Forster’s Paul Nixon is something of a triathlon veteran, with a wealth of experience spanning an extensive 15 year career, featuring more than a dozen grueling events.
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But, as of the recent Port Macquarie Ironman event, Paul has taken on a new challenge, the tallest of triathlon peaks; the Ironman World Championships, held in Kona, Hawaii.
“I came first in my age group at the Port event, with a time of 10:21, that placed me 98th overall,” Paul explained.
“I have qualified for Kona a few times before, but haven’t taken it on before. This year, something just clicked in my head, and I decided it was time to give it a crack.”
Paul, who owns Forster Cycles, is excited for the challenge, yet isn’t one to make a big deal of his achievements.
“I’d be happy to just sneak off and get it done without telling anyone,” he laughed.
“As with all the events I do, it’s all about the personal satisfaction.
“My goal, first and foremost with any event is to finish, anything on top of that is an added bonus, it’ll be the same with Hawaii.”
The infamous Ironman event is scheduled for October 13, and while this might seem a while away for those on the countdown to Christmas, for Paul, every day of training counts.
“My preparation will be similar to any event, with a full on 12-14 week training program with two sessions a day, but I’ll fly over a couple of weeks before the event to aclimatise and train there,” Paul said.
“The conditions over there are going to be very different to any of the events I’ve done here, a lot hotter, windy and the humidity will definitely be a big change.”
Despite the ‘all work and no play’ approach in the lead up to the big day, Paul has set aside a bit of time after the event to see the sights and recover.
“I’ve certainly booked a few extra days after the event to relax and enjoy being over there.”