Introducing Martyn Brunt: Wiggle / 220 Triathalon Magazine Winner.

In March 2009 Wiggle teamed up with 220 Triathlon Magazine issue 231 to offer a sponsorship package to become a 220-Wiggle athlete for 2009.

This sponsorship package adds up to be the biggest prize purse 220 Triathlon Magazine has offered in their twenty years serving the worlds Triathletes.

The Prize Purse.

Martyn is sponsored by Focus for all his bike needs and is currently riding:

Training Bike: Focus Cayo 105

Race Bike: Focus Izalco Chrono 08

Clothing:
In the clothing department Wiggle have supplied Martyn with dhb cycle clothing:
dhb Cycle Clothing

Martyn has also been supplied with the following:

Helmet:
In the helmet department Chickencycles have supplied Martyn with a Las Victory helmet.Las Victory Helmet

Cycling Shoes:
In the shoe department Moorelarge have supplied Martyn with a pair of Lake CX311C triathlon shoes.Lake CX311C triathlon shoes

Wetsuit & Goggles:
In the wetsuit department AquaSphere have supplied Martyn with a AquaShpere Racer Wetsuit.AquaShpere Racer Wetsuit

And
AquaSphere Kayenne goggles AquaSphere Kayenne goggles

Pearl Izumi Run & Tri Kit:
For run and Triathlon kit Pearl Izumi have supplied Martyn with a range of run & triathlon clothing.Pearl Izumi Run & Tri Kit

Lucky winner Martyn Brunt is the fortunate athlete that met the requirements of the competition. Martyn is an experienced long distance triathlete aged 40 from Coventry. He will be keeping us up to date with regular blog entries of his progress.

Here is his winning entry.

I saw your cunningly worded invitation to put myself through the agony of yet more long distance races in 2009, so thought I’d chance my arm with an entry. Here goes….

What bikes do I currently ride

1. A TT/Triathlon bike which is a bit of a mish mash of components I have put together myself – Kuota Kredo road frame, Zipp 404 wheels, Dura-Ace groupset, Fizik saddle and some ITM tri bars. I’ve had it for a couple of years and it looks good – especially when I’m not on it.
2. My Road bike is another mish mash I’ve put together – an Alan Cycles frame done in the livery of a local bike shop (sky blue in colour to match the colours of Coventry City, the world’s finest football team) with an Ultergra Groupset, Fizik saddle and ITM everything else. I’ve ridden it for the past 4/5 years and I love it, its like my favourite comfy old armchair. I’ve done three Ironmans on it, been up Mont Ventoux on it, slogged over the hills of Snowdonia on it and hidden behind it when I arrived home from a ride two hours late and missed going to the in-laws….
3. A Bianchi Nirone, which is my winter training bike. I’ve had it since last October and its a nice bike, although my bum is still “adjusting” to the saddle….

My long distance races/results so far are:

1. Ironman Canada 2006 – 11 hours, 49 minutes, 53 seconds and 7 blisters
2. European 02 Championships, Brasschaat, Belgium 2007 – 4 hours, 35 minutes and 10 seconds. This included a 1.16 run split – no particular reason for highlighting that other than shameless smugness.
3. Ironman USA Lake Placid 2007 – 11 hours, 52 minutes, 58 seconds and 1 hour in the medical tent with dehydration. Doh.
4. Ironman 70.3 Monaco 2007 – 5 hours, 44 minutes, 16 seconds and a French phrasebook
5. Ironman Lanzarote 2008 – 12 hours, 48 minutes, 53 seconds and a deep abiding desire to make my next race a flat one
6. World Long Distance Championships (O3), Almere, Netherlands – 8 hours, 1 minute, 16 seconds and a deep, abiding desire to make my next race a flat AND wind-free one

My long distance plans for 2009 are:

Ironman Austria on 5 July
Ironman Florida on 11 November (yes, two Ironmans. Gulp!)
I’m also part of a relay team swimming the channel in August, proving that I can be talked into just about anything no matter how stupid

The happiest, saddest, proudest funniest or craziest moment of my long distance career so far in 200 words:

Canada. 2006. My first Ironman. I’ve swum 3.8k in an hour. I’ve cycled 112 miles in 6 hours, in transition I’ve had the longest pee in human history, and I’ve now run 26 miles in 4 hours. I’m 250 yards from the finish with friends, family and most importantly, pizza, awaiting me. I’ve trained for this moment for 6 months. I’ve dreamed of this moment for 38 years. I can see the finish line and I can hear the announcer telling people “You are an Ironman”. I’m going to do it! And then the pain hits me. It starts in my leg and within a millisecond shoots across my thigh, up my hip, up my chest, rattles round my teeth and races back down to my leg. Cramp! But not just “oooh that’s sore” cramp, real snap-you-in-half paralysing cramp. I stop – and I can’t move. I stand there for five minutes trying to get going and the pain is so intense I am weeping. Eventually I can walk and I hobble towards the finish. I cross the line and my family rush to me with tears in their eyes: “We were fine until we saw that you were crying” they say, “we never thought you could be so sensitive and emotional.” If only they knew…

Why choose me as the sponsored athlete and face of triathlon in 2009, in 200 words:

Having had a 20-year football career consisting entirely of ineffective goal-hanging, I took the advice of team mates who bade me to “f*** off and hang your boots up” and took up triathlon at the age of 35. Despite showing no aptitude of any sort I have continued to compete and five years on have become one of the UK’s top mediocre performers, finishing consistently in the bottom half of many races. In a bid find new ways to drown out the screaming in my head I took up Ironman distance races, thoroughly enjoying the many hours of training in the beautiful UK weather, only tempered by the fact that with so many hours out of the house the garden now looks a tip and the dishes don’t half stack up. This year I’ve decided to get serious about training and have been working on my overall strength by dragging an ego the size of a planet behind me, while my open water swimming practice consists of staying in the bath until the water goes cold. As to why I should be the “face of triathlon”, there’s not much I can do about the face but at least I can promise I’ll put it in some warm and exotic locations for the photos, thus making 220 readers disgustingly envious.

Keep a look out for more pictures and regular blog updates from Martyn via the Wiggle Bloggle…