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She only just finished one grueling event, but Turia Pitt already has the next challenge in her sights.
On May 23, Pitt will begin walking the Kokoda Track for medical charity Interplast.
And she’s well prepared for the 96km trail, having just completed the Ironman Australia triathlon in Port Macquarie, NSW, on May 1, finishing in 13hr 24min—one hour better than she expected.
The 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and 42km run was “hard,” Pitt tells WHO, laughing. But “I felt great. I was grateful to be alive.”
The triathlon was the mining engineer’s first since suffering horrific burns in a bushfire while competing in a 100km ultramarathon in WA’s Kimberley in 2011.
Says Pitt, 28: “I wanted to challenge myself and prove to myself that I was fitter than I was in the ultramarathon.”
Her ongoing medical treatments were shelved while she prepared for the event. “There was a lot of sacrifice,” says Pitt, who is engaged to long-time partner Michael Hoskin. “So I’m probably going to enjoy having a normal life for a couple of months.”
“Normal” will include walking Papua New Guinea’s famous track. And then? “When I get back I will probably start getting itchy feet and start thinking about what is next.”
For more on Turia and her journey pick up this week’s issue of WHO – on sale now.
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