As she contemplates participating in the Sovereign Duo at Villa Maria in just over two weeks, few can appreciate the tragic event that was the initial spark for Auckland’s Helene Browne to get into triathlon.
Helene’s mother was just 49 when she passed away with heart disease. With memories of her mum still strong, Helene got a checkup at her doctors when she turned 40 and found out that she had high blood pressure, and that’s when her life changed – for the better.
“From that point on I decided I needed to make changes to my lifestyle. I started getting back into running again. I used to run when I was younger and when my kids were younger. My husband got into cycling, so I decided to have a go at cycling with him. And so the only thing left was swimming. I had to learn to swim freestyle, I could swim but not freestyle. So then I had all three components and decided to get into Triathlon.”
Thee three arts of triathlon finally all came together some ten years ago, and Helene, now 57, hasn’t looked back since as she gets ready for summer with the all new Sovereign Duathlon at Villa Maria Winery on November 15.
“It’s all just taken off from there really, I have made great friends and met wonderful people and I couldn’t actually tell you how many Triathlons I have now done.”
 Helene Browne(Photo: Tri NZ; click to enlarge) |
Helene upped the ante a few years ago, when she decided to give an Ironman a go. And she never in her wildest imagination would have thought she would be capable of racing in an Ironman.
“It was to celebrate my 50th birthday. I probably wasn’t that ready for the Ironman, but I trained hard and finished and that’s really what it’s all about. It was a wonderful experience, which pushed me to my limits. I’ve now done an Ironman, five half Ironmans and a numerous amount of Triathlons.”
Back in September, Helene represented New Zealand at the World Age Group Sprint Championships in Chicago.
“It was good, the course was good, and it probably went as I expected it would go for me. It was really hot though, it was 30 degrees and coming from a New Zealand winter it was hard to adjust to the hot conditions. Unfortunately for me, my age group’s race started just after midday so we were right in the hot part of the day. But apart from that it was a great experience”.
She’s just getting back into training again ahead of the opening Sovereign Tri Series event of the summer at Villa Maria. Helene’s a big fan of the Tri Series and can’t wait for it to get underway for another year. She’s intrigued by the Villa Maria race.
“It’s a great event for me because it is part of the Sovereign Tri Series and it’s in Auckland, which is wonderful. I like mixing up the type of races I compete in, so the fact that it is a duathlon is appealing to me. It will be an interesting race but I look forward to having a glass of wine or even some champagne at the end of the day.”
Now the treasurer of the Auckland City Tri Club, Triathlon is a massive part of Helene’s life. She’s proud to say that getting into the sport has been a life changing experience.
“For me personally, yes it has been life changing. If given the chance again I probably would have started a bit earlier on, but in saying that my kids were older when I took up so sport, so I had a bit more time on my hands to train. I would really like to encourage more people to get into the sport of Triathlon, as it has been a fantastic journey for me and I have made lots of new friends. Most importantly, it’s never too late to start.”
If you’re interested in getting involved in Triathlon or taking part in any of the Sovereign Tri Series events around the country, click here for more details.
Meanwhile be sure to find a race distance to suit your ability and join Helene and others on what promises to be a great day – with that glass of wine or champagne to round off a neat new event. Make sure to register here.
