Former elite triathlete Clark Ellice will be amongst the 400 plus participants on the start line at the .kiwi Duathlon National Champs in Taupo this Sunday and while the Taranaki athlete (now Auckland based) has been away from the glare of top level triathlon for the best part of a year now, he admits to some excitement at the thought of chasing a national title in Taupo.
"Absolutely, a national title would be cool to go with the three I have already from triathlon, even though I am only doing the sprint distance in Taupo this weekend at the .kiwi Nationals. I am still having to be mindful of my Achilles tendon and not overdo the running at the moment so the sprint distance is perfect for me to continue to ease my way back. While I am primarily doing this for the fun of it, I must admit the competitive juices do get flowing a little at the thought of a national title, they are opportunities to be treasured at any time in your career."
The former ITU specialist is now just as focused on his coaching and personal training career and says that too plays a part in his racing this Sunday.
"I am building a coaching career in the sport and working at my day job as a personal trainer now too. I graduated at Max Fitness College with a double diploma in business and fitness & now working as a contracted personal trainer through Priority One Fitness Studios in Albany and growing my Tri coaching base, working with my new coach Sam Warriner.
"I have a couple of athletes taking part on Sunday, one in the schools championship events so it is great to be there to support them too. My priorities from a future competitive point of view are in the 70.3 distance events, that is where my goals are, including a crack at the 70.3 World Champs in the next two years and from there, a crack at Ironman. If I am going to coach and offer coaching to long distance as well as standard distance athletes, I figure I better walk the walk and get some experience under the belt as a competitor so I can pass that on to my athletes."
The recently engaged Ellice has a little experience of Duathlons from his time as a pro athlete and is looking forward to racing in Taupo on Sunday.
"At the moment this is primarily about having some fun, having just gone through ten months of rehab on the Achilles I just want to get back on the horse and focus on a few races coming up over the summer, there is nothing in stone yet, I just want a few weeks good training and get consistency.
"This weekend is a great way to ease back in, I raced at the Auckland Duathlon Champs in Pukekohe a week or so back and that blew a few cobwebs off. I got third there, it was good fun. I can't wait for this course in Taupo though, I have heard great things about it on the motorsport circuit and surrounding roads, I have the disc wheel lined up with deep dish on the front to see if I can do some low flying around that course!"
Racing takes place on Sunday at Taupo Motorsport Park, with registrations and late entries on Saturday afternoon from 2:30 to 4:30pm at Taupo Motorsport Park. There are event categories to suit everyone, from National Schools Championships age groups, to beginner, sprint and standard distance. You don't have to be contending for a national title to come to Taupo and have some fun this weekend.
While not in the same race as Ellice, another one to watch on Sunday is television and radio presenter and former international cricketer Mark Richardson. The host of The Block and Crowd Goes Wild is taking part in his first standard distance duathlon as he continues towards his goal of qualifying for the New Zealand team to the Chicago ITU Age Group World Championships in 2015.
Late entries are still being accepted for the .kiwi Duathlon Nationals in Taupo, with racing on Sunday 31st August at Taupo Motorsport Park.
