James Cunnama (winner of Challenge Roth 2012), had an extremely tough but brilliant race in the Ironman World championships in Kona this past weekend.
The South African showed his mettle when he fought back hard from 7th position in the last 3km of the race to finish in 4th place behind Sebastian Kienle (GER).
But James is more than a champion and a fearsome opponent; he also knows how to just have fun. This was when he and Jodie Swallow (70.3 World Champion 2010), combined their strengths to form part of a charity team. We asked them to tell us more about their first race as a team.
James and Jodie, you are both pro-Ironman athletes in your own right. You are used to running your own race. Last year, however, you found yourself being part of a team participating in the in the XTERRA South Africa Charity race. What made you decide to do it?
Neither of us could have done the Xterra event ourselves – our mountain bike skills leave a lot to be desired! For us it was a way to join the fun and support some of the local talent.
As professional athletes it is impossible to hold back – you go out there to win the race. How is participating in a team event – especially when the event is for charity - different from running your own race?
We both went out hard and did our best, it our nature after all! The events of the day turned into something of a personal challenge rather than a head-to-head race with other teams though.
What was the most important lesson you learned from your team experience?
It is important to give back and be a part of your community. I think that it took very little from us, and was great fun. However, it meant a lot to the youngsters dreaming of being pro’s one day. Even the guys who weren’t racing were inspired by the day!
What would your advice be to any team who enter a race?
Primarily the team race is about having fun. A bit of competitiveness is also fun though! I would say that all teams should set their own goals first, and worry about racing other teams second.
Will you do it again should the opportunity arise?
Definitely! It was a lot of fun, and perhaps without technical problems we could have a winning team!
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? ENTER YOUR TEAM NOW AND JOIN THE FUN!
THIS IS XTERRA
No comments:
Post a Comment