You can't wipe the smile off Echuca triathlete Bec Cladingboel’s face.
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After competing in her first ever ironman race, Cladingboel has qualified for the world championship in Kona, Hawaii, a feat most ironman athletes can only ever dream about.
Ironman is not for the faint-hearted. A 4km swim, 180km bike ride and 42km run all in one day takes a serious amount of dedication, training and sacrifice, and that’s just to get to the start line. Throw in a family — husband Nick and daughters Isla, 12, and Ivy, 9 — and a full-time job, and things get even tougher.
But all that was a distant memory for Cladingboel when she crossed the finish line in Cairns in 10 hours and 32 minutes, placing her third in the 35-39 age group, despite a bike crash which in all honesty should have ended her race.
“I was hoping for a time of around 10 hours and while I am certainly not disappointed, I know I have it in me to go a bit faster, which is what I spent so many hours training for as well,” Cladingboel said.
She said lining up at Palm Cove to start the 4km swim was an emotional experience.
“I did shed a couple of tears at the start line, but I was focused and I knew I had done the work, so it was just a matter of getting into the water and getting moving.”
The swim at Palm Cove can be a bit rough but conditions were pretty good and Cladingboel exited the water in a time of one hour, six minutes and 56 seconds.
Jumping on her bike, Cladingboel was looking forward to the next 180km after finding a love for long-distance cycling she never knew existed.
“I just love riding my bike. It gives me so much freedom,” she said.
It was while Cladingboel was approaching an aid station at the 70km mark to grab a drink of water that a volunteer stepped out in front of her and she crashed while trying to dodge him.
The damage to her bike was significant, especially to her right bottom handlebar, which affected her ability to change gears for the rest of the race.
She didn't notice the physical damage to her body and it wasn't until after the race, when she was getting stitches in her knee, that the reality of her injuries became apparent.
“When I crashed, the ambos wanted me to stop and call it a day. They obviously knew a bit more about my injuries than I did,” Cladingboel said.
“They told me to wait for a bike mechanic but that was going to be 20 minutes and I didn't have the time to wait.
“I just put my chain back on and fixed up my bike as best as I could. I ignored my injuries and what was coming out of my knee and told myself to just get to the next aid station and I would assess my race then.
“I had sacrificed way too much to get here and so had my family supporting me, so giving up was never an option and I had my girls watching me, so I had no choice but to show some resilience.”
Cladingboel had to ride the rest of the race in aero because it was the only way she could change gears as she battled hills and windy conditions on the way home.
“The last 30km of the ride was pretty tough heading back into Cairns into a head wind, but I was expecting that and had trained for it,” she said.
She finished the bike leg in five hours and 35 minutes, averaging 32km/h.
Cladingboel estimates she lost a good 10 minutes in the crash, not to mention her momentum. But what hurt the most was losing all her bike nutrition, which meant for fuelling she had to rely on what was at the aid stations.
“Changing up what I had to eat did affect me and it wasn't until I was about 20km into my run that my tummy settled and I felt I could pick up my pace,” she said.
At the 20km mark, Cladingboel was in sixth place and began picking off the people in front of her.
Having trained for a three-hour, 20-minute marathon, Cladingboel was disappointed with her three-hour, 41-minute result, but putting the day into perspective she knows she was lucky to finish.
“I have no words to describe the feeling of crossing that finish line and there are so many mixed emotions. I am just so proud my family and I are off to Kona,” she said.
As with any race Cladingboel competes in, she always thinks about her brother and dad who have both passed away. The faster she goes, the closer she feels to them.
“They are always in my mind and are part of my motivation, along with my girls. I just want to show them anything is possible if you put your mind to it and follow your dreams,” she said.
Cladingboel only began participating in triathlons in 2016, starting out with short-course events and working her way up to the bigger stuff.
In 2018 she represented Australia at the world championships at the Gold Coast in the Olympic distance (1.5km swim, 40km ride, 10km run).
“I am one of those people the further I go, the better I get. I never give up and when I start to hurt, my mindset changes and I am even more determined,” she said.
Cladingboel said there was so much more to triathlon than just racing and the sport itself was incredible.
“It takes dedication and commitment and in my case it has been a true family effort. My race was for my family,” she said.
She also attributes her success to her coach Jason Shields, who knows how to get her ready without over training.
Cladingboel said she would head back to Cairns next year with a goal to win that elusive age group top spot.
She just has to conquer Kona first.
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