Wings of a Warrior

Out There From the Start

When I’m racing, I’m often just enjoying it. There are moments when it gets hard and you think it will be nice when it ends, but even then I still find myself looking around and thinking what a neat place it is. 

My earliest memories of being outdoors go back to when we used to spend time near Taupo. Our parents had a bach across the lake with our cousins, and the area was forested, so all the kids would just run around feral all day and come back in the evening. There were probably eight or ten of us and we would disappear for the whole day from about six or seven years old, just exploring the bush and the lake.

That was pretty normal for New Zealand kids. It was a very easy environment to grow up in because we didn’t really have anything to be scared of. We don’t have predators or snakes, so kids could roam around quite freely.

The First Taste

I’m sixty-six now. I started triathlon in 1988. I first raced XTERRA in 2003.

My first memory of XTERRA in Hawaii I remember the course being quite gnarly because we don’t really have a lot of rock in New Zealand, and there it was just rock and gravel with a plunge and things like that, so it was pretty wild.

But you absolutely felt welcomed. I think the biggest difference between road triathlon and XTERRA is that it’s just fun racing in nature. One of the beauties of these races around the world is going to all these beautiful natural parks.

Choosing This Life

I’ve raced in a lot of places over the years, Sardinia and through central Europe, and a bit of Australia as well, and those are the sorts of places I really like. I don’t like cities, so racing in those kinds of environments suits me perfectly. That’s definitely part of what keeps bringing me back to the start line.

When I was working as an orthopedic surgeon, the way I managed racing was that whenever I went on holiday it was always an active holiday. I would go to a world championship or one of the national races in Europe, so it wasn’t really a rest holiday, but that suited me fine. I preferred that, and the energy you get from the other people and from the race environment really keeps you going.

Explore With Me

After XTERRA Nouvelle Aquitaine last year we drove straight up through Switzerland to Chamonix and did the Mont Blanc circuit with eight of my old medical school friends. That was in the second week of June, right after it opened for the season, and it was spectacular, absolutely fantastic.

We were in Europe for about three and a half months, although you’re restricted a bit because of visa limits. During that time we rode from Basel to Nice, I rode the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, and then we raced XTERRA Nouvelle Aquitaine, XTERRA France and XTERRA Portugal was a bit of a shock because I had come from ten degree weather and it was forty-three degrees on the run, so that was quite an adjustment.

When I arrive somewhere new for a race, the first thing I usually notice is the landscape because it’s often very different from New Zealand. At home we have a lot of native bush, so what excites me when traveling is the diversity. Some places are rocky or almost desert-like, while others have beautiful forests. The people are another big part of it. They’re always enthusiastic, and even when you’re racing at something like a world championship and people are very competitive, there’s still a lot of camaraderie. If someone is struggling people usually try to help a bit, and it often feels like a big family.

Why I Keep Going

I think when people say they can’t do it because of injuries, sometimes they need to go and talk to someone who can really help them understand what’s possible. Of course there are cases where things can’t be sorted out, but I think a lot of people do like to have an excuse. I think when you fall out of love with the sport, that’s when you stop, not because of injuries.

I’ve had my back fused, I’ve had my foot fused, and when I was thinking about it the other day, I realized I’ve had about sixteen operations for different things like clavicles and other injuries. Even with all that, I still think if you’re passionate it’s possible to come back. You probably never get back to the same level you want to, but as you get older that becomes less important. I don’t think age has much bearing at all. You’re really as old as you feel.

Staying Ready

I usually do my running by myself now because my pace isn’t quite what it used to be, so I don’t really run with a squad anymore. And of course at the moment the kittens take up a bit of time. I ended up with four kittens and we’re building catios to keep them inside so they don’t wander.

What keeps me motivated is that I simply love being active and I love being fit. A friend of mine, Matt Brick, together with Cam Brown who is one of New Zealand’s top Ironman athletes, organized an eight day trip in the French Alps about eighteen months ago. We rode 1,000K with 28,000 meters of climbing in eight days. I was the only woman in the group and most of the others were younger, but being able to say yes to something like that is what motivates me.

If someone suggests something big, like the idea of riding the length of Patagonia which could be up to 4,000K, I like to feel that I can still say, “I think I can do that.” Staying fit means that when opportunities come up I’m able to take them.