Help Harrison get to the IRONMAN World Champs 2021 to compete as the NZ 18-24 champion in Hawaii

$8,935 of $10,000 goal

Given by 64 generous donors in over a year

After competing in my first ever IRONMAN I have managed to win the 18-24 age group and qualify for the World Championship in Kona, Hawai`i.

Auckland

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My journey to qualifying for the 2021 IRONMAN World Championship was somewhat accidental. A year ago I was looking for something to challenge me physically and mentally after the rugby season was cancelled, so I signed up for the full IRONMAN in Taupō as it was something completely out of my comfort zone.

I trained hard for 9 months and on race day I did the 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and 42.2km run in 10h46m14s, winning the 18-24 age group. This qualified me for the World Championship this October in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i, the home of IRONMAN, where I have the chance to compete alongside the very best professional and age group athletes in the world.

I’m a full-time second year Auckland Uni student, with limited savings, and any support would be a massive help and hugely appreciated.

Getting to Kona is more expensive than usual due to COVID with increased flight costs and 2 weeks managed isolation when I get back. My other expenses include the race entry, accommodation and food.

Anyone who knows me, knows how dedicated I have been to training and any support at all will go a long way in helping me fulfil a life long dream of becoming an international athlete and representing New Zealand on the world stage.

One of my fundraising goals is also to work with a professional IRONMAN coach in preparation for the race. To this point, I’ve done most of my training on my own and have had the support of many great friends who have offered advice and training tips but now it's time to step things up a notch and see how fast I can get.

Thank you for reading this far and for considering my request for support.

Mahalo 🤙🏽

Use of funds

Return flights from Auckland - NZD ($5,000)

Mandatory 2 week isolation upon return to NZ - NZD $3,000

Accommodation – NZD $2,000

Race entry – NZD $1,700

Travel expenses (food, car etc) – NZD $1,000

Professional IRONMAN coach - NZD $1,500

IMWC Update - 3 months out 12 July 2022

Hey everyone,

It's been a while since I last posted an update, so here it is in case you forgot about me 😅 It's less than three months until race day now and I'll be starting my final 12 week block of training next week to get into top racing shape!

This year started out as a real struggle for me, I was finding things particularly hard mentally and inevitably this started to show in my training and I began to feel really burnt out. Ironman NZ ended up getting cancelled in March which was kind of a blessing in disguise as it allowed me to step back and take a bit of a break and reset and focus a bit more on uni.

I started working with a new coach in May and things have been going really well since and I'm feeling in better shape than I was last year. Training through the wet winter isn’t the most fun but the numbers in training have been really promising 😊.

I’m super excited to be heading to Hawaii soon and putting the last couples years of dedication to the test! This year has brought about many new challenges but things are now heading in the right direction and I’m ready to give it everything! Again none of this would’ve been possible without those who’ve donated and offered their support so thank you.

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