Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 101, December 2017 | Page 15

Fortunately, race day brought calm seas and Helen
says the swim was actually amazing. Despite tough
bike and run legs, she came home to claim her medal,
ecstatic to have conquered her fear. She and Desi then
went on to finish the Full Ironman in PE, but Helen says
that really took it out of her. “After PE, I was broken
psychologically, because in the middle of preparing for
the race I had left my job under difficult circumstances,
and had no income for four months, so I didn’t even
know if I was going to make it to PE. The day before
the race, Desi asked if I was scared, and I told her no,
because it hurt much more getting there.”
Surprise Entry
Then in May Helen found out she had won a slot for
Kona in the lottery, but given her state of mind, and
finances, she thought she would have turn it down. “I
didn’t think I could do another six months of this, and
I would need to ask my guide to go at her own cost,
and for no reward, since guides are not considered
Helen and Desi
finish in PE
official entrants. But then I thought this is a once in a
lifetime opportunity, so I phoned Desi, even though I
knew she had her own commitments and goals. I was
already amazed that she had given me two races and
six months, so I wasn’t surprised when she said no,
and I will remain forever grateful for all that she did
for me.”
Finishing the Kona swim
Fortunately, Helen soon found a replacement. “One
name that kept coming up was Caroline Gaynor, from
the USA. She had already guided some 20 athletes in
about 40 races, including eight full Ironmans, making
her probably the most experienced female guide in
the world, so I asked her and she said yes. I continued
training with various guides in SA, then went over to
Kona five weeks before the race, and was incredibly
lucky that the whole tri community got together to
look after me. Caroline arrived the Monday before the
race weekend, and when my tandem arrived on the
Tuesday, we rode together for the first time. Thanks to
all her experience, she knew exactly how to guide me
right from the start.”
Come race day and Helen says the swim was actually
easy, but the bike leg was much harder. “We did a
lot of climbing into a headwind, but the worst was
the heat radiating off the road and lava fields. With
albinism, I am sensitive to heat and sun, and by
the time we got to 120km, my head was sweating
profusely, my jaw locked, and I felt like I was going to
black out. I couldn’t talk, but Caroline quickly realised
I was developing heat stroke, so she stopped at an
aid station and told the volunteers to put ice in my tri
suit. I wasn’t even ‘there’ at that stage, but once my
core temperature dropped I was fine again, so we said
let’s get this race done.”
Another problem hit them about 15km into the run, as
night fell. “We had lights in our special needs bags,
but they were only at 28km, and it was pitch black out
on the highway, so now neither of us could see much.
We had to walk a long section while trying not to
collide with other runners, and when we eventually got
to the finish in 16:27, Caroline was in tears, whereas
I was fine. I think the emotional stress of the day got
to her, whereas I had my nervous breakdown three
days after the race, when I realised there was no more
“I continued training with various
guides in SA, then went over to
Kona five weeks before the race,
and was incredibly lucky that the
whole tri community got together
to look after me”
need for training, or finding a guide, or dealing with
logistics. I just balled and balled and balled!”
True Bravery
After her remarkable journey to the finish at
Kona, Helen has received many messages of
congratulations, but she quickly downplays her