TRIATHLON
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Peta Cutler may not be the sort of person who focuses on time when she competes, but when the Bathurst triathlete smashed her personal best time in an Ironman by almost an hour on Saturday she took notice.
Racing in Ironman New Zealand at Taupo, Cutler took 10 hours, 53 minutes and 44 seconds to complete the 3.8 kilometre swim, 180 kilometre cycle leg and marathon 42.2km run.
It was an effort which saw her place seventh in her female 30-34 years age group and rank as the 41st quickest of all the women who competed. Remarkably she did it in just her second Ironman race. Her debut came at Port Macquarie last year when she clocked a 11:47.50.
“It was crazy, I don’t know how I did that,” Cutler said.
“I never really had a goal when I entered, my goal was just to finish, I wasn’t worried about the time. But, yes, I was really happy with it.”
Cutler’s effort was not the only remarkable one from a Bathurst triathlete at Taupo.
Terry Roberts placed seventh in his men’s 50-54 years division in a time of 10:16.05. His cycle leg was especially impressive as he made up 21 positions by averaging 34.27km/hr for the distance.
While Roberts battled through the run as the mercury nudged 30 degrees, he was counted amongst the finishers in Ironman New Zealand for the fifth time. He was also placed inside the top 150 overall – ranking 131st.
“Terry went well, he placed seventh, too, and he was happy with that,” Cutler said.
“That was his 31st Ironman overall, that’s huge. He is just a legend, he is amazing.”
Unlike Roberts, who knew what was ahead of him as he stood on the start line, for Cutler it was a new experience and she admitted being intimidated before she took on the Lake Taupo swim.
“That is what I found the most daunting because it was a mass start, but it was perfect, the lake was like a bath, we were very lucky,” she said.
“I actually felt very comfortable in the swim. After that it was a really long run up to the transition, that was about 400 metres.”
Cutler clocked a swim split of 1:01.57 to rank ninth in her division before she headed off on the cycle leg. Like Roberts, once she was in the saddle she was able to catch people.
“I didn’t know what I had swum, but on the bike when I got back on the first lap I thought I was doing okay. I still wasn’t sure how I’d finish because that second 90 kilometres [on the bike] is where things can go pear-shaped,” she said.
“But when I got back I saw my time was just over five and a half hours [5:34.24] ... that alone was 45 minutes faster than I’d gone before.
“When I got off the bike I was sixth in my age group, but going off my split I was the second fastest in my division for the bike and 25th out of all the girls who competed. So yeah, I was pretty happy with that.”
What followed was a run leg that Cutler described as “awful” but she pushed herself and covered the distance in 4:07.00.
“I found it really hard. It was very hilly and it got very hot,” she said.
“The only flat part was coming back when you ran beside the lake. I wanted to stop and walk, but I kept going. All-in-all it was fantastic.”