"THE FIRST TIME WAS HELL."

Setting the course on Hawaii: in part two of our interview, Olympic Triathlon champion Kate Allen speaks about the fascination of Ironman Hawaii, the greatest challenges on the course and her plans for 2007.

You discovered Triathlon when you were already 26 years old. What would your life have looked like without it – and, from your point of view today, would it have been poorer?

I don’t think one can view life in these terms. There are so many ways to live and so many ways to be happy. Being a triathlete is just one I happen to have chosen. If it hadn’t happened, I probably would have gone back home to Australia after my world trip and would be an experienced nurse by now.

Reaching and going beyond one’s limits so often is also a mental effort. Is it an advantage not to have started practising extreme competive sports at a young age?

Definitely, because I didn’t miss out on anything beforehand. I travelled, partied a lot, but most of all I learned a normal job, which was a great support particularly in the early days. The feeling of being able to get a job anytime, if things didn’t work out as a professional athlete, was a source of great inner peace.

Can you remember how you felt at the start of your first Hawaii Ironman?

Oh yes. It was in 2002, I had little money and not much time to deal with organizing things. The race was pure hell, I just wished that it would finally be over. Surprisingly I still managed to finish in a good position.

What makes this event so fascinating?

The feeling of crossing the finishing line after a year full of privations, spent concentrating exclusively on this one day, is incomparable.

Which natural adversaries make things most difficult for you personally on Hawaii?

The heat and the wind are the worst. Plus the pressure of not being able to afford the slightest mistake, even if you’re in the best shape of your life. If you don’t drink enough or forget to eat, the race is over.

Will Hawaii be the highlight of your season next year too, with the Olympic Games taking place in China?

No, I’ll be totally focused on the Olympics and the World Cup in Kitzbühel – there won’t be any room left for Hawaii.