“The pillow stack and buffet breakfast,” says Richard Murray of the keys elements to his personal hotel quality rating.
With so much time spent travelling and at training camps, the days leading up to a major event can be a bit of a drag, especially when in a foreign city. Comfort is important and with the Cape Town leg of the ITU World Series taking place this weekend, Murray is revelling at being back in familiar surroundings.
Having spent the past fortnight training with the rest of the JFT squad in nearby Stellenbosch, Murray’s local knowledge has benefitted his fellow squad members in a few ways. With the onset of autumn in South Africa, a colder than usual Olympic-sized swimming pool at Coetzenberg did not seem all that appealing for critical Saturday afternoon swim-training.
“The folks at Virgin Active really came to the party,” enthuses Murray of the health club franchise’s accommodation of him and his fellow JFT’ers. “We didn't want to catch a cold or anything leading up to ITU Cape Town so the heated facility was of great benefit to us. The foreign athletes were really impressed by the facilities – apparently there aren't too many gym concepts like this overseas.”
Murray and co are moving camp to the Mother City on Thursday, and the man hailing from the ‘Ville intends to optimise the days leading up to the event to the fullest. With the elite men scheduled to start at a little after three on Sunday afternoon, how does Murray spend the final day or two before the starter’s siren?
“I’ll watch the ladies race on TV in my hotel room until halfway through the bike leg,” he says of his Saturday afternoon plans. “Then I’ll get into my cycling kit and roll down to the race site to support my girlfriend, Rachel Klamer, on the run. The whole ride will last around forty-five minutes, with one decent pull in there just to open up the legs.”
Sunday is a little different. After a good night’s sleep and natural wake up (“I don’t like setting an alarm but won’t miss the breakfast buffet!”), Murray’s race day schedule looks something like this:
8:30am: easy 15min jog from the Southern Sun Cullinan with a few drills and strides.
9am: Breakfast and chat with coach Joel Filliol.
10am: Relax in hotel room watching TV.
1pm: Easy 1.5km swim at the local Virgin Active with some light accelerations.
2pm: Cycle to race venue with backpack containing racing essentials.
3pm: Introduction and step on to start pontoon.
3:06pm: Race.
“I like to arrive at the race venue as late as possible,” explains Murray of his eschewing an extended period socializing in the transition area. “Extra time there is just wasting energy.
“I’m a Capetonian, so I just like to get things done.”
