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 7th 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 7th 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 9th overall and 1st 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 7th fastest time of the day, to post the fastest time by an Age Grouper, the 1st 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:
The Riddle of an Ironman's Life 