Long hard day in Taupo for elite and the battlers

There's something enchanting about Ironman New Zealand.

Something that drew more than 1200 competitors on Saturday to spend up to 17 hours in and around Lake Taupo pushing themselves to extreme levels of physical madness.

It's 6 on Saturday morning, and the crowd on the shore of Lake Taupo is made up of the 1252 participants, from 39 countries, a horde of athletes' crew members and spectators.

While the athletes are nervous, putting plasters on nipples and Vaseline everywhere, the spectators fall into three categories.

They comment on how amazing the competitors are, how crazy they are, or they're already convinced they want to give it a go.

There's that enchantment; it gets a lot of people.

And while the start may convince a few to start training for next year, the emotional finish gets a great deal more. The 3.8km swim, 180km bike followed by a 42.2km marathon attracts not only great people, but a host of great stories. From the one-armed man who completed, to the Welsh son, mother and the mother's partner all doing their first Ironman, to the 49 couples competing – three of which were on their honeymoon.

The gun athletes, led by nine-time winner Cameron Brown, finish in not much more than eight hours but, for some, beating the 17-hour time limit is the biggest test.

As the times got higher, the bodies looked worse, but the celebrations were just as special. The finishers enjoyed the short rest and being able to stop the torment before they dragged themselves – or were dragged – to the massage tent. After a quick check-up, the athletes are given the two things they desperately wanted and needed; food and a table to lie on. But even some of the slowest athletes, who start and finish in the dark, still had the ability to laugh. The elite athletes had been finished, showered, fed and had their feet up for hours and one 60-plus man was just heading out on his second 21km run lap.

He'd already gone 12 hours and had another four to go. "This thing is bloody expensive, I'm just getting my money's worth," he called to the crowd.

One of the most impressive stories was that of Taupo man Neil Fleming – at 73 the oldest man in the field. After a slow swim and okay 180km bike leg, Fleming dashed home in a hugely impressive 4hr 54m 11s marathon to finish 925th overall with nearly 300 people behind him.

Hamilton's Erin Furness, a competitive runner, did her first Ironman on Saturday in an also impressive 11h 58m 3s.

"I know it sounds weird, but that felt like a really short marathon to finish. I finally got off the bike and thought, great, I only have a marathon to go."

Four Waikato policemen completed the event. Erik Harrewijn of Morrinsville, in his second Ironman, was the fastest in 173rd overall and his 3hr 40m marathon gave him a 10hr 24m 40s time and was enough to put him in front of Hamilton policeman and former Waikato rugby player Scott Miller (10hr 43m 21s). Matamata's Craig Jackson and Hamilton's Richard Waller also completed their first Ironman.

The biggest cheer went to Chilean Claudio Nieto. The 32-year-old army officer was one of seven athletes from Chile to enter, but after the previous weekend's horror earthquake, he was the only one to race. An emotional Nieto, spurred on by a standing ovation down the finishing chute, finished 120th.

- © Fairfax NZ News