Claire Geiger recently returned from New Zealand where her whole family went to watch her brother Will compete at Ironman New Zealand. What a family! Claire’s account of her family’s time in NZ, combined with Will’s race, will be the focus of this months article. Next month will focus on Claire’s IM Wisconsin training!

I don’t know where the time has gone. I can’t believe it’s been over three weeks now. It’s flying by and I’m trying to hold on to every minute. The last few days on the farm were great. We had awesome weather and continued to stay busy and work hard. There’s so much to be done there and it’s nice to be a part of it. Mike and Antonia, the parents, were awesome. It was really great getting to know them. I’m sure Antonia will be happy to have her kitchen back now that I’m gone though. I would run most mornings before starting work. The hills were really steep but, what goes up must come down, so coming home was a breeze. Only the cows and sheep sometimes make it hard when they won’t move off the path and I spent 5 minutes running behind them clapping my hands to try and make them move. One of the other woofers, James, and I left on the same day. We travelled back to Picton and spent some time there and then I went North to Wellington. I took the ferry across to the North Island on the morning that the earthquake hit near Chile and there were tons of warnings for tsunamis but we made it ok.

Wellington is an awesome city. It’s full of life and culture but a nice size so I spent most of the day walking around, hanging out at the waterfront. I stayed with a friend on Will’s just outside the city which was nice. She lived right by a nice path so I got a long run in on flat ground. It was so great not going up or down. I caught an early bus up to Taupo the next morning. It was a long but pretty ride. I waited for a bit and then around the corner came the fam. Mom, Dad, Laura, Chad, my brother in law, Will, and Maggie. It’s going to be a party here! Our family looks like a Minesweeper Board so getting everyone together can be tough. Compromise, what better place than New Zealand! It was so great to see them all and have them finally be a part of everything here. We all caught up and walked around for a bit. We’re staying in a great house just outside of Taupo so we can cook in and take some day trips from here. Yesterday we hiked the Tongariro Crossing, one of the best day hikes in the country. It was a perfect day for it and despite a few mixups with cars, everyone got a good hike in. My parents started from the finish and hiked a ways towards us and we started at the beginning and hiked across. It was a good 12 mile hike and at the summit, you look down upon these awesome sulfur pools that are the most amazing blue and green you can imagine. It also smells like rotten eggs but hey, you win some, you lose some. We had a great time, met up with my parents and hiked the rest of the way down. I think everyone’s feeling it today.

The buzz in Taupo is definitely picking up for the Ironman. They’re starting to set up the course and people are arriving. Will looks great. I think he’s ready. He’s been training so hard for this and we are all so happy to be here to cheer him on. he’s racing for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The CF foundation has a competition for most creative signs. Winner gets a rolex. So we got three signs and spent the better part of the morning in the ’Creation Station’ making signs. I think my competitive spirit runs in the family. We were using popsicle sticks as rulers, laminating things, and making sure the colors were just right. Talk about OCD. Only problem is going to be deciding who gets to keep that watch. Through the CF foundation, he has been matched up with a three year old boy named Tayler as a buddy. My family got to meet Tayler and his mom in Auckland, but he’ll be here at the race and at the finish so I’m glad I’ll get to meet him too and it’ll be nice for Will. Will is one of those people that gives his all to whatever he does. He is one of the most amazing people I know. everyone loves Will. He’s funny, generous, and just one of those people you want to be around. He has always been one of my biggest role models. You’re lucky if you’ve met him but nothing can compare to having him as a brother. I wouldn’t miss being here to support him for anything.

Ironman was amazing! The weather was ideal. The whole family showed up in our lime green Will Power shirts and spent the day running around to different parts of the course to try and catch Will. He did amazing. He exceeded all his time goals and went 10h12min. He finished 133 overall out of 1300 competitors and he looked great the entire time. I don’t think it could have gone any better. And while I was ’fired’ by his coach for not texting enough, my answer was, my parents probably wouldn’t be able to text fast enough and both my sisters would start crying every time they saw Will, so I was his best option. But seriously, Will had a great race. He was unbelievable. We drove down to Wellington the next day to celebrate my parent’s 30th anniversary. It was so nice to have everyone together for both of these really important events. And a good excuse to make sure my parents came to New Zealand as well.

The next morning it was across the Cook Straight again, and past the farm I worked on, to the South Island. We spent a few days in Blenheim, the center of the wine region of New Zealand and were able to do some wine tasting and just enjoy good weather, food, and company. Our last stop was on the Northwest coast of the South Island just outside of Abel Tasman National Park. We did a long hike along the coast and the views were stunning. The color of the water was amazing and it was a great way to end the trip. I think this is one of the only places in the world where postcards don’t do justice to the place. I’m trying to lock in the memories; sights, sounds, tastes of it all. I made some great friends, had too many awesome opportunities to count and fell in love with the country.

My only regret is that I didn’t have more time there. But I know I’ll go back at some point in the future. I’ve got a lot to look forward to heading back to Madison. I’ll continue working with the freshmen rowing team which I’ve really enjoyed and will pick back up with Ironman training of my own. Thanks to everyone who sent emails and kept up with me while I was away. I loved hearing from you and appreciated all the updates and notes.