Nothing, it appears, can stop the irresistible force of nature that is Cameron Wurf.
On Saturday October 26, the 41-year-old Aussie pro triathlete and pro cyclist played an integral role in an IRONMAN World Championship for the ages, packed with epic risk taking and iconic blow-ups.
Wurf would eventually finish a terrific 7th after being 40th out of the water and 18th heading into T2, before closing the show with a 2:50:11 marathon. It was a fine performance for one of the few athletes to look smooth on the run in brutal conditions.
Any normal athlete might have enjoyed some downtime after that Herculean effort to recharge the batteries – even Wurf remember admitted he had been “blown out of the water” on the swim before threading his way through the field.
But Cam is not a normal athlete – remember a certain Lance Armstrong describing it as “maybe the biggest Strava flex of all time” when Wurf ran a half marathon straight after the iconic Paris-Roubaix cycling classic.
Cam Wurf at the New York Marathon
So instead of resting up, the man from Hobart was taking on another epic challenge in the shape of Sunday’s New York Marathon. And by taking on the New York Marathon we do not mean a gentle Sunday morning jog.
As ever, Wurf was all in and he produced a terrific performance just eight days on from that brutal slugfest in Hawaii, completing the 26.2-mile course in a time of 2:36:22.
Cam finished 277th overall in a field of 55,523 starters, and 28th of 4,287 athletes in his 40-44 Age Group category. He was also the fourth Australian home out of 923. Just a spectacular athlete doing spectacular things – again.
Not surprisingly the feedback was gushing when Wurf posted a finish line picture on Instagram with the short and sweet caption: “Put a Fork in Me”.
Among the triathletes commenting were ‘Big Unit’ Sam Long, who responded “Crazy things for a crazy guy”.
Meanwhile Bradley Weiss – 11th in Kona – said: “Considering I genuinely struggled to get through an hour easy jog today this totally blows my mind. Well done champ!”