A Pie and Coke Part of the Formula for Age Defying Kiwi Ironman Legend Cam Brown

12-time Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand champion Cameron Brown ONZM has well and truly earned the right to retire, to head off into the sunset and reflect on a stellar career that has him ranked in the top ten endurance athletes of all-time, perhaps with a beer in hand and the television remote close at hand.

Instead this indefatigable 46-year-old is preparing for yet another tilt at the IRONMAN World Championship brought to you by Amazon, in Hawaii on October 13 (5:35am October 14 NZT), having qualified as the oldest in the pro field and while the beer and couch are not yet in his daily routine, he does include a pie and coke on his long training days.

“I always stop for a pie and a coke, when you are out there for five or six hours you get sick of gels and I crave some normal food and I always run well off it, so it works,” says Brown. “That is just about having fun and enjoying the sport, that is part of why I have stayed in for so long.”

Brown has been around the traps for over 30 years, his first triathlon was back in 1987, and while he is comfortable in his skin and knows he will receive attention based purely on his age, it is his continued amazing form that people should take note of, with a third place finish at Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand earlier this year achieved in his fastest ever time of 8:07:10.

“I raced my fastest ever IRONMAN New Zealand this year, so my form is still fantastic regardless of my age. I do have to keep the body moving and ticking over.  The recovery factor is big, knowing when to taper and ease off and knowing that my body takes some time to recover and freshen up, not like ten years ago when I could go hard every day. That is the key for me these days is recovering well. I have heaps of massage, Normatech boots help and I can’t go as hard as I did a few years ago. I am always learning about myself and knowing what I can do each day, after 32 years in the sport I know what my body can handle.

“I can’t rest though, if I have more than a week off I get injured. After races that means active recovery. When I was in my thirties I could have three or four weeks off and go back running, if I did that now I would pull a calf, so active recovery is huge for me.”

With that experience comes a more relaxed approach heading into Kona, but Brown still has goals on the day as the event celebrates its 40th anniversary.

“I would love to get a top ten up there, anything beyond that would be a bonus. My last five years up there were shocking with everything from bee stings to sickness to injuries – you name it I did it. So, for me this is about a good race, one I can be happy with.

“But you need everything to go your way, it is the world championships and the toughest race in the world, anything can happen running a marathon through a lava field at 40 degrees.”

Brown has spent a month in preparation in the warmer climate of Australia’s Sunshine Coast.

“It has been a great build up over in Noosa to escape the weather at home and escape over there, the past few weeks have been really good. Australia had some days at 28 -30 degrees and some in the low twenties, but it is great training as you can recover well after long sessions in those temperatures, when we get to Hawaii it is in the mid-thirties and I have tried six-week training blocks there before and still bombed out.”

Many might question why Brown keeps on keeping on when he has surely done enough to earn some down time on that couch, maybe with a slightly less taxing ‘9 to 5’ mode of employment.

“I have a passion for the sport, I have always loved it. You have days when it is 12 or 13 degrees and it is pissing down with rain and you hate it, but I usually get up with a spring in the step and head out the door and do my day’s training. I love swim bike and running and competing around the world.

“A 46-year-old qualifying for the pro field at Kona doesn’t happen very often, I am the oldest man in the pro field and pushing boundaries all the time. I want to keep doing this for as long as I can for sure. It will be harder and harder from next year, you will have to win an IRONMAN or be on the podium at a regional championship so that will make it rougher. We have a record six men and two women qualify in the pro-fields which is incredible for our country.”

The inevitable question about retirement comes up in most interviews but Brown is non-committal as to whether this might be his last visit to Kona as a pro-competitor.

“Never say never, time is ticking by, but hey I am still pushing the body to new levels and having fun. I won’t give up until I do stop having fun.  Every morning for the last four weeks I was up at 5:15 and swimming six and a half k’s and riding five or six hours. If you don’t have that motivation it is hard to push yourself. I have had no such issues getting out of bed and kick starting the motor and pushing this 46-year-old body around the streets of Noosa.”

Brown is joined in the pro ranks at the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship brought to you by Amazon, by Callum Millward, Braden Currie, Mike Phillips and Simon Cochrane (Terenzo Bozzone also qualified but has since withdrawn), while in the women’s field rookie Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand winner Teresa Adam and Melanie Burke will fly the Kiwi flag.