North Shore Father Makes His Triathlon Return After 11 Year

North Shore Father Makes His Triathlon Return After 11 Year Absence

The final Sovereign Tri Series event of the summer at Takapuna on February 28 will be a special one for Morne Barnard. The North Shore father hasn’t done a triathlon in 11 years after he got into some trouble in the swim leg of a race in South Africa. It was his first and only Tri – but Takapuna will change all of that.

“My last attempt at a triathlon didn’t go so well. It was a running start for the swim with quite a few people. Being my first attempt at the swim, I didn’t expect such a fight at the start. I had swum about 20 metres when I got a massive kick to the jaw. I was disorientated and got pulled out of the water by the lifeguards. It was a huge disappointment for me as I had put a lot of effort into my preparation. It pretty much put me off triathlons. I haven’t done a swimming event since that day. The Takapuna Tri will be my first attempt to dip my feet back into the water.”

The Albany father of two admits the incident put him off any competitive swimming for a long time. But he did still have a strong desire to complete a triathlon.

“Every time I went to enter another triathlon, the swim stopped me from clicking the submit button. All that changed when one of the guys that I train kettlebells with, entered the Sovereign Takapuna Tri. He suggested that I should look into the race because it’s great for beginners. I checked out the course map and the swim sounded like a safer option, so I entered.”

Event Director Stuart Dwight is delighted that Morne has chosen Takapuna to make his return.

“Often it is the swim that puts people off entering a triathlon, but the Sovereign Tri Series is very much about welcoming first timers or those who might be a bit nervous about the swim. The short distance option often involves swimming in very shallow water and over a short distance, this allows beginners to race with confidence, knowing that we have a great team of surf lifesavers keeping a close watch on them, but also knowing that they can simply stop and stand up if they need a rest.

“The Takapuna course for the Sovereign Tri Series is a great one, with the full road closure, great surroundings for family and friends to enjoy watching and the chance to relax and watch the elites in their races on the same day, I just know Morne, his friends and family are going to have a great day.”

The 42-year old has been training for the Takapuna Triathlon since January. He was doing a few short sessions to lift his basic fitness level, but then he started ramping it up at the beginning of February, doing more swimming sessions and more cycling and running combo sessions.

“I have good base fitness from the gym and kettlebell training. For cycling I’ve done a few road cycles on the Long Bay cycle route, it has a lot of short, steep hills. I’ve also cycled around North Harbour Stadium with the kids (Simone 12, Krige 11) as they are entered in the short distance race. I’ve done a few runs around Albany and I did quite a bit of swimming over Auckland Anniversary weekend up at Kai Iwi Lakes and some ocean swimming at Long Bay, but limited to standing depth.”

Barnard has organised four friends to join him in the Takapuna race. They have all entered the short distance (300m swim, 7km bike, 2.8km run), as well as his kids. But he’s expecting some of them to be more competitive than others.

“It’s going to be good fun I’m hoping. If it all goes well I will most definitely look at giving another triathlon a go. I love the fact that I can share this with my kids. We can train together and it will be great to be able to compete on the same day. They are very good swimmers though, so I might have to go hard in the cycle to be able to chase their times.
“I am always looking for a challenge. Normally I am a very competitive person, but this time it’s just about finishing.”

For more information on Tri Takapuna and to enter CLICK HERE

Sovereign Tri Takapuna
The Strand, Takapuna Beach, Auckland
Sunday 28 February 2016
The battle of the beach!

It’s a full day of racing from the Splash 'n' Dash for the kids, through to the Elites competing in the Oceania Cup Race.
Whether you're a first-timer or a seasoned pro, Tri Takapuna has something for everyone:

• The Splash 'n' Dash (100m swim and 1.4km run) - for 5 to 10 year olds
• The Short Distance (300m swim, 7km bike, 2.8km run) - perfect for first timers, teams and youth
• The Sprint/Mid Distance (750m swim, 17km bike, 4.3km run)
• The Elite Sprint OTU Oceania Continental Cup Race (750m swim, 17km bike, 4.3km run)
Oceania Cup Race
The elites will battle it out over a sprint distance (slightly shorter than the traditional sprint format) on the same fully closed course later in the day in an ITU Continental Cup event with ranking points on the line. Come along and take part in an event and race distance to suit you, then kick back in one of the bars or restaurants on course and enjoy watching the elites put on a great show.

College Sport Auckland Championships
For the first time the College Sport Auckland Championships will be part of the Sovereign Tri Series Tri Takapuna. Entries to this event are through the schools, so please contact your school sports administrator to enter in these events.
The Under 19 race will also be combined with the Junior (16-19 years) Super Sprint Triathlon (National Junior Series Race 4).

Suzuki Prize Draw and Tri Series Prize Giving
And because Tri Takapuna concludes the Sovereign Tri Series, we’ll also be drawing the winner of the Suzuki Prize Draw, and announcing the Club of the Year and the Sovereign Tri Series Age Group Athlete of the Year. This event is not to be missed!

ENDS

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