Crash victim accomplishes her dream

Alison King | 9th March 2010

IRONMAN

A bike crash in the days leading up to Ironman New Zealand couldn't stop Sarah Pitcher-Campbell from achieving her dream.

The 31-year-old was taken to hospital on Wednesday for stitches after a car pulled out in front of her on Taupo's Spa Rd. Her bike was in two pieces, her legs covered in cuts and her first Ironman race looked to be over.

"I'm lucky to have started the race, let alone finish it," she told The Daily Post yesterday morning after an 11hrs 55mins 5secs effort on Saturday.

With a mangled bike, she needed help to get on the start line and was lucky to be loaned a replica of the one she has trained on for the past year.

"It felt like my bike," she said. "I might not have been what I was before the accident but I felt so comfortable. They [Avantiplus Cyclezone] made it feel like it was my bike.

"The crash took a lot of stress out of the race and I wasn't worried about it at all. I had no perceived expectations as they'd been wiped out already.

"I now feel like the day after the crash, all stiff and sore again."

Pitcher-Campbell said she felt good on the bike and decided to just see how far she could run.

"I thought I should be able to run but not properly.

Joining Pitcher-Campbell as a first-time Ironman finisher from Rotorua was Deanna Hape, 44, who had to learn to swim to be able to get through the race.

Hape was beaming from ear to ear as she ran along the lakefront, having made it to her strongest discipline.

"I had a good day," she said. "I don't know about doing another one. I'm certainly not in a great hurry to come back. I've got such a full life but I wouldn't say no."

She said she listened to Rotorua coach Scott Donaldson's advice about finding clear water in the swim and didn't find it as tough as she had expected.

"It didn't feel any different to swimming across Blue Lake and back. I knew I wasn't going to be fast. I just had to take my time and get it out of the way. I was really relieved when I got to the shore.

"The ride was tough but I've had wind on my training rides. You have to grin and bear it."

On the run, Deanna made up for lost time, picking off competitors one by one, eventually rising 200 places during the 42km run.

"There's nothing that can describe what it's like when you have 1km to go and there are people everywhere. I could feel this big smile."

Meanwhile, Jenny Barnett achieved her goal after missing out on a medal by 17 minutes at last year's race. The Turangi 61-year-old finished the race with 12 minutes to spare on Saturday.

* Rotorua Ironman finishers: Jeremy Aldworth 13hrs 22mins 29secs; Martin Carlyle 15hrs 9mins 24secs, Clarrie Hall 14hrs 3mins 40secs, Deanna Hape 13hrs 50mins 11secs, Richard Holliday 13hrs 56mins 30secs, Chris McGuire 11hrs 20mins 19secs, John Molloy 13hrs 25mins 12 secs, Guy Nelson 10hrs 26mins 16secs, Lawrence Oldershaw 9hrs 49mins 56secs, Sarah Pitcher-Campbell 11hrs 55mins 5secs, Charlotte Porter 12hrs 26mins 54secs, Jenny Barnett 16hrs
48mins 23secs.