Melissa Hauschildt dreamed of winning a world title in running since she was a talented sprite of 11 years old on the Gold Coast. She got very close to the Olympics in the 3000 meter steeplechase, but injuries, an abusive coach, and track and field politics stood in her way. Now, in the much friendlier arena of triathlon, Melissa just had a season for the ages. After a crash and a DNF in January at Auckland 70.3, she won seven straight prestigious long course victories including the Abu Dhabi International, the ITU Long Course World title and her second Ironman 70.3 World Championship. Her only blemish, if that’s what you want to call it, was a second place finish worth $20,000 at the Olympic-distance Hy-Vee 5i50 Championships a week before the showdown at Las Vegas.

Hauschildt spoke after a few whirlwind post-race days involving numerous interviews and a trip to the Specialized wind tunnel in California.


Slowtwitch: What did winning your second IM 70.3 World Championship gold mean to you?

Melissa Hauschildt: It is always an amazing feeling to win any race – in particular a World Championship. I've been trying to win a world title since I started running when I was 11 years old. Of course I had such a struggle with running – injuries and politics. So when I switched to triathlon and finally got a world championship at Las Vegas in 2011, it was an amazing feeling. In 2012 I had a bit of a struggle to get over all the physical setbacks, which brought back painful memories of my running injuries. This year, to get back to good shape and win all my races and top it off with a world championship was amazing. Especially with all the ITU girls coming to race the 70.3 championship. I knew they were able to work well together on the bike and could potentially pull away from me. I knew it would be tough, so I was happy with how I rode and caught back up and went to the front.

ST: What were your injuries last year?

Melissa: I had tendinitis in my peroneal tendons [behind the outside ankle bone]. I was able to race but I could not train too much, which can cause a stress fracture in my fibula. So to heal, I only ran 20-30 minutes a day. I could not do too much with it and it dragged on the entire season. I guess that was because I wanted to be on the start line and I wanted to race. If I had taken a few months off, I might have been better sooner. So I got a lot of 2nd and 4th places. Not so bad -- but not what I wanted.

ST: What did your second place at Hy-Vee mean to you leading up to Vegas?

Melissa: That gave me lot of confidence. A week out from Vegas, I wanted to be feeling good. I came out from a short distance race feeling really strong. When you run a sub-35 minute 10k in competition while training for a 70.3 race, I knew I had the speed I needed.

And the prize money [$20,000] wasn’t bad at all.

ST: Did you get a look at how the ITU girls were doing there?

Melissa: I just passed Svenja Bazlen 400 meters from finish at Hy-Vee. I knew she was racing Las Vegas. Also Daniela Ryf rode slightly faster than me in Hy-Vee. She has a really good bike. [Bazlen finished 5th, Ryf was 6th at Vegas]

ST: How many times did you notice your husband Jared running around on race day? What important info did he pass on to you?

Melissa: At the end of the swim he told me I was 3:20 down. Then when I climbed up the first hill at transition he told me I was about 3:10 back. At the top of the hill 10k into the bike, I was 10th or 11th and 3 minutes down. At 60k I was in 4th place and within a minute of the lead group. I took the lead at about 70k into the ride.

ST: Who was the last woman you passed on the bike?

Melissa: Annabel [Luxford] was leading. The rest of the pack all looked good and worked together well. I guess they were riding smart, conserving energy.

ST: How hard was it to pass them?

Melissa: I just kept up the same pace I was riding all day. My initial plan was to not go straight by. But when I came up on them I had to backpedal a bit and slow down. I did not want to risk a penalty, so I pushed ahead. I wanted to maintain my rhythm and keep going.

ST: Did any of them fight back?

Melissa: Annabel was the only one to go with me.

ST: How did you like racing in the rain?

Melissa: I guess it cooled things down. That’s one good thing - because I do not like to ride in the rain. I’ve crashed several times in the rain. The most recent was at the Auckland 70.3 race in January. I hit a pothole. It was raining and my glasses were wet and I could not see properly. I also crashed at Noosa last November in the wet as well.

ST: Any dodgy moments on corners in the wet before your crash at kilometer 87?

Melissa: Before the crash, no. Nothing at all. Every corner I took it easy. I was not sure what happened. I don’t know if there was oil on the road.

ST: What exactly happened in this crash at 87k?

Melissa: I was in the lead and Annabel was on my tail. We had media on our left and we were about to take a right hand turn. I was riding conservative and figured I had to slow down. I was down on the hoods and the bike slid from under me and I landed hard on my right hip. Annabel rode ahead and I picked up my bike and got going in a few seconds and took off after her.

ST: When you checked yourself out, what was wrong?

Melissa: Nothing was broken, and there were no flats. But I was obviously hurting. It was not seizing up or anything. I guess I was a bit worried it was going to seize up. So I stretched up and down out of the saddle to get ready for running rather than just sitting there.

ST: Did you re-pass Luxford before T2?

Melissa: I followed on her heels. But Annabel had to take a penalty just before the transition. I think it was a stop and go – not 4 minutes.

ST: After the crash, were you worried about cramps or other physical ailments?

Melissa: When I crashed at Auckland, my whole leg went numb and I could not control it. I was worried it could happen again in Vegas. I landed exactly on the same spot on my hip and back in January I was not able to finish. Things were different in Las Vegas. My elbow felt a bit achy and my hands went numb when I hit the ground and slid. Other than that, I felt alright. After a few moments, I forgot about the crash and got on with the job.

ST: Could you see the women chasing you on one of the out-and-back sections of the run?

Melissa: You could see them all the time. The run course was three laps and went up and down many of the same roads. I saw them and nobody was catching me and I thought I was pulling away. Still, I was worried the whole time that things could seize up. That is why I did not let off the pace and focused on getting to the finish line as quick as possible.

ST: Was there anyone you were worried about catching you on the run?

Melissa: No. The best runners in the field – Kelly Williamson and Heather Jackson – were too far back to catch me.

ST: How did you and your husband Jared celebrate?

Melissa: We went back to the hotel to catch up on emails and Twitter and Jared patched up my wounds.

ST: How many emails did you get congratulating you?

Melissa: Oh hundreds -- between emails, Twitter and Facebook. I still have not caught up. I like to try to respond to all of them.

ST: Did you speak with Annabel or Heather?

Melissa: I didn’t speak too much with Annabel. Heather was excited coming in second and I was too because I have seen how hard she’s worked and how much she has improved. I was happy to see her get 2nd place

ST: Where does this leave you regarding ambitions for Ironman in the future?

Melissa: I haven't thought much about it. I might do one next year if all goes well. I want a good year and a half of solid training before thinking about any big Ironman races.

ST: Will you travel to Kona to watch this year?

Melissa: No. I am doing Cozumel and Augusta 70.3 and then we will go home to Brisbane. Then we will work out what races to go to next year. Plus the Asia-Pacific season starts soon.

ST: How is your arm?

Melissa: There is a big hole in my arm. It looks worse, but it does not cause pain. My hip is a bit swollen and sore. And I hit my chest as well.

ST: What do you think of your nearly perfect season?

Melissa: It is just a dream come true. I started the year off hoping everything would go perfect. I guess it did – except for the crash at Auckland to start the year off. That crash was a terrible start. But since then everything went pretty well perfect.

ST: What actually led you to triathlon?

Melissa: I really owe a big thanks to Phil Stoneman who was my manager and got me into triathlon. He always thought I’d be good at it. At the time, I was just a runner who enjoyed cycling. But he kept at me, insisting I give it a go. I’d say ‘Ah, nah.’ I finally just gave in to keep him quiet. When I finished that first race I thought, ‘Ah, now I’ve done it! He will leave me alone.’ I really have to thank him for everything that followed.

ST: What do you think of the sport of triathlon after your heartbreak with running?

Melissa: The women who compete in running are very different. Elite runners keep to themselves and are not social. Triathletes are friendly and will help you out. That makes it enjoyable so you want to turn up to race and see your competitors. No one has bad words to say about anyone, which makes the whole weekend really fun.

ST: What have you done to improve your game this year?

Melissa: I actually went back to my training of 2011. I did not run too much - maybe 70 to 80 kilometers a week during a main training block. One thing that’s changed the most is I swim a lot and I do more technique work, in the pool.

ST: You don’t want a coach. But do you have a technical adviser on the swim?

Melissa: Back in Brisbane I work with a swim squad a bit. It’s not a triathlon squad and it’s mostly kids 14 and 15 years old. I am the oldest by far. Zane King is the coach and he has helped me a lot.

ST: Do you have an adviser on bike fit?

Melissa: I’ve worked with Nick Formosa of Retül on bike fitting. He is a cyclist himself and gives me a bit of advice. He will agree or disagree with what I am doing and I will take it into consideration.

ST: Have you devoted more time to the bike and less to the run? Is your game more balanced than when you started serious triathlon?

Melissa: I’ve always done more bike than run. I’ve struggled with injuries all through my running career and I know I do not want to get injured. I find the bike is a good way to get a base for running.