Goondiwindi Hell of the West 2008
(2nd female) 4hrs 29 minutes

“A proper triathlon, not one of these fancy city races, a tough, hot, flat race, The Hell of the West.” That’s how Mike Mason described it three years ago, when it first appeared on the horizon of my imagination as a possibility. It’s nice to come back each year, a little more comfortable with the prospect.

The Goondiwindi Triathlon Club puts on a fantastic race. So well organised, so welcoming and away from the rain!! We were treated like special guests by the whole town. It’s a hot, tough race, but there is plenty of water, ice, coke and encouragement out there on the run, and if you need more to keep you going, you can start dreaming of anything you want, and it will probably be there in the recovery tent. They really do a good job.

There was a moment on the run when I thought, “why do I do this to myself” and just as I was about to start looking for answers, I had to laugh. I’m quite sure I thought exactly the same thing last time I did this run. Well, now I’ve got an idea, it’s a hard flat race, there’s no hiding from effort and persistence to get through. It’s a perfect build up for Port Macquarie, a perfect tester to assess what’s going well in training and what might be lacking.