TESTIMONIALS

“In March 2022, I started with Sue nearly a year ago with the goal of training for a half ironman and eventually an Ironman in the next couple of years. I had come out of lockdown wanting to pick up my fitness and become a little bit more consistent with training. At the end of 9months I completed my first half ironman at Iron Māori in Napier and 10 days later did the Turangi to Taupo cycle race (55kms) in 2022. I was starting at ground zero, getting back into cycling, swimming and running. Sue has a holistic approach to training and really cares about balance with your life. She built my programme in steps and by months.  Sue was so encouraging and gave me belief when at times I wasn’t sure I would be able to do an Iron man. Sue also provided extra support through organising Training camps that made a difference and has a real supportive community of athletes to buddy with and train together. In 2023, I’m about to do another half ironman at Taupo, with an eye on doing another half iron Māori and the full Lake Taupo race of 160kms. Trust in Sue, she has got you”!

Hazel Abraham

Jan 2023

I am so pleased I came across Creative Triathlon Coaching. Before meeting Sue, I was following an online program and injuries were becoming more frequent. Since being under Sue’s wing I have participated in triathlon events to more recently an ultra marathon. All injury free! Sue’s knowledge is impeccable. Whatever your level or goal Sue is the solution. I can not recommend Creative Triathlon Coaching enough and only wish I’d met Sue sooner! Thank you Sue for your continuous support and advice.

Rachel Payne 2021

When I made the ambitious choice to sign up for both Coast to Coast and Ironman in the same year I knew I would need a coach. Sue came recommended from some of the tri-guys I work with as someone who was positive, adaptable, understanding of life balance and overall achieved results. I couldn’t agree more!
Sue has been such a positive impact on my training. I’ve exceeded my goals in both multisport and triathlon while having fun along the training journey. Sue is incredibly understanding of creating a balanced training plan that caters for your emotional, physical and mental needs. Her training days and training camps are filled with athletes who embody her ethos of positivity, support and growth. Sue often reaches out with interesting podcasts, articles and videos that help me with my journey. Working with Sue has been an absolute pleasure and I can’t wait to see the growth we can achieve for Coast to Coast Longest Day 2021!

Laura Andrews 2021

 I sought out Sues coaching services after struggling to get a sub 2 hour half marathon time in 3 attempts.    When I signed up with Sue I wasn’t prepared for just how thorough and supportive she is.  Not only did I get an amazing coaching programme to take me to the event, I was also given unwavering moral support,  invaluable race preparation advice, and an inspiring pep talk the day before.  As a result of this, I managed to knock 13 minutes off my fastest time and achieve a PB of 1:47!  Sue is not only an amazing coach, she has become a wonderful friend and a fountain of good advice.  She is the voice in my ear when things get hard, and I wouldn’t even think of signing up to a race now, without having Sues coaching to help me through.  Thank you Sue!

Amy Hoffman 2019

Above and beyond - Sue truly exemplifies this as my coach. Additional to the usual coaching services, I am often sent articles or podcast that she thinks will benefit me or has interest for my health. Sue has an excellent intuition for when I need extra support and when I need a kick up the butt. In camps and group trainings it is easy to see how much Sue truly cares about the her athletes and she works with the whole person - mentally, emotionally and physically. I have become a stronger Ironman athlete with Sue and continue to see improvement in both my speed and mental toughness for racing and training. 

Sue stands out as a truly excellent coach - going above and beyond.

Maree McGregor 2019

A few friends who love the triathalon scene done testimonials about this awesome lady called Sue Brewster about her coaching. It took me 1 season to build the courage to ring and ask her to train me as a triathlete to compete  in Ironman NZ 2017.

My dream became real  with her customised training schedule, guidance and belief in me I became a Ironman "Woman". 

I have started back this year in her schedule and I am looking at competing in "Ironmaori Legend Series" and on towards doing my 2nd Ironnan in Taupo.

Crystal Haerewa 2019 

My Ironman journey started in 2010, when I just happened to be in Taupo for Ironman weekend. I watched the race through to midnight and was inspired by those finishing in the last few hours. "I'm going to do that" I though. Fast forward to May 2017 and my sons reminded me that I had committed to doing an Ironman before I turned 50. My 50th is in December 2018.

I have run a few marathons, dabbled with ocean swims and barely cycled, although I did have a road bike I bought in 2008. I figured that if I was going to tackle Ironman I couldn't do it alone and sought out a coach.  I reached out to a few friends and eventually got in touch with Sue. 

Sue instantly got that if I was to do this as a first timer, I was going to have to balance training along with work and family commitments. So, I signed up with her CTC squad. It was a little intimidating to turn up to the first winter brick session. There were a whole bunch of Ironman veterans and me who could swim a little and had not really spent very much time on a bike. The reality was that the group were very welcoming and laid back, so my trepidation quickly eased. 

Sue put together my programme in Training Peaks and I followed it through the winter. Other than getting sick or the occasional work overload I managed to complete nearly every session that she scheduled for me. I had friends and colleagues ask me where I found the time to do the 8-10-12 hours of training scheduled and the answer was pretty easy: "get up an hour and half earlier every morning and there it is". That did mean that I was going to bed earlier than my kids most evenings though!

The programme changing to sea swims for Saturday brick and week afternoons gave my swimming a lot of confidence and built team camaraderie. 

The half Ironman camp at Queens Birthday gave a first look at the Taupo cycling course. The lake was too cold to swim in though! This was a great build up for Suffer in Rotrua in December.

The programme stepped up a few notches over January and February with many more hours on the bike, sea and road. To be honest, i had a couple of '#$%& this" training sessions, but Sue encouraged me to put those behind me and move on - that's the power of having a coach.

By the time I headed down to Taupo on Wednesday of race week I was mentally and physically ready to go. I woke up in the middle of the night on the Friday before race morning and felt really calm and looked forward to getting in the water.

I set myself two and a bit goals for race day: Finish it. Enjoy it. I also had a time in mind but not as a fixed goal.

Race day brought clear skies, calm air and flat water. My swim went really well and I got into the thick of it drafting off other simmers where I could or swimming reasonably strongly by myself. Transition to bike was smooth and I set off at a comfortable pace. Having cycled the course once at half Ironman camp and twice at the full camp meant I didn't have any surprises on the course. The first lap was settling down with me passing some and being passed by others. On the second lap, I was passed by very few and found myself regularly passing riders ahead of me - it was very satisfying to cruise past a flash rocket-ship bike on my ten year old roadie! Transition to run went smoothly and I ran by heart rate, keeping it in the aerobic zone. The hours and hours of training paid off now as I felt comfortable with my pace and managed to run the full marathon course.For the whole race I focused on what was immediately ahead of me (thanks for the advice Sue!) and didn't look at my overall time at all - I didn't want to pressure myself to hit some artificial constraint.

On Saturday evening Mike Reilly called "Ed Overy, you are an Ironman!" and I achieved the finish and enjoy (it's not 'fun' but you can enjoy the experience) goals. I also beat the time I had in mind by a full hour.

So I've done the Ironman, now all I have to do in 2018 is turn 50

Ed Overy 2018

Sue has been coaching me for the last 18 months.  In 2017 I had a dream to complete a triathlon which also included learning to swim and cycle from scratch.  Since then Sue has become much more than a coach to me, she is my mentor and friend.  She frequently provides me with advice on nutrition and the mental strength to get through long hours of training, including of course specialised workouts.  I have a hectic job and two small children so my workouts need to be targeted and focused to achieve results.  Last year I completed by first half ironman and I loved the event so much I’ve registered for another one this year J

Tatum 2019

"Sue is not just a coach, she is a caring, supportive and inspiring person, if it hadn’t been for her I would have long ago thrown in the towel. No matter what ability you are, Sue will always be encouraging and supportive of what goal you are aiming for." 

"This time last year if you had told me that come 1st March 2014 I will be competing in my first Ironman event I would have told you where to go!

Ironman has been on my ‘list of things to do’ but to be honest I didn’t know if I would ever do one, I didn’t think I had it in me or the time to train, however after supporting a good friend at last year’s event and then hearing she was signing up again for 2014 I thought this was as good as time as ever to bite the bullet and sign up.

The next step was checking with Sue to see if she would be my coach and lucky for me she agreed.

If anyone out there is thinking of doing an ironman but don’t think they have the time to train then sorry but that is no excuse, yes there are some early morning wake ups and some after work discipline with training, it does require some good juggling of work commitments, one thing you might have to sacrifice is some of your socialising especially in the last 3 months when the rides and runs get longer.  What you need is a good coach, good programme and good training buddies who encourage you to get out and they make the training so much more fun.  I had heard many people say it’s all about the journey getting to IM rather than the day, the day is just about enjoying the moment and eating heaps – now I know what they mean and even though there have been times in this journey where I wanted to pull the stop cord and get off- I wouldn’t change anything – the tears, the pain, the melt downs, the sore muscles, the lack of sleep are all part of it, just as much as the friends, support, encouragement, pat on the backs, smiles and accomplishment are.

I can’t recommend highly enough to do the Ironman training camp. For the past few years I had read about these camps and was in admiration for those who went on them, as they always looked worse than the actual IM! But a few weeks ago I headed down to Taupo to do my first and loved it, most of us were first timers but there were a couple that had done IM before so it was great to quiz them on what to expect etc.  I learnt so much from Sue and Brendan and reassured myself I was on track, what you take away from these camps is priceless and they are for everyone no matter what your ability is.

My journey is almost completed, come 1st March I hope to be an ironman, a big thank you to everyone who has helped me get this far.

And for those of you who are thinking about signing up for next year- ‘Just do it’ and enjoy the journey."

Christine Augusto
50-55AG