Race Report W/E 4th August
I can officially say that whilst one can race 100 miles on barely any training… it’s not that wise. Bacon and eggs this morning never felt so guilt free.
Numbers wise we had a very 2-wheeled and aquatic weekend. We did have a few triathlons too though.
Previous report omission
Thanks to Xavier for spotting: Kerstin Mogull continued her sprint triathlon form with a silver at the ETU Sprint Champs in Kazan, Russia, last weekend, finishing less than a minute behind the winner of her race class!
Ride London 100 & 46
Ahead of the pro teams racing the classic (a kind of Box Hill fan society race), a large club contingent was tearing around Prudential’s 100 and 46 mile courses, with some speeds Dr Emmett Brown would be proud of.
Riding the 100 miler were: Gina Siebler; Karl Boehm; Katie McCreadie; Lizzie Matthews; Jonny Williams; Merrilee Bridger; Peter Maxwell; Nicola Buckmaster; Oliver Blackwood; Lee Davies; Calum Williams; Krista Kojecky; Katie Devlin; Vasili Lyras; Alex Revill; Ed Challes; Helen Fagan; Colin Frew; Daniel Venn; Jonny Wilkes; Sapna Sekhri; Matthew Lee; and, Stewart Juroszek. And out on the 46 mile route were: Nicola Anderson; Martin Bruwer; Joe Coleman; Alex Courage; Stephen Flexer; Adam O’Rourke; Will Manns; Tom Scott; and, Jamie Woodland.
Quite a few of the above were riding as “Safety Captains” to ensure good cycling discipline amongst waves – fantastic to have Ful-on Tri playing a crucial role in this massive event.
Now, whilst the ride is fantastically well run, given the many many thousands of cyclists taking part, as the day goes on there are incidents (riders losing concentration etc), and this can impact those setting off in later waves. Whilst most of us setting off early only got interrupted a couple of times (or not at all), Gina and Sapna were unfortunate enough to hit more stoppages than most. Hopefully, this won’t discourage them from future sportives!!
Speeding to the finish in the 4-4.5hr window were Karl, Carl, Daniel and Jonny Williams – some epically fast riding (even if Jonny did recruit a big slave to sit on the front of his group!) Next up, finishing in 4.5-5hrs, were Katie, Peter, Matthew, Lee, and Jonny Wilkes. 5-5.5hrs saw Ed and Colin (great riding considering they were also shepherding their waves!) Following them, in 5.5-6hrs, were Oliver and Lizzie (a great comeback from the bike crash earlier in the year!) 6-6.5hrs had Stewart and yours truly (starting to cramp) crossing the finish line. Helen and Krista (bagging a special appearance on the BBC coverage) crossed the finish line in 6.5-7hrs (almost certainly helped by Krista’s magically aerodynamic headgear!) Nicola, Katie, Vasili, and Alex all finished in the 7-7.5hr window. And finally, Sapna and Gina battled through the stoppages on the course to finish either side of 8hrs. Great riding by all, and some fab showing of Ful-on Tri kit!
In the 46 mile race, Joe and Will both finished sub-2hrs! Coming in under 2.5hrs were Martin, Alex, Adam and Tom! And, finishing hand in hand, sub-3hrs, were Jamie and Nicola, in the exact same time!
Well done to everyone – a massive turn-out. Whilst there are photos, they only show a tiny fraction of those involved, so it would be a little unfair to post them here.
Henley Marathon Swim
This is a monster 14km swim from Henley to Marlow – that’s a lot of ducks and drakes to count! Donning their wetsuits and putting their swim endurance to the test were: Suzie Rylatt; Sian Joseph; Ben Harrison; Borja Portos; Jessica Spivey; Tom Masters; and Camilla Rogers.
Everyone completed the distance in under 5 hours, with Suzie first to the finish. Great work everyone!
Cowman Triathlon
The Cowman is a very good value Middle Distance triathlon (only £110 – that’s nearly 50% less than an Ironman 70.3). Racing takes place at Emberton Country Park near Milton Keynes. A 2 lap lake swim is followed by 2 laps of a rolling bike route before a 4 lap half marathon finishes proceedings.
A range of other distances are on offer, with Calfman offering a standard distance tri (half the Cowman), and the Stampede a sprint.
Racing the Cowman middle distance this year was Rob Argles, finishing just under 4hr 53min, 20th overall and a podium place of 3rd in his race category!
Meanwhile in the Calfman, Katherine Montserrat finished in 2hr 41min, just 3 off the podium!
Cotswold Classic Triathlon
Set in the heart of the picturesque Cotswolds, this Middle Distance tri offers a great flat course to achieve PBs.
Out racing were: Jose Cortes; Phil Lloyd; and, Iain Macleod. Jose stormed in first for the club in 4hr 44min, followed by Phil and Iain 16 and 23 minutes later respectively! Solid racing!
Dorney Lake Triathlon
Continuing the year’s worth of triathlons at Dorney Lake, the weekend saw an Olympic distance race.
Tom Raven was out competing, finishing just under 2hr 53min, and only 1 place away from a podium spot!
And that’s your lot for another great weekend of racing. Well done to everyone who was out sweating, competing and winning!
Please contact me directly on fixtures@fulontri.com if you have upcoming races or I’ve managed to miss you from this weekend’s results.