Kyle Buckingham, a future World Champion?

When news started filtering through that the Pros would start 15 minutes ahead of the Age Groupers at the 2013 Specsavers Ironman South Africa (as opposed to the usual 30 meter head start), my immediate concern was for Kyle Buckingham and how this news would affect his race and his mind.

You are probably wondering why? Well for the majority of Age Groupers this was fairly irrelevant, but for somebody aspiring to race the Pros this information would have a serious impact upon his race plans. So let me introduce you to Kyle Buckingham, a 29 year old South African, who only started running 5 years ago and has been doing Ironman for 4 short years.

Kyle’s rise to being one of SA’s top Ironmen has been nothing short of phenomenal and his 2012 season was capped by a 7^th place finish in the 25-29 AG in Kona, Hawaii, in a time of 9hrs 19min 21 seconds, some 25 minutes off the time posted by Christian Muller who recorded the fastest age-group result of the day with a sizzling 08:54:17.

Kyle with Michelle & Alec Riddle; Andre and Ilse Van Heerden at Kona awards evening 2012

Kyle with his girlfriend Lauren in Kona, Hawaii 2011

Our family was fortunate to spend a month with Kyle in Kona, witnessing him training and dreaming. I recall Kyle asking me if I felt he had the potential to be a really good runner and I responded it was too early for me to tell as I hadn’t witnessed enough of his run sessions. I did mention to him, though, that his work ethic was second to none and to my wife, that this guy is as dedicated as Raynard Tissink, who is probably the most dedicated sportsman I’d ever met.

I also recall thinking that he was dreaming big dreams and that if he was patient he could achieve his goal of becoming a World Champion Age Grouper. To me it seemed that Kyle was in huge hurry to get to the top, but endurance takes time or years to develop.

When Kyle returned to Cape Town after Kona, he settled into training in South African conditions under the watchful eye of his coach and mentor Raynard Tissink at Velocity Sports Lab in Hout Bay. Bear in mind this was the first time Kyle was able to train in ‘moderate’ conditions, as he had only relocated back to SA in August 2012 after working as an electrician in London since 2004. (Kyle’s move back to SA was made possible by Trevor Mc Clean-Anderson & Velocity Sports Lab who very kindly started supporting Kyle in his quest to become a top Ironman. I’m sure I speak for many in the Ironman community when I say we are grateful for the support that Raynard and Kyle have received from Velocity Sports Lab ).

Role on 2013 and the year was only 3 weeks old when Kyle surprised friend and foe in East London recording the 7^th fastest time of the day at the Specsavers IMSA 70.3 in an astonishing time of 4hrs 17minutes. However, as much as it may have been a surprise for many, there was a small inner circle of people who knew something special was on the cards in, based upon his training in the months preceding the race.

NMMU Grass Track

Kyle spent 2 weeks (training camp) at our PE home early in February and he was busy logging some big miles on the bike, something I had once witnessed Tissink do. There was a difference from 4 months earlier in Kona as Kyle was not only dreaming big dreams now he was starting to truly believe in his capabilities.

The best part of those 2 weeks was my kids watching in awe as Kyle ate, slept and trained Triathlon… he even had the kids on the roller & stretching for an hour a day…. Thank you Kyle for being such a great role model to our kids.

Kyle with Jamie & Camryn Riddle at Kona Brewing Company for the best Pizzas

Abu Dhabi followed in early March, an event that Raynard had used as preparation prior for his IMSA victories in 2010 & 2011. Another great result for Kyle, finishing 9^th overall and 1^st Age Grouper. Kyle was making great strides and was taking it one step at a time, with a view to Kona 2013 and challenging for an AG win.

(Lesson 1: Achieving Goals set is the first step to self-improvement, so set achievable bite size Goals, as this helps fuel your motivation & belief to aim for higher goals in the future. Kyle believes in himself and his coach and together they set and pursue achievable goals step by step.)

Kyle’s original goal for IMSA was a top 10 finish and an AG win, but with the progress being made and the results being achieved he started dreaming bigger dreams and setting higher goals. This included an assault on the World Age Group record of 8h33, something less than a handful of people were aware of.

(Lesson 2: Kyle has been encouraged to think beyond what we in SA believe is good enough and Raynard has been helping Kyle to raise his ‘belief ceiling’ as very often our performances are limited by the beliefs of those we spend the most time with.)

Starting just behind the Pros would have enabled Kyle to make contact with many of them in the swim, which would have ensured riding and pacing off some of the most experienced Ironmen in the world, before trying to hold it all together on the run. Under normal circumstances that would have been a tall order but suddenly an e-mail is communicated in race week from the Ironman organisers and within minutes the social media networks are abuzz of the news of the separate starts (15 minutes apart), which as mentioned didn’t impact many Age Grouper’s race plans, but it certainly did this young mans.

Initially Kyle is dumbstruck and it’s as if the best laid plans are about to fly out the window. I spoke to him 24 hours after the news had broken and I was amazed that his mind was already dialled into the fact that he would have to race solo, 15 minutes back of the Pro field. What really struck me though, was that he was at peace with the news and still intent on chasing the time he had set for himself, in conjunction with his coach.

(Lesson 3: Kyle focusses on what he can control and does not let the news of separate starts impact him negatively as he has no control over this change. Successful people only spend time worrying about the controllables and things they have influence over.)

Kyle had an amazing IMSA recording the 7^th fastest time of the day, to post the fastest time by an Age Grouper, the 1^st South African and missed the World Age Group record by 43 seconds. His time? An unbelievable 8h34, exactly double the 70.3 time he set 3 months earlier and had seemingly joked about just 8 weeks before Ironman. For Kyle’s race report follow the link below: (http://www.raynardtissink.com/article/184 )

Would you bet against this young man in Kona? Having been there I know that there are many variables, but one thing I am certain of is that Kyle Buckingham will be the best prepared Age Grouper on the start line. So if I was a betting man, my money would be on him waving our flag on the top of the Podium.

Kyle at the finish line of IMSA 2013 (subtract 15 minutes from the displayed time)

So now we know who Kyle the lean, mean racing machine is, but sometimes it’s more fun to ascertain how did he get to where he is now and how did it all start? So for more insights on Kyle Buckingham, the surfer turned Ironman and why he is still an Amateur, follow the link http://ironmansa.com/2013/05/02/q-a-with-kyle-buckingham/ to a Q & A with Kyle:

Q & A with Kyle Buckingham

Alec Riddle chats to Kyle Buckingham about more than Ironman:

Did you do any endurance sports at school? I Played a bit of tennis and hockey in high school, but not very much.

What did you do after school sports-wise? I didn’t do any conventional sports, but surfed quite a bit as a teenager.

When did you start taking an interest in Triathlon and Ironman? In 2008 in April after watching the Ironman in PE I started with running first & then I bought a bike.

How hard was it getting started in those early days and what your first goals? I set a goal of 10hrs for IMSA 2009. Training was a lot tougher than I had anticipated, largely because of the training in the London winter. Time was limited and there was hardly any daylight so I could only train on a turbo trainer and a treadmill.

Kyle the fisherman

 How did your Ironman debut turn out? I only managed 10hrs 29 min, but it was my first ever Triathlon, Marathon and Ironman so perhaps I was aiming too high, but I prefer to shoot as high as I feel I can.

You mentioned it’s tough training in the UK winter, exactly how tough? REALLY, really tough, winters are really bad, with a lot of snow.  We always had to double up on the clothing and wear balaclavas for training. It did help make me as tough as nails though so I guess it was good in that sense. The worst was the rain and when it’s cold it makes it terrible, as soon as you get home you jump straight in the shower with all your clothes on and then you still have to go for a brick run while your feet are still numb!!!!

How on earth did you find time to train in London, while working an 8 hour day? It was really hard to stay motivated as I worked from 8-4pm every single day. I used to get home from work at 5pm, then jump on the turbo trainer and bike for 2-3hrs. Then I would run and swim till about 9:30 at night. In the early days when I first started in my first year it was really bad because I had no girlfriend to cook for me after training so I ended up still having to cook healthy meals, only eating at 10:30pm.

Training for 2012 IM I used to run from home to the gym at 5am in the snow, to swim or do weight training and then run from the gym to work which started at 8am. Then I’d get home after work and cycle 100k on the turbo trainer 3 times during the week. I think everybody I knew thought I was mad, but I had a dream and was prepared to put in the hard yards in an effort to achieve my dream.

What did being an Electrician in London involve?  8 hours a day of intense labour which meant no recovery what so ever. Chasing walls to run cables; lifting up floor boards; bashing down walls; rubbish clearances and lots, lots more. It was not easy at all, I remember a lot of times I used to go mad because I so badly wanted to be competitive, to go pro and get sponsored. But it wasn’t happening because I couldn’t specialize in the training how I wanted too. Now I mean I look back and I am so grateful for what God has given me and what he’s done for me. Everyday I think about it and I’m really so, so happy. I do feel sorry for my brother though, because we worked together everyday for 6 years and swam together and he’s still out there working his butt off!!!!

Tell us about your first few race experiences? IMSA 2009 was my first race and I finished 66th in 10:29. Then I went back to the UK, &did UK 70.3 and qualified for Clearwater 70.3 World Champs. I then did another 3 X 70.3 in Europe before finishing the 70.3 World Champs in 4hrs 08minutes.

When did you realise you had better than average talent? After doing IMSA 2010 in 9:24 and coming 2nd in my AG (I qualified for Kona but wasn’t able to go). I think beating my previous time by more than an hour led me to believe I could go far at this.

Kyle with his girlfriend Lauren in Kona, Hawaii 2011

Did your brother Blake inspire you, what role did he play? He definitely did, my brother is a great sportsman. Throughout his whole schooling career he was a wonderful swimmer, water polo player and hockey player. He even got an opportunity to go to the US with a bursary to swim but  ended up not going. We swam a lot in London together and he helped me get so much better at swimming.

Brothers in Arms

Most South Africans saw a glimpse of your ability at IMSA 2012, tell us about that race? Well I had much higher expectations as I was trying to go top 10. I went in really fit and strong on the bike that year and thought I was going to have a cracker. My run let me down a bit but we had hectic winds on the bike to fight throughout the 180km bike, so my run legs were a bit shocked. I also wanted to win my AG and be the first Amateur which happened so I was very happy with my end result. (Note: Kyle finished 13^th in 9hr27, one position in front of his coach Raynard Tissink who came out to say Good Bye to the ironman community before Retiring from the sport-thanks for the memories Raynard!)

How did Las Vegas 2012 go?  Vegas was a shocker for me, getting sick with a cold on the Wednesday before the race so I didn’t feel too strong at all and when I got on the run I thought I’d better call it a day. I was soon off to the medical tent and on a drip trying to recover before doing any further damage for Kona a month later.

Tell us about Kona 2012? The experiences, the Pros?

Kyle & Alec with Chris Lieto & Leanda Cave

Kona was amazing, I was there for a month so I had great preparation for the race, getting used to the heat and race conditions. I went on a few training sessions with Leanda Cave (who went on to win the ladies race) a few times which was awesome and even got to have a ride with Chris Lieto which was truly amazing. I spent a lot of time with the Riddle family in Kona and doing a lot of training sessions with Alec which was fun, we even had his son Jamie and Daughter

Kyle learning from IM legend Chris Lieto on the Queen K

Camryn joining us for a few runs. Man those kids have a lot of talent. We also had great support from Michelle and the children seconding us on our long runs out to the energy lab and long rides to Hawi, which was a massive help in those conditions.

Jamie Riddle, followed by Alec & Kyle in the Energy Lab

When did you start working with Raynard Tissink? I started working with Raynard and Natalie Tissink for my Ironman 2010 in SA, initially just receiving programs to try stick to, which was tough with my busy work schedule in London. But I completed nearly every session, but not without a lot of struggle.

When, why & how did you return to SA? I owe a great deal of gratitude to Trevor Mclean Anderson for helping to make my dream come true after Ironman SA 2012.  Trevor is the Founder of Axis House and Velocity Sports Lab and they have had a massive role in my development over the past year. My girlfriend Lauren has been given a job as the massage therapist as well and our new lives started in August 2012 when we moved back from London to sunny South Africa.

After Kona (7th in AG) did you aspire to joining the Pro ranks?  Not at all although I was still dreaming of being a Pro one day. I thought it would be stupid because coming 7th was good but not good enough to turn pro. As I don’t want to be beaten by age groupers when I’m a Pro. I would like to try and win Hawaii and Vegas in my AG first and be a world champion Age Grouper and then try and move up the ranks. No rush anyway I’ve still got 10 years left at being Pro.

Kyle entering the Energy Lab

Kyle cruising on race day Kona 2012

What role has Raynard played in your career to date? Huge, he has always given me great advice and I have so much faith in him. He said it wouldn’t be a good idea to turn Pro yet. Why would I not take his advice as he knows what he’s talking about having been in the sport for more than 20 years.

Having Ray as your coach must give you a great deal of confidence? Yes, Ray has been the guy I’ve looked up to and my mentor since I watched him in PE in 2008. I’ve watched Ray’s YouTube videos about a thousand times over and over again. I used to read his articles on his website and just having him right here is awesome, enabling me to get advice on anything I need.

2013 has been incredible thus far, tell us about 70.3? I had never done IMSA 70.3 before so I didn’t know what to expect, a lot of people said the bike was tough which was great for me cause I’m usually very strong on the hills. I wanted to come top 10 and have a great race for all my sponsors, so there was a little bit of pressure as well, but I tried not to think about it. I just remembered really putting down everything on the bike that I had, but also leaving a little something for the challenging run course. My legs felt great all day, the support was awesome & I had my whole family there, as well as my sponsors so that helped a great deal. To finish it off with a 7th place (on time) and to be the first South African was amazing, as well as first amateur and breaking the AG course record by 12 min in 4hrs17m.

Abu Dhabi? Abu Dhabi was only a preparation race for IMSA, but it turned out to be a great result finishing 9th overall. I had no clue that I would get that result there, because it’s always stacked with a big pro field every year. My swim was fantastic ‘cause I was in the lead the whole way with quite a margin. The bike was very challenging, we had a head wind for about 80km on the bike and the rest of it was pretty fast. Biking around the Formula 1 circuit was awesome but for the rest, it was really tough. I got to the 160km mark and just blew, I had nothing left in the tank and getting back to town the last 40km was absolutely horrible. I got off my bike coming into T2 but couldn’t even run, so I just walked into the tent ,sat down and thought this is it I’m done, I can’t go anymore.

Then I thought now is not the time to quit so I ran out at a really slow pace and before I knew it I was running at my targeted 20km run pace. I had friendly rivalry from Nick Baldwin who was about 3-4min back the whole way on the bike and we kept passing each other on the run and I knew I could not give up. I was really happy with my result even after such a gruelling bike ride and I knew I was in great shape for IMSA.

Then the big one – Ironman South Africa? Wow what can I say, first to say thank you to everyone for the support and messages I am truly grateful. I still can’t believe what I achieved in IMSA but I was in amazing shape going into the race, hitting every session with 110% effort. I was a little jolted by the news of the separate starts, but wasn’t going to let that change affect my race as I had worked far too hard to throw it all away now and I just decided to race my own race.

My swim was amazing leading most the way in the amateur field, the bike was very lonely ‘cause I was on my own the whole way and working really hard but also just focusing on what I needed to do. The run just went to plan, apart from the last 4km’s, I was consistent the whole way leaving something left for the last lap. For most of the run I was on target for about a 2.55 marathon but with 7km left to go near the university the wheels just started coming off and then the last 4km it was more like surviving thinking about every hard run session I’ve done trying to get to the finish line. Seeing Raynard at the finish was amazing ‘cause of all the hard work I’ve done & following every session to the T and for him being my mentor and coach was so rewarding for both of us.

Kyle Specsavers IMSA 2013 finish

Looking at these results, do you regret not having turned Pro or are you committed to the plan that Raynard and Velocity Sports Lab have set for you? No I’m still happy we made that decision because I know I can be in top shape to race the best age groupers in the world now and have a chance at the world champs.

Are you fully Pro as in your training yet, or do you still have to work?

Yes I still have to work 3-4hrs a day and the odd weekend, but my sponsors are very supportive and are encouraging me to train and race overseas for the big races in September & October.

What advice would you give to a youngster aspiring to be a triathlete?

I would say the best advice is buy a diary, write down your goal you want to achieve and go & get it. Even if you still write a small goal every week and chase that goal, soon you can look at a bigger picture. And you know what, it’s never too late! I started running at the age of 24 and biking shortly thereafter so ‘Anything is Possible!’ Eat well, look after yourself and if you feel you need to rest take the day off, change your program around for the week if you have to. Communicate with your coach & don’t do anything the program says you shouldn’t. Get a Coach & listen to your coach!!! 🙂

Kyle in high spirits on the Queen K

In closing how do SA races compare with Intl races, example 70.3 or IM? The best in the world, South Africans are the best supporters, I just love everyone shouting their heads off, braa-ing on the side of the road and going mad. The events are very well organised to amazing!!

Could Kyle Buckingham become SA’s first Kona Ironman Gold Medallist? http://ironmansa.com/2013/05/05/kyle-buckingham-a-future-world-champion/

Kyle would like to thank his Sponsors:

Kyle & Alec at Dawn on D Day

Axis House

Velocity Sports Lab

GU energy

2XU

BTS

Lauren (Massage, Cooking & so much more)

Raynard Tissink Coaching