Training for an Ironman triathlon in the searing heat of the Australian Outback, a Broken Hill police officer is preparing to tackle one of the world’s toughest endurance events.
PLAY AUDIO
Audio Script:
NEROLI ROOKE: Long-distance races are grueling enough in mild temperatures, but think of how tough it would be to do all your training in the Australian Outback. It’s dusty, dry, and temperatures regularly top 40 C in summer – not to forget the snakes.
Broken Hill policeman Wayne Demrey is training for an upcoming Ironman event – 3.86 kilometers of swimming, followed by a 180-kilometer bike ride and then a marathon to top it off.
(sound of a runner’s footsteps)
NICKY REDL: You’d think that if you lived and worked in the hot Outback, you’d take up a cool sport. Swimming, perhaps, to stay out of the sun. But not so Wayne Demrey, who lives and works in the mining town of Broken Hill, in the far west of New South Wales. When he is not working the beat as a policeman, you’ll find him training hard for marathons, triathlons, and even gruelling Ironman events.
And without any training squads around, he has to do most of the training on his own. So, how does he stay motivated? Hello, I’m Nicky Redl, and Wayne has just come in from a training session, getting ready for Ironman Western Australia, and even which involves swimming, cycling, and running.
WAYNE DEMREY: It starts off with a 3.86-kilometer swim. You have about 1,500 people who start swimming together at the same time. So, it’s just like someone is starting an outboard motor in front of your face. You just get bashed, and kicked, and hit. There are no friends in an Ironman swim. You get off that, and you go on a 180-kilometer bikeride, and then you finish off with a 42.2-kilometer marathon run… (continues)
Broadcast on ABC Radio National’s Rural Reporter in 2009.