--Breaking News--

ETPA pulling out PBs in NZ!

09.03.10

Full results can be found below:

Complimentary Open Water Swim Clinic for Tri Vic Members

06.03.10

Nuna Tri Club and ETPA, in conjunction with Triathlon Victoria are pleased to announce the latest benefit for Triathlon Victoria Members.

This one off swim clinic open to all Tri Vic Members at no cost will include:

• Correct warm up strategies for Triathlon Swimming
• Water position and sighting buoys
• Deep water race starts
• Race day swimming strategy - benefits and limitations

For more details CLICK HERE!

ETPA junior tri training is back for 2010

19.02.10

Tuesday and Thursday nights are now ETPA junior Tri nights. Starting at 6:30pm and going through to 8pm each evening the junior Triathlon program aims to prepare kids for the riggers of competition. For further information on junior triathlon go to the Junior Tri page or contact our junior coach, Jamie Edwards at jamie@etpa.com.au

Geelong Ironman 70.3 results

07.02.10

Free Physiotherapy for Tri Vic Members 

ETPA, NetworkMultisport and Triathlon Victoria in conjunction with one of Melbourne leading Physiotherapy organisations, Physiohealth, are providing free physiotherapy treatments for all Tri Vic Members at Geelong 70.3.

Simply come down to the ETPA tent after the race and present your Tri Vic or NetworkMultisport Membership Card and you will receive your free treatment.

This initiative is only possible with the generous donation of staff and expertise from Physiohealth. Physiohealth have six clinics across Melbourne and may be contacted on 9379 3716, or visit their website at http://physiohealth.com.au

ETPA hits the track running

15.01.10

Stand out performances from Jarrod Holcombe in the Cape Paterson Long course, 3rd overall, and James Duncan, 6th overall, ensured the ETPA flag was waving high at Bass Coast two Sundays ago.

Other notable performances on the day were a return to racing for coach Tippett on his new Orbea Ordu Time Trial Bike, and an impressive first place overall in the female event for Karen Webb. Anna D'Alberto also had a great day of racing coming in second overall in the girls.

Cape Paterson Long Course Results

Cape Paterson Short Course Results

ETPA also smashed out some great times in the Olympic Distance event on the weekend with Darren Franken stoping the clock in a 2:05 to take first place in his age group.

Other notable performances were Debbie Rielly taking out 4th position in her age group and Kelly Farrell taking 20mins off her PB over the distance.

Next Stop for ETPA is the Geelong 70.3 on the 7th of Feb. All athletes are looking in good shape and we hope to see some big PB's on race day

Stay tuned to ETPA for more results.

Ironman Western Australia results

17.12.09

Ken Purves and Peter Keighery have great days out at Florida

07.12.09 

Ken Purves smashes his PB over the 70.3 distance stopping the click at 4:41 with Peter not far behind in 4:44

A great day for both well done!

Below is a quick wrap up of the event from Ken

Ken Purves Florida 70.3 world titles report

Pre race: The flight was dam long. 22 hrs of pain! By the time we arrived my neck was out and my back was very sore. This was due to holding Oskar for hrs at a time while on the flight from Melbourne to LA and lugging backpacks all over the world.
As there was the left over of cyclone IDA, there was no chance to swim as it was a washing machine. So what would I do different? I would have arrived about 2 days earlier as the first day & a half I wasn't much chop. I went for a ride and run but didn't feel right at all. By day 3 (the day before the race) I was starting to feel better and went for a controlled ride and felt better but not great.
Like most "first races of the year, train as much as possible in the heat. Us Melbournians (well me) just doesn't handle to heat / Sun on the run too well

RACE DAY: Well I haven't slept much for the past few nights (Oskar's time zones are still a little messed up and he was in our room - not great when he is awake at 2am and wants to play)
I'm quite excited but feeling quite sluggish and very heavy in the legs. As they have changed the swim from the ocean to a canal, we are placed in the water individually and off we go. I had a solid swim and was happy although I don't know my exact swim time as the transition (T1) is built into the swim I think. If this is the case I swam a sub 30 which is a PB.
Out of the water and into transition, I get the assistants to rip off the wetsuit and away I go. I have nothing in my transition bag so all I need to do is jam my wetsuit and goggles in and just drop it while I'm on my to my bike. So for me this was a quick transition.
On with my helmet, race belt and sunnies and off I go.
Onto the course you hit the bridge within the first 2 minutes. So my pre race plan was to use this time to settle my HR and climb the bridge under control without being slack. I did this and from there I started to pick up the pace.
By about the 10 K mark no one had passed and the whoosh - some guy on a yellow Trek went by like I was standing still - I thought to myself, count how many go past. Only a couple more until I get to the freeway then all of a sudden peleton after peleton went past me and without a word of a lie, I would say at least 30 - 40 riders in each group. It was a joke even to the extent that we the draft busters went past me I screamed at them about the pack of cheats.... they just nodded their heads and rode off. Pistol Pete even had two people comment about the Aussies and that we ride a fair race! At the turn around some of my nutrition came back up so I just sipped on some red bull (which I have been doing during my training). This didn't really help too much and it came back up again a few more times. I thought bugger this and lifted the tempo a bit and started to catch a few groups and had to make a few big surges to go past them and make sure they didn't come with me. With about 10 - 15 K's to go, I caught a group of about 40 and it took me about 5 K's to get through / past them as there was quite a few turns. I got past them and off over the bridge and into transition.... as I get over the there was a guy riding a bike with one leg (and no prosthetic ---- Yep, One legged x 90 K).

Could I have ridden faster - 100% Yes ... what would have the affect been? I have no idea.

Did I draft - NOT A CHANCE. I stayed away at that may have cost me some time.

So off the bike and into transition, socks & shoes on and off I go ... another transition that I'm happy with but the feeling in my legs isn't the same as I had at Geelong (and Geelong, I came out running feeling smooth). I still felt sluggish like before the swim.
Off I went and tried to find the groove.... It didn't really happen until the 10k turn and that's when a few that went past me started to come back to me - but in the first 10 k I saw some awesome runners - Shit they were flying! SO after finding some groove, I plodded away as best I could and finished the race off with a smile and very happy with what I have done. It was another PB for me with a run that was 9 minutes slower than my run PB...

WHAT CAN I DO BETTER?
I still need to work on my nutrition.
I know I haven't got this right - but it will come.
I need to keep riding like I am - and ride hard.
The run: I will be engaging a few mates to assist me with this as I feel that by continually running with them will help me run quicker. And finally, BRICKS, BRICKS & MORE BRICKS ... I need to get the legs on song and ready for the transition once I get off the bike.

WHAT WENT WELL?
Swim squad is paying off as I noticed more control in the water (and I know I will get better)
I rode with control and had power when I needed it.
Mentally I didn't throw in the towel on the run and kept telling myself that it will come. The run didn't seem like it was going on forever. I knew I would be ok if I stuck with it!
I had fun!

WHERE TO FROM HERE?
Well I'm on holidays so I'm going to enjoy my break.
I will start running as of Tuesday and start to build in some volume.

ETPA Melbourne's premier Ironman Coaching Squad hits WA

A large group of ETPA athletes are heading across to WA for the Ironman this weekend.  We have a number of high profile athletes in our venue based programs and our full coaching programs competing.

Leading the charge in our full coaching program will be Darren Franken and Jarrod Holcombe; both athletes are hoping to have solid days out with Darren looking to go under 9 hours again after a solid winter. Leading the female charge is the unstoppable Deb Rielly. Deb has had a punishing six month of training up in the Bass Coast Region with Gavin Slavin and we expect a PB from her on Saturday. 

Speaking of Bass Coast Region athletes, Gavin has again turned out some solid performers. Darren Thompson, Anthony Durand and Rick Whitehouse will also be waving the ETPA flag high.

A number of ETPA first time Ironmen are also hitting the race track, Andy O’Donnell, Gary Pitman, Glenn Akers and Michael Doyle will be smashing it!

Let’s also not forget some of the more established ETPA athletes who are coming back to WA for a repeat performance. Ben “Crash” Robinson, Ian “Big boy” Scott and David “Sunfish” Beitzel will be turning up the heat after a long winter prep.  

Some of our venue based athletes are also looking at solid days out. Jimmy Johnson is a chance of the overall victory after a win in the Shepparton Half Ironman only a few weeks ago.

Follow ETPA athlete progress here on the ETPA news section over the course of the day.

Full program athletes racing

Darren Franken
Jarrod Holcombe
Ben Robinson
Deb Rielly
Ian Scott
Glenn Akers
Andy O’Donnell
Gary Pitman
Darren Thompson
Tony Durand
Rick Whitehouse
Michael Doyle
David Beitzel

Shepparton Half Ironman results

21.11.09

With ETPA you gain access to a Triathlon Victoria affiliated junior program with qualified coaches in a safe environment. We provide exposure to open water swimming and group riding.

See flier for details

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Noosa results

03.11.09

The Noosa Tri festival has been run and won again.

ETPA racing update

17.10.09

Over the past few weeks ETPA athletes have had some great results

In the gold coast Half IM two weeks ago ETPA's Sue O'Conner and Peter Sutton had solid hit outs. Sue indicated she had some stomach problems on the day which slowed her run speed significantly.

In the Melbourne marathon last Sunday ETPA had athletes racing all distances with some stand out performances from some of the older ETPA crew.

Jarrod Holcombe and Ben Pattie both ran 79min for the half marathon while Janet Kilkenny, AKA, Missus Big Boy, ran a PB of 40mins over the marathon course. Great Run Janet! Big boy himself also had a solid marathon in a time of 3:47. Alan Hutchinson ran a 3:36 also recording a PB on the day

Names of competing ETPA athletes can be found below

10k event

Anthony Kilkenny
Stephen Kilkenny
Sarah Holmes
Anna D'Alberto

21.1k event

Ben Martin
Ben Pattie
Glenn Akers
David Beitzel
Gary Pitman
Andy O'Donnell
Dane Heaysman
Dennis Neal
Jarrod Holcombe
Laura Brown
James Monahan
Archie Ball
Peter Keighery

Marathon event

Ian Scott
Janet Kilkenny
Alan Hutchinson

Elite Triathlon Performance Australia is proud to present the Fun Tri Challenge. Try a new sport and enjoy a kids triathlon for a day! Distances for kids between 8-14. Read the flyer here for more information

Register now!

ETPA turn up the heat on the race track

Vitruvian Half Ironman results

"A great day out in the end!! PB's everywhere! Fastest half ironman, fastest swim, fastest bike and a pb in the run!!"

Swim - 30:58 (pb)
T1 - 2:04 (terrible!)
Bike - 2:30:32 (very windy too! Pb)
T2 - 1:12
Run - 1:37:04 (last year was a 1:55 pb)

Tot - 4:41:53 (last year was 5:08:5x)
PB'd by 28mins!

John finished 84th from 1,000 odd entries and 14th in age-group.

Great result John and now onto the Yak attack in a few months.

Weekend Race Results

 WSTC Race results

We also had an update from our travelling Ironman, no not James Monahan, Stephen Humphries. Below is what Stephen had to say via email.

"on 5 July I completed the Frankfurt Ironman, which is the Ironman European Championship. I managed to complete it, with a nagging back injury, and in a personal best time of 10:25 (category position 55 and overall of 470 from about 2400 competitors).

My splits were
Swim 1:07.12 (no wetsuit)
T1 5.54
Bike 5:17.37
T2 3.43
Run 3:51.08
Overall 10:25.37

This was my fifth straight PB in Ironman and Half Ironman events since starting my association with ETPA and I know I can still improve. "

Congrats Stephen!

We look forward to a heap more PB's in the coming weeks with athletes racing all over the state.

Ironman Switzerland

ETPA again hit the international triathlon scene with James Monahan turning out a 30min PB on the challenging Switzerland IM course. James set up a great run time with a controlled bike split of 5:10. In only his second IM, ETPA expect big things from James over the coming years...stay tuned for his development. John Williams also made is comeback to Triathlon racing with the Pembroke Coast Triathlon. John lives in the UK and is racing the upcoming UK half Ironman later this year.

James Monahan, Category position 83

Swim 1:06:47
Ride 5:10:53
Run 3:47:01
Total time 10:08:24

Pembrokeshire Coast Triathlon

John Williams

Swim 32:39
Ride 1:23:01
Run 49:33
Total time 2:34:11

Local events

ETPA Kids Fun Race

Hot off the press from our Junior Development Coach Jamie Edwards. In Jamie's words:

In the early hours of Saturday morning 15 hardy triathletes in the making braved cold and windy conditions to participate in ETPA's first ever MINI Fun tri at Vic Uni in Footscray.

The event was a chance for the young athletes aged 7 to 14 year to experience a triathlon. Fun was the essence of the day, with this being many of the athlete's first ‘race'. The course consisted of between 150m and 300m (depending on age) of swimming in the pool, before a 5km bike ride along the riverside path, and then 1, 2 or 3 laps of the run course on the neighboring grassland (again depending on age).

Congratulations and thanks goes to the following athletes (and their brave parents) who participated on the day after either being involved in the junior development program or school holidays program held at Elite Swimming:

April Ziessler (9)
Kieran Azzopardi (11)
Isabelle Atchinson (8)
Hamish Munro (8)
Mark Leondarki (11)
Isaac Castellano (10)
Madison Alexander (9)
Cameron Atchinson (10)
Zach Poole (12)
Jacob Poole (9)
Tom Hartson (12)
Amanda Carey (13)
Daniel O'Reilly King (9)
Stephanie Grobbelaar (8)
Nicholas Sim (9)

VRR Maribyrnong River Fun Run, 5 and 10k running event.

Ben Pattie took out line honors in the 5k event with a solid time of 17:40

Ken Purves also worked his way into the top 5 overall in the 10k event with a time of 40.10.

Both men said it was a hard day for running with heaps of wind...congratulations!

Hope all is good.

We are approaching Zurich again for race day.

I will give a short summary, as I can't jump on a PC today so crackberry will have to do!

So far, we have stayed in the best private resort imaginable and my best mates wedding was an affair never to be forgotten! Deluxe doesn't cut it, we we're so spoilt and enjoyed days of relaxing and basking in the sun as well as sharing their special day in Bali. We also managed to get a noise complaint from the presidential suite of bvlgari resort next door but we didn't really care! It was great.

Then Zurich after 28hrs travel and waiting out the weekend in Zurich for my bike as Qantas decided I couldn't travel with it so it went freight and it was picked up Monday. We got a couple of days site seeing and a bit of swimming and running done. Great place and can't wait to hit the fondue after the race.

Next stop Viareggio Italy! Have to point out Swiss roads and landscape have got to be the best ever! 140kmh makes the country side fly by, but winding up Italy's coast was amazing too.

I had a ball cruising on the bike finally and I enjoyed riding with the Italians. The house we stayed in was in the country side and the giro d'italia went past the front door this year!

Next was Nice, France and met some close friends of ours who work on luxury boats. Very good timing.

Went to Monaco and watched the tour de France kick off in style! Then we spent the next day on the side of the road watching the spectacle pass us one more time. Free stuff handed out everywhere, but my signed Cadel Evans cycling cap is a treasure now. Don't think he is in with a shot though..

Currently we're staying in Lyon and it's a lovely town with amazing, or you could say very interesting food. All weird specialities that thank god I can avoid due to race on Sunday!

Ironman Switzerland!

James Monahan race number 619

Start time is 3pm Melbourne time.

Finish: somewhere between 12am and 1am!

Distance 3.8km swim, 180.1km bike ride and 42.2km run!

Live tracking www.ironman.com then follow the links.

As for people play footy or cricket and get a shot at winning or having a good day out, for me this is like Grand Final Day. The one chance that you have to put all the countless hours and early mornings into action.

All of you played a small part in me getting here for different reasons and an Ironman does not get there without significant help.

We make large sacrifices, get grumpy dieting, be a little anti-social on the ‘no drunking and early to bed syndrome', yet this is what I love and would not go through 25hrs a week training on top of work if I didn't.

Massive thanks to the family, friends, work and my very special girl Claire.

When I'm out there I'll have plenty of time to think about things and ignore the pain that comes towards the end.

If you get a chance log on and have a look, I'll be thinking of everyone that was involved in getting me here and making this possible.

Time toe the line, race smart, race hard and not leave one ounce of petrol in the tank, it's all going on the track!

Giddy up guys, GAME ON!

Free Swim Video Analysis

Bookings are essential for this one-off event.

Please email Mat directly and confirm your position. The analysis will be completed on the pool deck over a two week period.

Week 1 - Monday the 22nd
Filming and viewing of footage
Specific developmental drills

Week 2 - Monday the 29th of June
Review of changes made and re-filming

Note: You will be required to pay the $10 for the squad session to participate.

Busselton Half Ironman results

Ross Hardy made the trip across the Nullarbor to kick the 2010 season off in style. Ross hit the course running with a solid 6min PB over half IM distance. A highlight of the day was Ross' 2:26:45 ride, 11th fastest in his category. Although Ross was the only ETPA athlete racing he had good support on the course from his wife Emma and another local ETPA athlete, James Harvey.

Ross is heading into a 4 week transition phase now after a long season of racing. Great result Ross and we look forward to seeing more great results this season!

ETPA supports Community Running Event

06.05.09

ETPA is one of the major sponsors for the 2009 Hobos Fun Run. There will be a 5km walk, a 5km run and a 10km run on 16th May, 8:00am at the Newport Athletics Track. Click for more details.

In total 11 ETPA athletes hit the race track across all disciplines in the sport. Dane Heaysman waved the ETPA flag high in an event ETPA have had past success in, with Bec Locke taking out first place last year, the BNC 100k Mountain Bike Race. Dane found the going tough after a well deserved rest post NZ Ironman 6 weeks ago. Talking with Dane after the event he indicated he didn't give the event the respect it deserved. Being on the bike for 7 hours is a hard way to spend a Sunday

Bec Leask also raced in the XTerra in NZ on Sunday, Bec completed the ride and run legs of a team event and said she had a great day out.

Gab Lanman won her age group in the Loxton Sprint Distance Triathlon on Sunday. Gab said she had a solid swim/ride combination but suffered in the run. All in all Gab was happy with her day and looks forward to world titles later this year

ETPA also had a large contingent at Cape Patterson for the last of Alex Scott tri series events. We had a number of stand-out efforts from new comers, Justin Schweikert, Rick Whitehouse and Ben Gardner, who pushed hard all day. David Beitzel "The Sunfish" also made a welcome return to racing after a long rest.

The two girls in the group also had great races with Karen Webb having her first solid hit out in the sport and Zoe England having a great race in the short course.

Archie ball ran a 90min Half Marathon in his comeback after a hamstring injury. Archie continues to run strong and looks good for the upcoming winter Half IM races.

Long Course results:

Short Course results:

Well what a year it was...

Stay tuned for the coaches season report coming soon...

Eleven ETPA athletes made the trip up to Port Macquarie for the Australian Ironman on the weekend. New ETPA'rs stood out on a tuff day of racing with a mixed bag of results.

Our fastest athlete of the day was Darren Franken in a welcome return to racing after a long term injury. Darren has joined the ETPA coaching team and boasts a proud history in IM racing with multiple top ten finishes over the distance. Darren's time of 9:47, although slow for him, was a great outcome considering he carried a virus into the event. We look forward to watching Darren tear up the Australian IM scene again in the coming years.

Another notable performance for the day, and biggest PB of the year for an ETPA athlete, goes to Laura Brown who ran an impressive 3:42 marathon to slip herself into the top ten of her age group. What makes this outcome so impressive is Laura also lost 15mins on the bike due to mechanical issues but she managed to compose herself and turn out one of the fastest runs in her age group.

Stephen Humphreys also had a stellar day out with a 10:27. Stephen looked in control all day running himself into a new PB and a great finishing position.

Other PBs on the day includes, Geoff Macilwain, Deb Reilly and Anthony Durand. All had great races and keep pushing their boundaries along the way.

1st timers, Paul Field, Marcus Cook and Ian Ashley had great races with some solid times. Paul Field gets the tuff man award for the day with significant ITB pain on the bike slowing his progress. Paul eased his way through the bike course then turned out a solid 4:17 marathon. Ian Ashley also had a great race in his first year in the sport. Ian ran a 4:19 marathon, who said you don't get better with age, stopping the clock in an impressive 13:21 overall. Marcus Cook was ill on the day and was unable to keep any food down for the majority of the event. Marcus showed the usual ETPA grit and hung tuff for a long yet very satisfying finish...better luck next time Marcus.

Gavin Slavin again showed why he is a 19 time IM finisher stopping the clock in 10:35. Gavin continues to turn out solid performances for himself and his athletes with a 100% PB rate for the athletes he coaches.

Ken Purves is the hard luck story from this event with his back wheel causing problems that cost him 40mins on the side of the road. Ken managed to get his bike back in order with some help from the Shimano crew but his race was already over. Ken finished with a respectable time of 11:47 and whole heap of incentive for the next race.

Standouts of the day were Sue Gould coming in second in her age group and if the reports are true she has booked herself a place at the upcoming world titles! James Monahan and Ross Hardy had a ding dong battle all day with only 5mins separating them across the finish line. Ross is not long out from WA half so his prep looks like it is in full swing and on track.

Gab Lanman also had an impressive 2:35 on the day coming in 14th in her age group with an impressive 1:14 ride time. Jill Stevenson also stepped up for a sub 3 hour race on interrupted run prep.

New athletes to our group Michael Doyle and Glenn Akers also had solid days out both stopping the clock in the 2:30s.