Ironman Cairns, Australia 2014 Race Report
“Jack Nunn, you are an Ironman.” Gosh it feels good to hear those words. After 11 hours, 6 minutes, 34 seconds and the fastest Ironman bike split and time I have done, it was certainly a race I will never forget.
It started on the Friday before, we flew into Cairns and I met up with my best friend Billy Panter and his family as we prepared for an incredible event. This was going to be my 4th Ironman competition and Billy’s first Ironman as I was helping coach and train with him for the many months leading up to this race. At the welcome dinner, I was also introduced to the story “Shining for Sharn“, about Sharn McNeill who has motor neuron disease, a wicked sense of humor and the most determination of any human being I know. Hearing these stories helped put me at ease and having been through a roller coaster of emotions, on race morning I finally felt calm and ready.
Swim: The race had a split transition as we started 25kms north of Cairns, in tropical Palm Cove where they had just spotted crocodiles a few weeks ago along with storms that rolled through as it rained nearly everyday. We had a house right on the beach on Palm Beach so we had to 
wake up at 4am and walk to the bike T1 and get everything ready before the swim start which was a 15 minute walk from our place. I positioned myself smack bang in the middle of 2,000 + athletes and prepared myself for the boxing match known as an Ironman ‘mass start’ swim. The swim in this particular Ironman would be my personally be my last mass swim start with all Ironman races as they began noticing more deaths due to the unsafe havoc of mass swim starts. Wave swim starts were initiated and starting rolling out with the great success in 2014 and beyond. Now in 2016, nearly all Ironman races have wave streamlined swim starts which are much safer and easier on the athletes not only physically but mentally. The swim was 2 laps with very long and rough sections. Despite having to wrestle around people to find some clear water, being in such a big pack is beneficial to get sucked along. Knowing that crocodiles, sharks, and jellyfish were surrounding me it actually made me swim a bit faster than usual as it was my second fastest swim ever.
Swim time: 1:15:51
Bike: The entire bike course was a closed course to Port Douglass which is rare for Ironman but awesome for course safety and speed. Not having to 
worry about cars on the road especially in a foreign country on the other side of the road was a big plus. Coming out of T1 I wasn’t phased by the rain and weather and once settled on the bike, I felt confident. However, coming out of transition had to stop due to lost water bottles on speed bumps during the very beginning of the bike and the again in middle of course due to chain derailment. Don’t forget to pass on your left. Not your right. Cyclists were upset at me as I had to apologize a few times and literally say ‘Sorry, I’m American’… which at the time made sense but now I laugh whenever I think about those moments. Riding to power was effective over the hilly section of the course and I was able to pick up free speed quickly on the downhills. I stopped once to go to the bathroom and had a special goals of maintaining 23mph speed throughout the entire bike ride. I made the turn back home from Port Douglas and felt strong. Mentally, I remained in control and fought my way to maintain speed while looking forward to a 
cool run along the waterfront in Cairns while staying cool with the rain.
Bike time: 5:13:48
This was and still is my fastest Ironman bike split PR fighting the entire time to get close to 23. Finished with 22.3
Run: I knew I had a good chance to break 11 hours for the full Ironman course but I actually tripped on a curb out of transition and had to stop for a long toilet break which would slow my time down. Working with the awesome crowd support, I enjoyed myself a bit too much on the first lap (of 3) on the run. It was time to catch the clock and go for it. I honestly thought I could pull a 3:40 marathon out of the bag and I ran the first 14km lap with this in mind, allowing me to gain confidence. However every step after this was a struggle. Technically, this is called going out too hard, but I knew that once I was in front, the competitor within me would ensure I stayed there. I don’t think any amount of training could have prepared me for the pain at 
this point, and the terror of still having 28km to go. I had written down some positive thoughts prior to race day, knowing I would need them at some point. After that first lap I was at war with my legs, begging them not to stop. My smile turned into a grimace and every thought was surrounded around breaking that 11 hour barrier.
Run: 4:26:21
Finally the finish line was ahead and running down the red carpet into the blinding lights and the voice of Pete Murray saying those four awesome words “You are an Ironman” was absolutely everything it cracked up to be. I was very emotional as I ran down the last stretch of the run course and knowing that I was just going to miss breaking 11 hours didn’t matter anymore but being able to share this experience with Billy’s family and friends was the most amazing experience of all. Thank you also to the awesome volunteers who braved the weather to ensure we athletes could finish the race. Finally, to my awesome sponsors at Red Ace Organics/Beets, Rudy Project, Juice Plus, MG Sport, and Honey Stinger for your continued support, as none of this would be possible without you.
Finish: My fastest Ironman to date at 11:06:34
I do also offer personalized coaching for Triathletes looking to get better times in each discipline on the swim, bike, and run. There are no long-term contracts! Whether you want to jumpstart your triathlon training with an expert consultation or hone your fitness with ongoing coaching, the best commitment you can make is to yourself.
Triathlon Training by an expert: Jack Nunn is the ‘unconventional’ triathlete – standing 6’3″ tall and weighing in at 220 pounds and was the 2015 Olympic Distance USA Triathlon Clydesdale Champion while still holding the fastest time to date at 2 hrs and 15 minutes in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Since 2008, he has competed in 14 Full Ironman competitions around the world and in August 2017 Jack recently completed the Isklar Norseman Xtreme triathlon in Norway. This race bills itself as, ‘simply the ultimate triathlon on planet Earth’ and is regarded by many athletes and pros as the hardest Ironman distance triathlon in the world. It’s a total of 226km spread over a freezing cold swim, a brutal bike ride with 17,000 feet of elevation, and a seemingly impossible marathon footrace up a mountain. In 2013, he also began racing shorter sprint triathlons, winning his age group in almost every event and has now raced in over 100 events around the world.
Special mention to Billy Panter and his incredible family including Bob, Nancy, and Libby for helping us along the way because if not for you I would not have visited the beautiful sights of Australia including the Daintree forest, the Great Barrier Reef, Steve Irwin’s Zoo, Gold Coast, Byron Bay, and more. I also still hold my best Ironman finish time to date. Billy did extremely well and fought adversity on the bike as he blew 2 tires and had to push through the entire race finishing with a very respectable sub 13 hour finish time. The amount of training we did in preparation for this event was incredible and we had a blast along the way.
Details of the mass start swim and more highlights from Ironman Cairns below in the video
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