Tim Berkel

It’s been a beautiful summer here in Boulder CO – and an excellent chance to train with my friends. Now it’s to time to pack it all up and head back to Port Macquarie Australia to prepare for one of my favourite events of the year. The Gold Coast Half-Ironman will take place on Sunday, October 3rd at Calypso Bay in Brisbane. It will be a race to remember.

Boulder is such a fantastic place to train, and it’s a bit of a shame I have to leave (although It’ll be great to see my family). You get the high altitude exertion and a fun community with lots of friends who lead very active lifestyles. I spent most of the summer hanging out with Tyler Butterfield, Matty White, James Hadley, Matty Reed, Joe Gambles, Mitchy Robins, Tim Reed, and Adam Hoborow. You guys are the best, and I’m sure we’ll keep crossing paths.

What a rush these last few months have been. I still can’t believe I made away with the [intlink id="456" type="post"]Copenhagen win[/intlink]. It’s really exciting because it’s going to set me up pretty good for next year. And what a fun competition. You almost never see an Ironman that goes through a city, with one monument right after the next. Team Challenge did an awesome job of making us feel relaxed and at home. I rarely go to an [intlink id="21" type="category"]Ironman[/intlink] where I get to let down my hair and party like a rock star afterwards. I’m definitely looking forward to this competition next year!

So after about a month and a half in Australia, I’ll be back in the United States for the World Championship 70.3 Ironman in Clearwater Florida. It’ll be nice to get a bit of a recharge back home before tackling this race. I can’t wait to take my bike into Gordon Street Cycles to get it tuned. I’ve noticed it hasn’t been running quite the same, and they always do a banger of a job. I can’t thank them enough for what they do.

If all goes well, I’ll get my 2011 Canondale Slice in time for the Clearwater race. The Slice has a whole new design this year, and it’s performing better than ever. I would say my win in Copenhagen had a lot to do with this bike. My best mates were getting punctured tires, and I somehow made it through. But what can I say? I’m a sucker for that new bike smell.

I love this time of year. I travel so much I barely get a chance to be in a place I can call home. If you’re going to be in the Port Macquarie area, I’m sure I’ll run into you.

Here’s to seeing you on the other side of the world!

After what was a long week leading up to the race, Sunday the 6th of April finally rolled around, and despite the ominous weather I was geared up and ready to race. The rain cleared just as the cannon marked the start of the swim, and I managed to pull out an okay first leg, coming out of the water 7th in 51.30.

I jumped on my new Cannondale Slice, and what a difference a light carbon frame makes over the rolling hills.  I rode the first 25 km solo before getting caught by Mitch Anderson, Nathan Stuart, Matt White, along with training partner and fellow Port Macquarie Triathlete, Adam Holborrow. We then picked up Luke Bell on the 2nd lap.

The bike went well, although the rain returned this time accompanied by a strong southerly, and I was focusing on keeping up my nutrition, which let me down last year.  I was stocked with Powerbar Gels and Bars and kept up with the fluids so that I would not be depleted to start my Marathon.

By the last lap there were three of us left.  Nathan Stewart, Matt White & myself were still riding together, but Luke and Adam had dropped back, and in a show of power, Mitch rode off the front of us, and I felt it was wiser to hold back rather than wasting my legs, just to keep up with Mitch. I came off the bike in 6th in a time of 4:56 feeling really good for the marathon, and having a newfound confidence in this last leg after considerable work on my marathon over the last few months.
I whacked on my Newtons, which are like running on a cloud.  I’ve been using the Newtons for several months now, and I can really feel an improvement in my running, and my legs feel much fresher during long training runs.  My transition went quick and even though we all entered T2 together, I ran out with about a 200 metre lead over the other two boys, which were never really a threat after that.

Starting the run I was over 13 minutes behind the race leader Luke McKenzie, and Switzerland’s Mathias Hecht was 12:35 ahead, with Mitch Anderson in third (and still 10:46 ahead).  My closest competitor was Patrick Vernay, who was only 7:42 ahead, but I knew he was strong in the run.

I had a great run and my legs were feeling great.  The local support along the way, which was just amazing and I was getting splits along the way. On a three-lap course I could see myself getting closer to the leaders, but Vernay was also plowing through the field so my targets kept changing.  I was adding space to the guys behind me, and I could see McKenzie and Hecht coming into my sights.  I moved into 4th with 3km to go, picking up Mackenzie, however with about 2km (and Hecht within striking distance), I blew up.

I felt like I was walking and even stopped at the special needs station to get a can of Red Bull I had stashed for an emergency.  I was only about 400 metres from the finish line, but I skulled half the can, and was able to make it home in 4th with a 2:55:49 marathon, the second fastest run of the day behind Vernay, who ran 2:50:44.  In fact it was only Vernay and me that posted a sub 3-hour marathon, so I am proud of that accomplishment.

Coming down the finish shoot, I was totally over the moon to come 4th in my hometown, shaving 13mins off last year’s 7th place with an overall time of 8:44.

Having come out of the Port Macquarie Half a little disappointed with my race, I was excited to return to Shepparton, where I raced my first Half Ironman, and I was far more relaxed (I have to say), than two weeks previous at Port Mac. The calm nerves seemed to be a good omen because I had such an enjoyable race and was relieved and stoked to have some good form and an awesome result !

The swim around Kialla Lakes gave me a good start and by the second buoy I found I was in the lead, and from there I led the swim out of the water with about 12 seconds on the group with a time of 24:49, a great feat for me as swimming is usually my weaker leg.

I got onto the bike where I was quickly joined by fellow Port Mac training mate, Adam Holborow and we had a nice little lead on the chase group. I was feeling awesome on the bike, considering the rain and wind, and ended up averaging over 40km/hr. With about 10 km to go, I was feeling good and got a gap on Adam, entering transition with 1:20 on him and 6 mins on the chase group, with a fastest ride of the day, a time of 2:14.

I got onto the run feeling pretty good and was able to maintain a solid pace throughout, and came across the line, lapping up my first win and PB of 3:58:36, with the legend Pete Murray once again calling me in as Commentator. In all it was an awesome race for me, I really enjoyed it and was happy with the form I had on the day.

A big thanks to all the support from my mates on the day and a congratulations to some notable efforts: Adam Holborow and John Cornish who were doing an awesome job on the ride before they flatted, a bit of bad luck guys.

1. TIM BERKEL 3:58:36
2. Matt White 4:03:48
3. Troy Drinigan 4:05:14
4. Adam Holborow 4:08:45
5. Klayten Smith 4:14:39