her body as cool as possible during the last stage – the run, Renee was the first woman to cross the finish line, feeling relieved, dehydrated, sun-burnt, exhausted but elated. This result was a dream come true for Renee and qualifies her into the Forster Grant World 70.3 Championships as an elite athlete, in November.

Belinda Harrison also enjoyed her best result in an Ironman so far, during Ironman China (in Female Elite). She reports:

"All race preparations were going very well apart from a typhoon that hit the island two days prior to the race! I wasn't going to let a natural disaster stop me as I was well rested, tapered and ready to hit the start line. After a tense few days of waiting to see the weather report, the typhoon had cleared and race day would go ahead as planned.
 
The swim was two 1.9km loops. I was in a pack of swimmers including two other pro women. I exited the water at a cracking pace to gain some ground on the other competitors, sitting in 6th place, and after a quick transition it was onto the bike. The bike course was two 90km loops and I had gone over the course prior to the race. The majority of the bike course was open highway with good road surface with a section that took us through a market village with a gradual climb. Very interesting indeed with plenty of supportive spectators, who didn't speak a word of English! Race day presented one tough ride with head winds and unforgiving heat. The aid stations were always welcomed and a real comfort to all athletes. I had maintained my 6th position on the bike and at the turn around points on the course I could see by the second lap that I had made some ground on the bike and was in good contention for a top five place heading onto the run.
 
I entered the transition to prepare for the run. By this stage the conditions were brutally hot and humid and I knew that this race would come down to who was prepared to run the whole marathon, it would be a race of attrition. I knew my heart and my head would not fail me, however, nutrition and keeping my core temperature down were two important factors that would keep me in the race. For the first time ever I walked through the aid stations grabbing ice cold sponges, oranges, coke and anything to keep myself going strong. By the 18km mark I had ran myself into 4th position. The first 30km consisted of 3 laps of the same 10km stretch of hard concrete, unsheltered footpath. With the last 12km taking me over a bridge (felt like Melbourne's Westgate Bridge at the time) towards the finish line. Once on the bridge I knew my 4th place was secure and I gave that marathon everything I had, especially the last 10km when I kept chasing my few competitors ahead. Anything can happen in that last few km's of an Ironman and I truly gave this race all the determination and desire it deserved. It was a beautiful moment to stop at the end of a gruelling day and very rewarding to say the least!
 
I crossed the finish line absolutely elated with my 4th place. My time was 10hrs 48minutes, much slower than the time anticipated but relative to the times overall. I spent some time on the stretcher bed cooling down with ice bags and then headed up the stairs in slow motion for a light massage. I was rewarded with a pro slot to the Hawaii Ironman World Championships in October this year. This is an opportunity to race the world's best Ironman athletes. I relish the thought and look forward to the training and preparation that I will undertake this year to further develop myself as an Ironman specialist".

Aussie Bodies look forward to following both Renee and Belinda's athletic careers later this year, and are extremely pleased for both of them, given these outstanding efforts and results… very well deserved! 

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