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WGCDR
Brock McKinlay crosses the finish line in the gruelling
Hawaiian DECA Ironman World Championships after nine days,
19 hours, 19 minutes and six seconds.
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A
WING Commander with a larrikin streak has overcome a fast-food
diet, severe pain and an Austrian major who is a world record-holder
to finish third in the Hawaiian DECA Ironman World Championships.
Wing Commander Brock McKinlay completed the 38km swim, 1800km
bike ride and 422km run in nine days, 19 hours, 19 minutes and
six seconds.
“My goals were: finish, break 10 days, and be the first Aussie.
I achieved these and also managed third and what is believed to
be a new bike record so I am ecstatic,” he said.
“Of course, I am a bit disappointed that a leg injury forced
me to slow sufficiently to allow others to get back into the race
and ultimately overtake me.”
CAF Air Marshal Angus Houston congratulated WGCDR McKinlay on
a great achievement. “He has brought great credit to the
RAAF with a superhuman effort in the most challenging circumstances,”
AIRMSHL Houston said.
WGCDR McKinlay led the race, which began on November 13, for about
seven days.
He was in front of 26 competitors and his lead was out to 90km
on the run at one stage.
But he was unhappy with his swim, explaining that his decision
to wear a loose, short-sleeved wetsuit – that he had taken
because he thought the water would be warm – meant a slower
swim and time lost to prevent chafing.
He started the bike leg in third place, without having cramped,
but his plan of pushing easy gears was not to be.
“I had an early sleep but once the sun came up and I noticed
how hard [Austrian Major] Luis Wildpanner was riding, I decided
to have some fun and put the wind up the outright favourite and
triple world record-holder,” he said.
“My intention was to ride hard for 30 minutes or so but this
got extended out to four days. I couldn’t help myself going
faster and faster as the well-oiled and professional Austrian
team continued to refuel Luis at top speed while also tracking
our respective lap times.
“Their main concern was that I was an unknown and appeared
to be doing the cycle easily, joking with the others all the time.
On night three, I told Luis in my best Austrian accent, ‘I
must break you’. He responded with ‘I’ll be back.’
“Meanwhile, my extended support crew, which now included
Commander Ian Salter and Dave Criniti in support of Lieutenant
Commander Pete Steel, started telling the Austrians that I was
a household name in Australia. Luis went to bed 75km in arrears
and woke 150km down.
“What a classic scenario: the machine-like Luis with constant
refuelling – scientifically calculated – and set distance
and sleep schedules against some larrikin from Oz simply riding
like there was no run to follow as one of the greatest wind-ups
of all time, sleeping only when allowed by his stroppy crew and
surviving almost purely on cheeseburgers, Coke, Red Bull, chocolate
milk, lollies and yoghurt.”
The Austrian Army had allowed MAJ Wildpanner five months off to
train. He had wanted to break the world record but pulled out
with less than 100km covered on the run.
WGCDR McKinlay pushed on. One competitor was disqualified for
cutting the course and several others were warned. Support crews
virtually took over the race organisation to keep the race on
track.
Undeterred, WGCDR
McKinlay broke the cycle record by a few hours. He rode the 1800km
in three days, 21 hours and 46 minutes.
In the run leg, he lost time while icing and massaging his feet.
“I found it very difficult to fight for my position as I
was running/walking slowly after three or four marathons due to
blistered feet and, as it turned out, one or two torn muscles
in my right leg which caused my right leg to swell badly and there
was such a long way to go,” he said.
At one point he slept with his feet elevated during the heat of
the day for about three hours.
“I had been struggling to cover two miles per hour prior
and my feet were on fire, but I was immediately covering four
miles per hour with minimal stiffness after the snooze. In hindsight,
I probably needed more sleep on the run and should have done this
earlier.”
Mario Rodrigues, a DECA veteran, took the lead on day eight and
continued strongly to the finish.
Giacomo Maritati ran into second place on day nine, but he, too,
was hurting – walking sideways, drinking coffee every lap
and weeping uncontrollably.
With six laps to go, WGCDR McKinlay rested his feet, slept and
after breakfast finished as the sun rose.
“One thing is for sure,” he said of his emotional highs
and lows, “the DECA was the ultimate experience. Like life,
it exposed all the demons inside and gave me the chance to conquer
them and to grow from the experience.
While my emotions were overwhelmingly negative at times, in general
my spirits remained very high throughout and I enjoyed the race
absolutely.”
