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Marino Vanhoenacker Interview (Part Two): Kona And Motivation

  • By Paul Moore
  • Published September 1, 2010

In Part One of our interview with Marino Vanhoenacker, we looked back at the Belgian’s incredible 7:52 at Ironman Austria this year – his fifth consecutive win at the race. In Part Two we look forward to Kona, and look back at what inspires the man:

…Continued
Along with a win at Ironman Malaysia in February this year his victory shows he’s in the best form he has been in for years. This must give him confidence for Kona, but as anyone who has raced on the island knows, previous form throughout the year doesn’t ensure success.

“These two wins this year have given me a lot of confidence. It’s no guarantee for Hawaii, though. I have been to Kona six times and got a fifth and sixth place, along with four races I don’t want to mention. The plan is working 110 per cent right now and I hope it keeps working for the next three months. I am probably in the best shape to date but we are sure there’s more in me and we’re looking for it. We just hope to find it before Hawaii (laughs).”

Hawaii is a tough race and the competition continues to get deeper with more and more players coming to the table all carrying a handful of trump cards. 2010 should be the best race for years if last year’s race is anything to go by, with the new guard rising to the top and the seasoned, household names who know the race inside out. “Things are changing dramatically in Hawaii. The swimming is going into a new dimension and the run splits are phenomenal. It’s crazy. There are a lot of people who, on a good day, could win the race.”

There is clearly an eager competitor within Vanhoenacker, a killer instinct which lies just beneath the surface. His racing and fighting spirit is something which has been ever present from an early age and began on two wheels racing around the garden with his brother.

“I used to ride BMX in the backyard. I never raced BMX apart from with my brother. We did jumps and stuff, so I learnt some bike skills and we were very competitive. As a kid I used to race everywhere. Even riding to school was a race. I never biked, I always raced. Maybe that’s done part of the job and it’s paying off now. As a kid if you do something it helps put something into your system.”

Alongside playing in the dirt on his BMX, Vanhoenacker also took part in athletics and cross country running. He found the longer the distances, the closer he came to the front. It took him several years of work before he managed to win a small local race. After he finished school and started studying as a dietician he didn’t do anything for a year and a half. Then he found triathlon – but there was a problem.

“I discovered triathlon and it seemed like my thing, but the swimming was an issue for me, so I did duathlon. I qualified for the world championships as a junior straightaway, so that was a big success. This kept me in duathlon a couple of years longer than I expected because it’s always fun when you’re doing well. I really did want to do triathlon but it was tough to give up being a successful duathlete knowing I wasn’t going to win anything immediately as a triathlete.”

Regardless of success, Vanhoenacker learnt to swim alongside his duathlon career and started doing a couple of triathlons a year. In 1999 he won a bronze medal as a duathlete at the world championships in South Africa. After this race he decided it was time to focus entirely on triathlon. He hasn’t raced a duathlon since. “It was okay making the change and after a while I started winning a few Belgian triathlons, which was unexpected. After a year or so I really needed to go to international triathlon races again like I had as a duathlete. I was used to racing at a high level in duathlon, so I stepped it up and went to more triathlons abroad.”

Ironman was always the ultimate goal for Vanhoenacker and in 2000 he saw his wife not only race but qualify for the world championships in Hawaii. He went along to Kona to support her and was captivated. “I knew from this moment the island was a special place and an event that I needed to race. In 2001 I did my first Ironman in Florida and came fifth. I went to Kona for the first time in 2002 and things didn’t go to plan and I ended up DNF-ing.” Vanhoenacker has had a love-hate affair with the island ever since.

In 2003 he came 54th, sixth in 2006, fifth in 2007, 22nd in 2008 and pulled out in 2009. These results shouldn’t be taken out of context though, with plenty of good results elsewhere. Alongside his five Ironman wins in Austria, he came second in Malaysia in 2003, first in Florida in 2005 and has won Antwerp 70.3 for the last three years. He won two Ironman events in 2009 (Austria and South Africa) and two so far this year (Austria and Malaysia).

Although it might seem like he is a naturally talented athlete, these results have only come from years of hard work.

“I always had to work hard. I have some talent for sport but I think there are plenty of athletes who are more naturally talented. Mentally it was good for me that I had to work hard for everything. I expected my goals to come a little quicker but it usually took a year or two longer than I’d have liked. This has helped make me much stronger mentally.

“Training and staying motivated is not hard at all. I just love my life as it is right now. I love triathlon. It’s not hard at all to keep myself motivated. Training is varied. I don’t have a typical week. In winter I have some weeks with 10 hours and in the summer some weeks I might hit 40 or 50 hours. A week of 20 hours can sometimes hit you harder than a week of 40 hours, it just depends on the intensity and how well I recover.”

Vanhoenacker claims he usually recovers better from a good race than a bad one, which can leave him hurting for months. Hopefully after such a blistering race in Austria this will help him recover quickly. He aims to be on the start line in Antwerp looking for his fourth consecutive victory at the 70.3 on July 25. After that, his next big race will be on the Ironman World Championships stage in Kona on October 10 where, if he’s on form like in Austria, he will pose a true threat and help to make 2010 one of the greatest battles ever seen in Hawaii.

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Paul Moore

Paul Moore

Paul Moore is the Online Editor for Triathlete Europe. When not glued to a computer he can be found writing books - most recently Ultimate Triathlon: A complete training guide for long-distance triathletes which you can buy on Amazon