Race Report W/E 13th October
How better to mark the change of Seasons than with the final Triathlon of 2018-19 (Kona) and the first of the Surrey League Cross Country races. We had running races of all distances and an aquathlon too!
Before we dip into the final results of the season, a few updates:
- The race calendar is resurrected – I’ll try to ensure that what was popular this season returns next year; but please email me with new races (I will scour Facebook, but it does save me a lot of time if I don’t have to). You can’t add events directly – emailing me is quick though, and the races are generally up to add yourselves to within a few days (if not sooner).
- The clock is now ticking down to end of season race awards! If you’ve been missed from any of my race reports, and (importantly) you did a triathlon, you need to let me know by the end of October so I can include your result!
- Also, if this season was your first ever triathlon please tell me – there’s an award for that. I already have a few hands up, but don’t want to miss any others!
Surrey Cross Country – Race 1
In the middle of the various weekend downpours, the club raced its initial men’s and women’s cross country races – women in Reigate (Priory Park) and men in Richmond Park.
To say the weather was inclement would be an understatement. Fortunately, neither of the two courses resembled the mudfest of Lloyd Park – so, wet, but not treacherously muddy. And, despite the weather, we had massive turnouts! 35 for the men and 21 for the women!!
In the men’s race, we had a fast squad that helped place us in 2nd (Team A) and 1st (Team B)! James Ellis (great to see him getting back to top form) stormed across the line in 4th overall, with the remaining top 5 club runners (Charlie Elliott, James Nellany, Borja Portas, and Alexie Calvert) finishing within a minute of each other in 12th, 13th, 14th and 17th places!!
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Our full line up of racers also included: Joseph Morrell; Adam O’Rourke; Chris Browne; Will Manns; Tris Thornhill; Jonathan Furuya; Keiran Allen; Kevin Couchman; Tim How; Richard Harper; Alex Naudi; Christian Marcos; Dave Bulmer; Mark Benton; Ben Harrison; Andrew Jack; Sean Clancy; Chris Clarke; Jose Lopez; Nick van Praag; Richard Bridger; Sandi Sehmi; Peter Moore; Stephen Flexer; Rob Carder; Laurent Gibbs; Eddie Dole; Jamie McCanny; Colin McCaffrey; and, Amir Sada.
If the first race is a guide, our men’s squad’s main rival appears to be Walton AC, with stiff competition from Epsom & Ewell, 26.2 RRC, and Dorking & Mole Valley AC. Compared to the shaky start to our previous season, this weekend could be the scene setter for a challenge for top of Division – and the chance to go up to Division 2…
For the women, last season we finished 3rd with 2nd in our sights – Woking AC and Stragglers just proving too fast to beat. This first race in Reigate saw our squad valiantly battle it out against a revitalised set of competing teams. However, we didn’t quite have the edge – despite fielding a great 21 racers!
Ursula Hankinson led the way, crossing the finish line in 45th place, followed by the remainder of our A Team (Ceri Ruzzi, Francine Evans, Heather Mayer and Bryony Allen) about 2 minutes later! Scoring for our B Team were: Sybille Schorm; Julia May; Elisa de Prestel; Holly Hardy; and, Katie Devlin! The full line up of racers also included: Eimear Toomey; Helen Fagan; Francesca Hunt; Steffie Woodward; Suzie Rylatt; Alexandra Richards; Alexandra Durston; Lizzie Matthews; Gina Siebler; Sarah Watts; and, Megan Whewell. Special mention to Gina for also taking part in the Reigate Park-run beforehand!!
Despite the great turn-out, we finished in last place behind Fulham Running Club, with Team B faring slightly better. Our immediate competition appears to be Fulham and Reigate Priory AC. However, Clapham Chasers, Kent AC, Thames Hare & Hounds, and South London Harriers are the teams we need to consistently chase down and beat in order to regain a top division spot!!
Chicago Marathon
The big news from Chicago was the breaking of the women’s marathon time record by Kenyan Brigid Kosgei, in the same week that Kipchoge broke the 2hr barrier. But, we also had our own power couple racing the streets of the windy city: Luke and Janice Hardman.
Luke crossed the finish line 45 seconds under 3 hours with a half marathon PB along the way! Janice then stormed across the line in 4hr 17min!! Some fantastic racing by both.
Oxford Half Marathon
This half is a pretty good sightseeing one, as well as being mostly flat. Heading away from the sights of the city centre, the run loops around to pass the famous Radcliffe Camera before finishing near St Johns College. It’s also mostly flat.
Our one club runner this year was Tom Scott, finishing in a speedy 1hr 38min!
Windsor Lakeside 10k
Making use of the quiet paths around Dorney Lake, this 10k is as flat as they come (all be it with the usual Dorney winds).
Katie Devlin was out racing, the day after taking part in Cross Country. She finished in 49min and came 2nd in her age group!
East Grinstead Autumn Aquathlon
Described as a small friendly local race, this aquathlon features a 500m pool swim followed by 5km run through the town. Rob Argles was out racing, finishing 3rd overall and winning his age group!
Kona – Ironman World Championships
Well, this is it, the race that effectively ends our racing season. The course in Kona is merciless, with winds and open terrain on the bike leg, and a hot and humid marathon to finish.
The pro race was dominated by the German duo of Anne Haug and Jan Frodeno, despite a spirited performance by Lucy Charles-Barclay (who had a 6 minute lead into the run). For those intrigued by running cadence, Jan Frodeno approached the finish at a relatively slow turnover of 160-170, pouring some cold water on the generalisation that everyone should be running at 180 step per minute or more.
Of course, Ful-on Tri had their own stars out on the course: Haukur Heimisson; Ruth Purbrook; and, John Borton. Haukur is nearly a regular fixture at Kona these days, and Ruth is no stranger to the course. For John, however, this was his first taste – and we’d love to see what he can do on a return visit!
Ruth stormed across the finish line in 9hr 20min, not only beating Haukur and John but also a sizable proportion of the pro field and all of her age group. What’s almost more impressive is that she was merely 8 minutes behind her Roth time on a significantly tougher course!!
John and Haukur both came in well under 10 hours, just 7.5 minutes apart, in 9hr 42min and 9hr 50min respectively!!
What a fab way to end the season, and surely a well earned post-race celebration in Hawaii!!
And that’s it for the 2019 Season!
Do email me if you raced this weekend and were missed out – at fixtures@fulontri.com
Also, please use the Race Calendar – it’s back to where it was in May, and is a great way to see who’s entered races without having to scroll endlessly through Facebook. Email me with any races you need added.
And, finally, do, do please check whether your results have been covered this Season. If not, you need to let me know before the end of October (and I’m not just saying that because Boris may get our internet disconnected after that point)!