My Account
Warkworth endurance athlete James Udy, 37, takes us on his journey from a goal driven young man desperate to push every boundary of endurance to a well-balanced athlete with a higher goal in view.
I was born in Te Kuiti but my family shifted early in my life to Glenbrook where my father was sharemilking. When I was 10 years old we shifted to Hukatere, near Matakohe, where my parents bought a farm. At Ruawai College I played hockey at a social level, but didn’t do much else in the sport line. When I was 17 I left home and came to Warkworth, where I started work with Buckton Consultants (then Buckton Associates). Leaving home for my first real job was a shock to the system, as it is for most young people.
By the time I was 19, I was thinking: “I want to achieve something in my life.” A few of my friends did some running and they encouraged me to enter a race. I think my first race was a fun run. I really enjoyed it so I kept going. The next year I did 35 races, including sprint (shorter distance) triathlons and medium distance triathlons. I wanted to make something of my life and I saw that fame and titles were attainable. Most people didn’t believe I could do it, which made me more determined. I felt the impossible could be achieved, despite the fact that I wasn’t super fit and was starting from scratch. I watched my first New Zealand Iron Man at St Heliers in Auckland when I was 20 and I thought: “Yes, I’ll give that a go.”
Back then endurance sports were new and people couldn’t comprehend what was possible. Once I got into the sport my ambition was awakened. I started pushing the boundaries and in doing so became aware that there was a spiritual dynamic to life. In my first year of competition I started at the bottom and ended up in the top quarter of athletes. By the time I was 21, I realised I couldn’t improve any further in sprint events so concentrated on the Iron Man. I was now doing between 4000 and 5000 kilometres training in swimming, cycling and running a year. In 1992 I did my first Iron Man and reality set in. I finished at the tail end of about 600 athletes in 14 hours when the average time was 12 hours. I swore I’d never do another one. After a recovery period of six months I changed my mind and headed back into the sport – it gets in your blood. I still wanted to conquer and to achieve my goal. I knew I could do better in the future. The Iron Man drew me because it was about physical, mental and spiritual survival, pitting yourself against the elements which could destroy you.
I still believed the impossible was achievable and I was still seeking the perfect race, improving each time I competed. Boundaries were there to be broken. I learnt I could push through the pain barrier mentally so pain no longer existed – then I could go faster. I was doing things like covering the last kilometre of the Iron Man in 3.5 minutes, running only on adrenalin. Sometimes I would end up in the medical tent on a IV drip, but often I got away with it.
Over a seven-year period I got my time down to 11 hours 20 minutes for the NZ Iron Man. I was also doing other races including medium distance triathlons and duathlons. I was hooked on the adrenalin rush. Between 1996 and 1998 I started competing internationally, entering the Powerman World Championship in Switzerland and Australian Iron Man. During this time Bucktons continued to support me.
In 2000 my racing career took another turn and I decided to reduce the number of races and instead push the boundaries with endurance cycling. I decided to take part in the Auckland to Wellington cycle race, only 27 days after completing the NZ Iron Man. This race had to be completed in under 40 hours. I got frost bite on the leg through National Park, but continued to cycle until Levin, arriving in only 27 hours. By then the pain was so great I did something I never do – I withdrew from the race. I recovered from the frostbite quickly and turned my attention to the Lake Taupo 1000 km cycle challenge in which I finished fourth. The next year I came fifth in the Lake Taupo 500 km cycle challenge.
However, when I competed in the NZ Iron Man in Taupo in 2003, I realised something wasn’t right. I felt ill, spiritually, mentally and physically. Despite that, I of course finished the race. A visit to a doctor brought the shock advice. I might never race again. My body was ‘closing down’. This was a very hard thing to come to terms with. I had to walk away from the sport to recover. So I looked deeper into my spiritual side. Endurance sports make you very aware of your spiritual side. I turned to God for support for the first time.
Meanwhile I got involved in the local Lions Club and began doing community fundraising work with them. I also helped organise the Heart Foundation 5km walk in Warkworth.
After two years of not competing, I thought I would always regret it if I didn’t try to make a comeback. But to do that I had to change how I raced and my mental attitude towards racing. I now had a team of medical specialists supporting me and my local GP. There is very little knowledge about what I had been through as far as endurance sports is concerned. I said to them; “This is what I’m going to do. Let’s make it happen.” They guided me through my training doing blood tests before and after my training. I started gently in March, 2006, doing only 4000 kilometres that year. My comeback race, the 2007 NZ Iron Man, was probably the best race I have ever done, even though it took me 14 hours. No-one knew if I would survive it. It was an amazing experience. I crossed the finish line without any medical complications.
It was no longer about time. It was about well being. The time was meaningless from then on. My goal now is to gain further recognition in the New Zealand Hall of Fame, by competing within my limitations. It has been an amazing journey, both spiritually and physically. I have realised I’m successful and I don’t need to prove anything to myself or anyone else.
I am now doing one NZ Iron Man a year but I’m open to setting other goals in the future. I am ranked eighth out of about 50 athletes in the Iron Man New Zealand Hall of Fame and am listed with some of the greatest Ironman athletes in the world. There are only about 10 athletes who have completed more NZ Iron Man competitions than I have.
