Growing up in Port Macquarie, young St Agnes Primary School student, Cameron Wurf made the most of the idyllic Mid North Coast location and had the time of his life.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Almost 30 years later, the former Olympic sculler, professional cyclist turned Ironman is back and planning a very special homecoming.
"My mum and I moved there when I was two years old and stayed there until I was six when we moved onto Lord Howe Island," he said.
"As a kid I was embedded in absolutely everything sporting wise; surfing, nippers, soccer, golf, football, Little Athletics, swimming and if I wasn't doing one of them, I was climbing trees or racing around on my bike.
"Port Macquarie was the most amazing place to grow up and was a true gift for an active kid like me to be given that opportunity by my mum; I'm buzzing with excitement to get back there and put on a show for a town that gave me so much," Wurf said.
Since turning to Ironman in 2016 at Ironman Asia-Pacific Cairns, Wurf has used his enormous 'motor' - developed as an elite sculler and rower - and his phenomenal cycling skills gained through a decade on the pro cycling tour, to catapult him into the heady space of elite Ironman racing.
He broke his own bike record at the Ironman World Championship and became the first Australian to go top ten in Kona since 2014.
He then claimed a second-place at Ironman Western Australia as some of the highlights throughout an amazing 2018.
He is back in 2019, looking for some bigger scalps and improved performances, and Ironman Australia is a major priority and vital proving ground for his tough preseason.
"I had a great 2018 (made) a solid progression on the year before and most importantly a consistent season from first race to my last race," he said.
"There were no spectacular results along the way, however the fact my bad races were not as bad as the year before showed my underlying level as an athlete in this sport is improving.
"All in all, I'm very happy with the progressions I've made in the swim and the run."
Wurf believes the Port Macquarie course is very hard, but fair and he is looking forward to using his strength on the bike to apply the pressure and tax the legs of the notable runners.
His strategy for winning in Port Macquarie is simple.
"All I have to do is run down the Ironman red carpet after completing a 3.8km swim, 180-kilometre bike and 42.2km run before anyone else does," he laughed.
"The dead roads mean there are no free kicks on the bike which I love; you've really got to keep the pressure on the pedals all day if you want to go fast.
"Then come the run I expect that to be tough due to the sapping bike leg, not many athletes to my knowledge have run blistering marathons in Port Mac so it's going to be a great test of strength and fitness."