When Hayden Allum decided to return to Wanda Surf Lifesaving Club he knew it was the right decision.
And the 28-year-old will lead the local hopes at the Nutri-Grain Finals Series at North Cronulla Beach this weekend.
The three day event, starting on Friday, will see 40 of Australia’s best Ironmen and Ironwomen compete across three rounds and six races to determine the 2017 Nutri-Grain Ironman and Ironwoman finals series champions – and for a prize pool of $200,000.
Allum grew up at Cronulla and represented his home club, Wanda, before making the move to Queenscliff SLSC to compete with his brother, Chris.
But a move back home has seen him link up with plenty of familiar faces at Wanda, including his cousin, Mitch.
The iconic series has undergone the biggest transformation in its history with a new format brought in for this season. The finals series will involve endurance racing on Friday, before an accumulator event on Saturday and an eliminator format on Sunday. 26 contracted athletes, including stars like Shannon Eckstein and Jordan Mercer, will be joined by qualifiers.
Allum qualified through his results last year but has had to work hard just to make it to this weekend.
A bout of glandular fever late last year was followed by a torn calf, restricting Allum to just two races since.
“I’m starting to feel like I’m back to my best,” he said.
“I’m slowly coming back. I had to take my time to make sure when I got back to racing I was in a good physical state.
“I lost 10 kilograms and put it back on in all the wrong places. The last few weeks my body weight is back through racing and training. I’ve done lots of hard yards. Daniel Neilson at Caringbah Swimming Pool has looked after me. I knew my body couldn’t withstand large workloads, I had to really change the way I train.”
Another local, Cronulla junior Nathan Smith, will compete for Manly. And Allum thinks there is no reason why the veteran can’t also push for the title.
“The standard of Ironman racing is just going through the roof. It’s amazing and good to see new faces challenge for the lead. The smart money would say Kendrick Louis or Shannon Eckstein will win but from a personal point of view I’d like to see Jay Furniss and Nathan Smith have a really good crack,” he said.
“[Smith has] got a few years on me but he’s one of my best mates. It’s a testament to him that he’s become one of the greatest athletes on the beach.
“He’s not young anymore but he’s evergreen, like red wine. He’s a legend, he just doesn’t fatigue.”
Allum is also the head coach at Cronulla Surf Lifesaving Club and a year three teacher at Cronulla Public School. He might even have a few interested spectators cheering him on come the weekend.
“The kids know about it. I think a few of them are coming down. My boss is really supportive which is great with my training and competing. It is a good opportunity for local kids to come down and see the best in Australia competing here.”
