Thomas K. Somerville

You thought this blog was dead, didn’t you? Well, guess again. It was only sleeping, and now it's back. So, strap in and hold on to your hats. It’s going to be a bumpy ride (because it’s been a year since I wrote a blog). 2025 has started with a hiss and a roar, with my season opener doubling as my best-ever result (on paper at least). I’ve raced the Tauranga Half four times now, and my results have been as follows: 2022: 10 th place out of 10 finishers 2023: 15 th place out of 15 finishers 2024: 8 th place out of 10 finishers 2025: 4 th place out of 10 finishers Here it is in the world's most average graph: Figure 1: Not last anymore Not quite on the podium, but that is solid progress, and for the first time in my dubious professional career, I won some prize money. Did it cover my costs? No, not even close. But that’s why I have a real job. If nothing else, it gives me a tiny scrap of credibility, and that’s enough for me (for now at least). In a fun change ...

 I owe all of you an apology. Once again, I find myself rushing to write a race report before my next race. Not only do I keep you waiting for all the juicy details, but those very details become foggy, and therefore you are deprived of accuracy. So, without further ado, here is a race report for the 2024 Calley Homes Tauranga Half. As has been previously been discussed in great detail, my record at this race is atrocious, to say the least. Starting with a wrong turn on the bike, and a capitulation of epic proportions on the run on debut followed by a flat tyre (on the bike if it wasn’t clear) and another tough run. Well, they say third time lucky, so I was looking forward to getting back to the Mount to give it one more go before I had to go into hiding due to the embarrassment. The build up to this year’s race was certainly smoother than last year. No covid, and my biggest volume training week ever over Christmas when I was supposed to be spending time with family. Good thing...

 Uh oh, I've done three races without writing a single race report! You deserve better, so here's a quick and dirty, three for the price of one update on the late 2023 racing. Prepare yourself for a train of thought, unproofread mess of a blog, hopefully, published before my next race. Part 1: Tinman First off was something a bit different, with the Tinman triathlon in Mt Maunganui, a race location where I have an appalling record. This one was a non-drafting Olympic distance, and more than that, it was nationals. Having won a sneaky age group national title over the Olympic distance, with no north islanders present a few years back, I was keen to see what I could do. Luckily for me, only one other elite was brave enough to show up. Coming off a three-week heat camp (work trip) in Singapore, I was ready for some scorching Bay of Plenty weather. As it happened, my heat adaptations were not required, but having been caught in a few downpours in Singapore, I wasn't too d...

 They say if you’re not first, you’re last, but from my experience at the 2023 70.3 Sunshine Coast, if you’re not last, you’re first. If you came here to read self-deprecating jokes about everything that went wrong in my latest race, you’ve come to the wrong place. I finally got one more or less right, and for the first time in a professional race, I wasn’t last across the line (not including DNFs). That’s progress, and progress is the goal at this stage of my career. A symphony of alarms at 3:30 am woke me on the Friday before race day, allowing sufficient time to get to the airport, remember what I’d forgotten to pack, go home to pick it up, and get back to the airport with enough time to get through security. However, this time there was nothing forgotten, check in/bag drop was fast, and security was a breeze. Four hours on an Air New Zealand A320-271N (a fine machine, despite what the news may say) and we were in Brisbane. I had booked the smallest rental car I could find, ...

A year ago, I said that one day I would address the question of the most scenic triathlon in New Zealand, and more recently, I hinted that I was coming closer to a conclusion to the question. Well, today is the day folks. Read on to find out my verdict on the most scenic triathlon in New Zealand. But first, I'm going to make you wade through yet another race report. This time, for one of the contenders for the most scenic tri, the Sea2Sky Challenge. One of the unique (to the area) features of Sea2Sky is the swim. Surf swims are not common in this neck of the woods, and this has got to be one of the best surf swims out there. On a good day, big swell beyond the breakers, and good body surfing into shore. On a bad day, you’ll spend half of your time with a nose full of water and not knowing which way is up. Unfortunately, this year was neither fun nor scary. For maybe the first time ever, the Scarborough surf was non-existent.  This made for a fast swim, so I went out hard and came o...

Sunday 12 February 2023 Bad news. Less than one week out from Challenge Wanaka I found a small hole and some loose stitches in my trisuit. Not disastrous. It would probably make it through one more race at least, but this would be its final season. I had seen earlier that day that Swim T3 had a 50% off sale to celebrate Cyclone Gabrielle. I had a browse through their trisuit options and found something fast looking, affordable, and in my size. After much deliberation, I pulled the trigger. It probably wouldn’t arrive in time for my departure, but I would need it down the line anyway. Tuesday 14 February 2023 I ticked off my last prerace workout, tearing up Old Tai Tapu Rd, ate a (probably) delicious dinner, and spent a good chunk of the evening explaining how the PTO ranking system works and why I was too slow to have a ranking to my flat mates. Race excitement was building. In a week’s time, I could have a ranking. Or I might still not have one. Wednesday 15 February 2023 Si...