Cameron Brown Podiums @ Half Ironman Malaysia

Race day dawned with clear blue skies and I wasn't too happy about that! Racing in the unrelenting heat of Asia is something-else, so I always hope for some cloud cover or even rain! The starting-gun sounded at 7:20am and we were off for the 1.9km swim in the protected waters of the Puteri harbour. I was comfortably sitting with the front boys along side Freddie Croneburg, Australian's Mitch Robins, Lachie Keiren and Nick Baldwin until the 1200m mark when we sighted the wrong buoy. I was one of the athletes not keeping my eyes open until a jet ski came across to say we were heading in the wrong direction. By that time, Mitch and Lachie were already on the correct line and they opened up a 45sec gap from our silly mistake. I was out of the water in 3rd and quickly tried to reel in the leaders on the fast 3 lap bike course.

At around the 15km mark we all came back together and there was a lead group of 5 athletes at the front. Halfway through the bike ride, a huge storm hit the race and we were now riding in torrential rain and wind. It quickly passed, but now the roads were completely soaked and there was even flooding in some parts. My wish for rain had come true, so I was happy as the temps had cooled considerably. It still meant the run would be hot and humid and over 30°C, but there was no sun coming through the overcast conditions until only the final 20mins of the run. 

At the end of the 90km bike leg, we were down to 4 athletes with Lachie falling foul to a broken front fork! I was feeling much better than my last race in the Philippines having some decent training under my belt, but it was still going to be difficult beating the other guys who are in there 20's and early 30's! They all took off like rabbits out of T2, forcing me to control my run as I was still afraid the sun would show it's true force late in the run and hoping they would be hurting later on. That wasn't the case in the end with Mitch Robins taking the win and Sweden's Fredrik Croneburg in 2nd. I finished 3rd and happy to be on the podium! My 12-day training camp in Noosa, Australia had helped with my fitness as I prepare for Ironman Western Australia in 10 weeks’ time. With summer on its way to New Zealand and day light savings starting, this will be a big help in the next two months as I prepare for this race and the New Zealand season.