A little history for you all.

I often get asked why and more importantly how I go about doing all this Ultra stuff that I do.It seems that most people think it's crazy and will eventually lead to my early demise after some sort of physical breakdown.Now you all must understand that I,like the rest of the planet,thought that the whole Julie Moss at Ironman Hawaii thing,was just amazing and was truly inspired to one day reach that highest of highs and finish an Ironman.That was twenty five years ago when I saw the T.V coverage during one particularly boring afternoon shift working as a busboy in the public bar of the Sydney Hilton in Australia.I had run track and cross country at high school and was on the school swim team so I figured that this crazy event would be achievable for me.That was until I discovered girls and alcohol.Suffice it to say my athletic accomplishments were then confined to the chasing of various young females around numerous bars in Sydneys Kings Cross district.
Years passed and I moved on and up to the tropical city of Cairns in far north Australia where after one crazy trip down Austalias' east coast by bike I started competing with the local triathlon club.I remember the day I was able to ride for an hour at an average speed of 30kph(18.75mph).I was a legend in my own lunchtime!Little did I know that eight years later I would be able to hold that speed,and more,for two hundred miles while cruising toward my first Ultraman win.
It wasn't until 1991 that I made it to the start line of an Ironman.It was Ironman Canada and and Lloyd Wallington friend of mine had convinced me, eight weeks before the event, that I should go with him to Canada.He dragged my sorry ass all over the hills around Cairns in training and for seven weeks I suffered like a dog.Race day in Penticton arrived and I managed to cross the line in 11:48ish(I don't remember the exact time).That was all it took,I was an Ironman and I was hooked.
I returned to Penticton in 1993 and soon I was well and truly part of the Ironman fold thinking that I had reached the pinnacle of athletic achievement for an average Joe.That was until I met Tom Price.He was the two-time winner of Ironman Canada and had been invited to come up to Penticton to race Ultraman Canada.I,along with my girlfriend Leisa and best mate Mori, were asked to crew for him.What happened that weekend changed my view of what is humanly possible.We met Tom the day before the race and he was a very nice chap.Very intense but nice.He told us what he needed us to do and left us no doubt that we were not to stray from his instructions.He was so professional in how he went about that weekend it amazed me.History will show that Tom won Ultraman that year and we have remained friends to this day.His race plan and preparation have been the blueprint for evey race I have done since.
The following year Tom was supposed to return to defend his title and we were lined up to crew again but as result of the huge fires burning around the district Tom decided, for health reasons not to come.I was then asked, after a drunken Margarita Thursday at the local pub, if I would step in and race in his place.Stupidly I said "sure why not"!!We had all the sponsorship in place and so with 30 hours notice and with just my Ironman training behind me I lined up for my first Ultraman Canada Triathlon.I managed to win the whole thing that weekend but truth be known if local legend Steve King could swim at all he would have won.It is however a three sport event and he would have to settle for second place.He did kick my butt in the run though.Again my Ultraman experience found me another friend and mentor.Steve is never far from what I'm up to in the world of all things Ultra.
I started meeting all kinds of triathletes from all over the world and of all talent levels from the pros to the back of the pack guys.I also started meeting some guys who where into the long stuff.I mean,the really long stuff.I soon found out about Double Ironman,Triple Ironman,The Deca,RAAM and the Trans-America Footrace.I couldn't believe that it was possible but over the next few years I got to hang out with,drink with,train and race with some of the best Ultra-endurance athetes in the world.Suddenly Ironman wasn't the hardest thing in the world.There was more,way more.
My perception changed and I started reading every book I could find on Everest expeditions,Polar exploration and adventure travel and again the degree of suffering the human mind,body and spirit are capable of was shown to me in the pages of those books.I started to think that maybe I was one of those people and and after watching an English mate of mine train for and race the Deca Ironman in the mid '90s I decided that was one race I would have to do.He ended up breaking the world record for that race but was still fourth overall.His time still stands as the Great Britain record and he would go on to complete the Trans-Australia footrace,win the last ever held Trans America footrace and than run accross Europe.He only has to run from the Russian border to Singapore and he will have run around the world.His name is Bobby Brown and he is a dead set legend.
You can't help but be changed when you meet these people and that was evident when I was sitting in a lab at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver with Deca Ironman champ,Erik Seedhouse and Ultraman Canada and Hawaii champ Tracy Preston.We were talking about the extreme sport fad and Erik bluntly told us that is his opinion a sport is not extreme unlees you are standing at the startline without actually knowing whether you would live through it.Now that was cool.Again it was all about perception.He had risked life and limb climbing the highest peaks of the world and so to him it took a lot before his mind gave in to defeat.That was the one attutude that truly has stayed with me all these years.If your mind stays strong you can keep going when most would stop.
This is how I live now.I am not an elite athlete by any stretch of the imagination but what I am is strong.I love to hurt,I love to suffer and I love show others just what is possible if you only have a bit of faith in yourself and the courage to try.

A new adventure begins

Greetings all.It's time once agagin for me to dust off the old MTB and hitch up the trailer for another adventure on the road.This time however there are a couple of differences to the last time I was out there doing what I do.The first difference is that I am really pressed for time.I have one month to ride from Penticton B.C to Leredo Texas in time to be picked up and taken to Monterrey in Mexico to compete in the Deca-Ironman World Challenge.The race begins on November 5th and is a ten Ironman stage race with an Iron distance race each day for ten days.The lowest accumulated time over the ten days wins.Sounds simple enough-yeah right!!
The distance I have to ride is about 4000k(2500miles) and I will be passing through the border just south of Penticton B.C and heading through Boise,Salt Lake City,Albuquerque,Austin and then Laredo.That works out to about 125k(78miles)a day for 32 days plus doing my run and swim training as well.All things being equal that shouldn't be a problem if riding was all I was doing.The other thing not as yet mentioned is that I also have to dedicate time toward the newest challenge in my life.My year as a charity fundraiser.
During the 2007 running of Ultraman Canada we were all introduced to a small charitable group called "Althetes in Kind".This group, based in Pitt Meadows just outside of Vancouver,raises money for the families of those who are affected by the huge financial burden of a family member fighting cancer.I was very impressed with "Team Athletes in Kind" and the charitys' founder Lorie Muller.After reading through the Athletes in Kind website I figured it was time that I actually got off my lazy butt and tried to do something worthwhile for a change.To that end I have promised Lorie that I would dedicate the next year to raising money for,and the profile of, Athletes in Kind.The road to the Deca-Iron and the event itself is the first stage of a whole year of trans-continental cycling and Ultra-triathlon competition ending with Ultraman Canada in 2008.
So sit back,relax and follow along as I head out for anothers of Nick's Ultra adventures.Keep your fingers crossed and you credit cards handy 'cause here we go again!