More than 20 years in the club, an Ironman p.b. at 63, a 2:38 marathon, 100-mile trail races, and summits on four of the world’s Seven Summits. Bill has packed a fair bit into his sporting life, and at 70+ he’s showing no signs of slowing down. His ambition? To still be running marathons in his 80s.
Bill, how long have you been part of Bayside Tri Club?
More than 20 years, across Bayside and Taylor Made Triathlon Clubs. Taylor Made merged with Bayside around 2010, although I forget the exact year.
And after all that time, what keeps you at Bayside?
Number 1, 2 and 3: great people.
Good answer! Have you always been sporty?
I grew up in Drummoyne in Sydney and played cricket, batting at number four, Rugby Union at fly half, and did plenty of running.
You've lived in quite a few other places since then too?
Yes, Armidale in NSW, Low Head in Tasmania, the Pilbara in WA, Adelade, Wuhu in China, and Melbourne.
There's surely a story behind that list! What took you to all those places?
Work as a research scientist, a chemical engineer, and in operations management. At one point I had the fortunate opportunity to set up and run a green-field manufacturing operation in China producing seating and other components for Chery Automotive. It was a great 4 years in Wuhu working with some fabulous people. Jennie was seconded as an English teacher at Chery’s head office – and featured on Chinese TV!
Wow! So who else is in the Bill support crew these days?
Along with Jennie, there’s our two children and two grandchildren.
In terms of triathlon, you've done all the usual distances?
Yes, Sprint, Standard, Half Ironman and Ironman.
"Usual" might be the wrong word when we look at some of your PBs. Give us a few...
My Ironman PB is 11:40, which I did at 63.
A lifetime ago I ran 1:07:50 for the half marathon and 2:38 for the marathon.
Since turning 70, I've run 1:42 for the half marathon, 3:45 for the marathon and 11:40 for 100km.
At age 66 I survived a 100-mile trail race with 6,000 metres of climbing in 30 hours – I’ve done a few more since then.
Bill! Some of us were feeling quite good about ourselves until we read that.
What's your favourite race distance these days and why?
Half marathon – because I can still run at a reasonable pace at that distance without really beating myself up, lol.
Of all your sporting achievements, which are you most proud of?
Climbing Mt Vinson, Antarctica's highest peak, and Denali, North America's highest peak, both without assistance – no sherpas / porters in those places. Both were demanding physically, environmentally, technically, mentally and emotionally, but I got to the summits.
Maybe the most enjoyable, though, was climbing Kilimanjaro via the Western Breach route with Jennie. 😊
Wait, what?! We've gone from triathlon to mountaineering. What got you into climbing mountains in the first place?
Maybe because of the challenge, the people, and the opportunity to see amazing places – the interior of Antarctica is truly beautiful and brutal (the team I was with camped out in a blizzard with near zero visibility for 2 weeks along with a team of Russians – playing chess and drinking vodka).
Ha! What's the most epic race you've done?
Maybe Alpe d’Huez Triathlon on a cold rainy day. The lake swim was freezing, the bike ride up Alpe d’Huez was fun and the run epic. I think I was second last in my age group out of the water, caught a few people on the bike and passed just about everyone on the run.
Actually, it was probably the Wilsons Prom 100km run on an unbelievably difficult day. It rained 100mm and the winds were 100km/h all day. No BS. It was exhilarating!
Sounds nuts. 😂 Have you ever DNF'd?
Never in a triathlon, although I've had my share of tyre punctures and bad swims. I was always a lane 8 swimmer and Clint always shook his head at me, lol.
I've DNF'd a few 100km runs after doing stupid things. You live and learn.
And the most stupid thing was?
The most stupid was flying from Detroit, arriving in Melbourne on Friday afternoon, then driving to Apollo Bay for the Friday evening briefing before a 5am race start on Saturday. At the 50km mark I sat down... and couldn't stay awake.
Reason for DNF: fell asleep. 😂
What about race-day mistakes?
Way too many.
Probably the biggest silly mistake happened recently at the Cairns Marathon. I was leading my age group with just 50 metres to go, after busting a gut over the final 5km. I looked around to see where the bloke in second place was – what a doozy of a mistake. Instead of finishing first in 3:42, I landed face-first on the concrete, was unconscious for four minutes, spent four days in hospital and finished second in 3:48.
😳 That escalated quickly! So the lesson for the rest of us?
Don't look around when you're sprinting for a finish line. 😊
After everything you've already done, what's left on the bucket list?
To still be running marathons in my 80s.
I reckon we'd all like to know your secret. What has helped you keep training and competing at this level into your 70s?
At an OK level – a great marital relationship, a good diet (low carb) and always wanting to do better (age group wise) in the next race.
Aww, that’s lovely to hear about your wonderful marriage. Done any other cool events with Jennie?
Many. One of the photos is of us finishing the Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon (virtual) during the covid lockdown. Jennie took 60 days and I took 30 days to finish the 1050km course – because what else do you during Covid lockdowns? About 150 people did the run.
Doh, wish I’d known about that.
Is there one event or adventure you haven't done yet that still tempts you?
Yes, but I’m not saying yet.
Ooo! Watch this space…!
Finally, after 20-plus years around BTC, what advice would you give someone who's just joined the club or is doing their first triathlon?
Just give things your best shot and be proud of yourself for being out there testing yourself. Have fun and listen to the coach.
Thanks Bill, really wonderful to hear your story. Best of luck for your future endeavours.
