It's been a long year, but what a way to finish!

A world champs at home :)

The final race of the year.

And what a way to end the year; the 70.3 World Championships at home here in NZ.

I am already down here in Taupo and can feel that the number of athletes in town are increasing day by day, and so are the excitement levels. It has been really cool to see other athletes from around the world coming to see a small part of NZ and enjoying their time here.

The weather for race day looks good (perhaps even a little warm!), which is great news. I think we will be on for a great weekend here!

Since the last newsletter I raced Western Australia. I would say I raced okay; not great but also not bad. The swim was very choppy and I was unable to stick with the front group unfortunately. I have been swimming well lately but I just struggled in the conditions. So I found myself in a bit of a frustrating position after the swim - behind the front 3 athletes who had formed a group at the front, but ahead of a big group behind that formed of around 10 athletes working together.

I rode solo the whole way which was challenging in the very windy conditions, but I am proud of riding a solid and honest ride. Going out onto the run I felt like I was missing a top gear. I ran okay but never found any leg speed, probably partly due to the unforgiving ride beforehand. I finished in 7th which wasn’t what I was hoping for, but due to the close racing, I still managed great pro series points which was the main goal.

And now we have just one race left for 2024!

Recovery between WA and Taupo has involved more sleeping than usual, plenty of good food (Thanks to ANZCO), my morning MitoQ, a good massage after arriving back, plenty of stretching and rolling, and just taking it easy on days that I need to. My motivation is obviously super high, but the important thing now is to arrive at race day with as much energy as possible. We’ve had to pull back on a couple of sessions due to end-of-season tiredness and wanting to play it safe.

I expect the racing here on Saturday to be fast and furious for the big finale of the year. There’s no reason for anyone to hold back, so it should make for interesting watching!

The women’s field is looking really strong, with almost all the top contenders making the trip out here to race. For me, I hope to be as close to the top10 as possible. This will be a big challenge in a speedy field but as I mentioned, there’s no holding back. Also, getting over 1200 points for the Pro Series should secure 4th place. So that is also a big aim for the day.

For those of you who are here racing too, all the best!

And hopefully I will bump into a few of you around Taupo :)

Last one of the year, lets gooooo!

Thanks to TriKai for supporting this newsletter, it’s great to have a kiwi based triathlon nutrition distributor with such an epic range of product. Certainly been a life-saver for me! Use the code: HANNAH10 for 10% off your order.

I also want to give a big shoutout to Calley Homes for their support over the 8 months. I’m proud to represent the Bay of Plenty and have always wanted to support a local company. Johnny, Michelle & the team do such a great job of doing the region justice through the quality of homes they build. Check out their Instagram to get a peep on just how cool these spots are!