EVERY athlete has a different way of looking at an Ironman and Nigel Hurlston is no different.
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Next weekend he will compete in his fifth event which will wrap up his triathlon season before he swaps the bike for rugby boots.
“I consider this to be my main race, the A-race,” he said.
“I use the half Ironman’s to build up to this one at the end of the season which finishes my triathlon season before I start to get involved with rugby until September.”
Hurlston said the camaraderie and banter among fellow competitors ensured he kept coming back for more.
“I just love it,” he said. “It’s just a bug. I know everyone has different goals, but it’s not like a team sport where you can carry one or two people.
" ...when you hit that chute and everyone is high-fiving you and congratulating you when you cross the finish line it’s like ‘when’s the next one?"
"In this it’s just you and knowing whatever you achieve is down to you and what you’ve done.
“I do get a bit embarrassed talking about it to tell you the truth because there are people out there fighting much bigger battles than an Ironman.”
He said every competitor went through a mindset where they doubted themselves and fought their own demons.
“When you’re out there doing it you’ll say you’re never doing another one but when you hit that chute and everyone is high-fiving you and congratulating you when you cross the finish line it’s like ‘when’s the next one?’”
Throughout his five attempts at the gruelling event which consists of a 3.8 kilometre swim, 180 kilometre bike ride and a 42.2 kilometre run, Hurlston hasn’t always had it his own way on race day.
“I remember my second one and I just had a terrible race, I didn’t want to be there and could easily have gone home at the Cathie Straight on the bike,” he said.
“I was in that mindset where I could have just gone to the Tacking Point Tavern, but you think about all the training you do and I knew I was better than that.”
And every year Hurlston said he wanted to improve on his efforts from the previous event.
“You just try and go better and last year I did 13:30 so this year I just want to beat that,” he said. “The first one you just want to finish - I don’t care what anyone says. But then you want to better yourself.”