We last spoke to James Cunnama in late 2013, after his impressive fourth-place finish in that year's Ironman World Championships in Kona.
Up until that point, Cunnama had been coached by the legendary Australian coach, Brett Sutton, the two Southern Hemisphere natives forming a formidable partnership in the South African's rise through the ranks of long distance triathlon.
Since then, Cunnama has had an up and down year, something which he is looking to rectify in 2015. Now working with another legendary Antipodean, Chris McCormack, the future looks promising for the man originally hailing from Pietermaritzburg. Like Sutton, McCormack is well known for his unique and intuitive approach to triathlon, something which attracted Cunnama's interest when looking for a new coach and mentor.
Nature Gym: James, if you look back on 2014, how would you sum up the year? What were the highlights and low points?
James Cunnama: I think I would sum up the year as more low points than highlights. Winning 70.3 SA was a good start, but things seemed to just go a bit wrong for the rest of the year. Everything that went wrong seemed random and unpredictable, but when you look at the whole year, it seems unlikely I was that unlucky.
NG: You recently had a high finish in the lucrative Challenge Bahrain event. Seeing as this race was held in December, talk about your preparation leading up to such a high-profile event, which was effectively scheduled in the pro triathlon off-season.
JC: It was a difficult race to be ready for, coming off Kona and the necessary break following a race that big – I didn't actually finish, so you would think that I could recover from it quicker, but the truth is that it is not the race that takes time to recover from, but the weeks and months leading up to the race. So for Challenge Bahrain it was really a case of keeping the sharpness while relying on the fitness from pre-Kona training. I did far less training and it was far from perfect, but I was happy with my race considering this. I did tear my calf in the final 8km of the run though – it just popped – so couldn't run for all of December. I guess my body was forcing me to rest.
NG: You are currently receiving advice from Chris McCormack. How did this partnership come about and how would Chris be best described in terms of your relationship? Is he your coach or more of a mentor?
JC: Chris is now my coach. We have been talking and he has been advising me for much of 2014, including writing my program for some weeks, but now in 2015 we have stepped it up a level and Chris will be coaching me this year. I was looking for someone who had the expertise and clicked with my ideas and spoke to a few potential coaches. Chris came with a lot of experience and lot of enthusiasm, and we clicked well with our ideas and goals.
NG: With you having previously been part of Brett Sutton's stable, what are the key differences between the advisory and coaching styles of these two Australian iconoclasts? Any similarities, especially given that both Sutton and McCormack are both rather unconventional in their respective philosophies?
JC: It will take some time to work out all of the core philosophies of Chris and be able to answer that question properly. But I think what I like most at this point is not their differences, but their similarities – not falling for the hype, doing what is necessary, not what tri ‘wisdom’ dictates – the unconventional approach, as you say. In that respect there are a lot of similarities. But change and new stimulus is also required to take your racing to the next level, so the new ideas will hopefully bring some big gains too.
NG: In your experience, do the top triathlon exponents of today all have coaches or advisers? Are there any top athletes who do it all on their own?
JC: There are a few out there who are self-coached, and many of the previous Kona champs have been self-coached. But I think these days with the level of the racing improving every year, it is hard to get everything perfect without and objective outside opinion keeping an eye on your training – and you can’t win without getting everything perfect.
NG: Given your relationships with both McCormack and Sutton, have you learned anything from other athletes that you've applied to your own career?
JC: Training in groups and squads gives you a great opportunity to learn from other athletes, from their talents and their mistakes equally. I was always mindful of paying attention to those around me to learn what I can. But at the same time, you have to always remember that every athlete is unique and what makes one athlete great, could be exactly what gets in the way of another athletes success. Learning this is probably the best lesson I have taken from training in different squads.
NG: Given your lengthy experience in the professional ranks, how has your own mindset changed over the years? Would you say that experience lends itself to a more cerebral and “street-mart” approach as opposed to simply more training time?
JC: There is definitely a ‘wising up’ that happens after a few years of being a pro. You learn the ins and outs of racing and performance and it becomes more of a thinking game – more strategic in order to get the best performance out, rather than just ‘rolling the dice’ when you race. But at the same time you have to be careful not to lose the ability to not think and just smash yourself in training and racing, because with our extremely hard sport that is definitely needed sometimes in order to break through to new levels.
NG: As a South African competing abroad, how are you received by athletes and coaches of other nations? Would you say that South African athletes see themselves as equals now and have grown to be more accepted?
JC: I think South Africans have always been respected internationally, especially in endurance sports. There is an understanding that South Africans work hard and have endurance sports in their hearts, more so than many other nations. In fact, I would like to see South Africans pay more attention to their endurance sport stars – we get the attention and respect overseas, but locally not enough exposure for some of the amazing endurance performances by South Africans on the world stage. We can’t race much in SA, due to a lack of events and also the opposite seasons to the northern hemisphere, which means it is harder to follow and support South Africans racing, but it is worth the extra effort in supporting them as it helps to grow and develop future stars at home.
NG: What are your plans for 2015? Do you have a European location where you will be based?
JC: I am still working out all the details for 2015. I need to qualify for Kona again, so will be focusing on Ironman South Africa early – a big race now as African Champs – and I will also be racing the Challenge Triple Crown races in Dubai (Feb), Oman (Aug) and Bahrain (Dec). Over the summer I will probably spend most of my time in Europe racing in France and Germany as I prepare to Kona in October. It will be a busy year!
