Race Reports

On Saturday, the 2^nd July, there were many different ladies only races going on at Dorney Lake, with Clare, Jean & Sharon in the Challenge triathlon and Fiona in the Sprint. So here are two race reports for you:

Author: Sharon

Left the house at 7.30am which is not too early; apart from my teenage kids thinking that they have been woken up in the middle of the night. My crew in the car were: Gordon (hubby), Sean & Alina - the kids. We were hoping to catch up with the other car - Clare, Jean & Rob (Jean's hubby). Unfortunately 15mins up the road and we are straight back to the house for the forgotten camera.

No sign of Jean's car but the M25 was blissfully quiet and drama-free so we made great time to Dorney Lake.

There were loads of parking and a bit of walk to the boathouse so support crew were handed equipment to carry & off we went. The walk helped to settle the nerves a bit - worrying about all the unknowns for my first open water triathlon; the mass swim start, spotting & getting out of the spray-on wetsuit.

Saw three lovely smiling faces waiting for us outside the registration tent - Rob was trying to stay cheerful as when he had first spotted the large registration tent, he thought it was full of beer.

After collecting my number, we headed for the posh boathouse and upstairs to the balcony & café, which gives great views of the Lake and an excellent place to settle all the support crew who immediately organised themselves bacon sandwiches - oh crikey I'm going to hurl, there goes the nerves again.

As Clare, Jean & I racked our bikes, we were able to watch the first Wave enter the water. The first group were the Relay team and there didn't seem to be many of them so gave us all the wrong impression that the groups were going to be small. Not long before it's our time to wander down to the start position & there were LOADS of us (our wave - under 30s & over 40s). Clare was the bravest - going in without the wetsuit - whereas Jean & I just went "NO WAY - gives us the rubber".

All in the water, treading and trying to find our space while listening to the race briefing - excellent place to tell you the race details - knowing full well that you couldn't escape at this point. Then went the Starting Gun & wow! Arms, legs everywhere, all trying to head for the 1^st buoy. Had to stop as goggles were knocked off and then tried to avoid the kicking breast stroker. Going round the first buoy, someone actually grabbed my ankle. First time ever I was actually kicking!

Swim was 2 laps - bizarrely 800m in open water doesn't seem so long or so hard compared to a pool environment. After the race I discovered from the support team that the girl who was leading mistakenly starting heading back to the first buoy instead of the finish ramp & had to be chased by the speed boat to correct her. Even with her extra 200m-ish, she still managed to beat the rest of us.

Hit the finish ramp with my hands, straight up and running (first fear dealt with as I thought my legs were going to be too wobbly). The wetsuit came off so smoothly - shock - (2^nd fear dealt with) but then I had to sit on the floor to put shoes on as felt a bit dizzy. Out of T1, next came Jean - who absolutely loved her first experience of open water racing and then Clare.

I loved the cycle ride as it is SO flat, no cars and the surface is lovely & smooth. Its 6 laps around the lake and some excellent corners to take. Only time in each lap you had to slow down was when you return to the boathouse as caution was required from cyclist coming from the T1 slip way and supporters crossing the path. All our support crew were giving us great encouragement as we went past them on each lap - is that bloody ice-creams in their hands?????

T2 was okay, and then onto the run. A bit of a boring route as up & down the same path for 3 laps. Excellent option to check that everyone is okay. Saw Clare (looking strong and happy) while on my 1^st lap but where is Jean? - getting worried now! The positive aspect of the run is that it is as flat as a pancake, so my currently sore knees weren't suffering too much (last fear sorted).

Finally last lap & it is so hot, just kept looking straight ahead, counting to 100 and not worrying what other ladies were doing & then finally, I would love to say a sprint but more like a crawl to the finish line. Here I was met by a group of sweet cheering marshals, our screaming support crew and a dodgy looking man with a garden hose splashing everyone with cold water. In other circumstances he probably would have got a slap but this time I was truly grateful. Not long after a beaming Clare & then a smiling Jean crossed the finish line.

Now to hear "what had happened to poor Jean" - to be honest we are not really sure as number of laps are not officially counted, but we think that most probably Jean did an extra bike lap - I told you the bike route was so good - you just want to do more!

After we packed up and were ready to go home we were lucky to have a chance to cheer Fiona as she headed to the finish line - my god that girl can run.

To summarise I think I can happily say from all 4 of us that Dorney Lake is an excellent venue for competing and for your spectators. All the races were very well organised and had a great buzzing atmosphere - but no beer tent - sorry Rob.

Here are our results:

STANDARD DISTANCE (800m, 30km, 7.5km):

Author Fiona:

Managed to get round the M25 with relative ease so hoped that was a good omen for my 2nd attempt at triathlon.

On arrival the nerves really began to take hold and it seemed an age to walk from the car park to the boathouse and race registration.  After collecting my numbers and timing chip there were lots of green hats in the water.  Wondering if this could be Sharon, Claire and Jean in the challenge event.  The hooter went and there was flying arms and white water.....crikey that's a mass start then!

Racked the bike trying to remember the tips Steve B gave me at East Grinstead and then it was just a case of waiting.  This was probably the worst part of the day as thoughts of getting stuck in my wetsuit or further bike malfunctions did nothing to calm my nerves!  Standing on the balcony at the boathouse looking down on transition I was trying to spot the others but sadly didn't see them before the start of my wave.

I was glad that I had a couple of Ardingly swim sessions under my belt as I made my way to the water and chatting to some of the other competitors who were first timers I started to enjoy the moment!  The marshals friendly banter certainly helped and by the time I'd swam round the second buoy I was really enjoying the swim.  Was surprised to get a mouthful of weeds and realised that I'd veered off to the left on the final approach to the pontoon - idiot! I didn't struggle with the wetsuit as I'd thought but my 2:51 T1 will need some work!  The bike course was great fun and cycling with two fully inflated tyres makes it all the more easier.  I knew I would have been slower on the swim but wasn't sure how many people were in front of me on the bike.  It was also difficult to work out who was who as they were different waves out on the course so I just kept pedalling and praying for incident free cycling.  At the end of my final lap I was expecting a marshal to point me in the direction of transition but nothing so I was glad that I'd kept count myself.....it was 4 laps, wasn't it?  Now for the real test, running off the bike.  Dodged past some milling competitors in transition and made my way out onto the run course.  Getting off the bike I realised just how warm it was out there and hoped that my legs wouldn't cramp up.  I heard some shouts of encouragement, which was a real boost.  I certainly found it harder to run a 5k after the swim and the bike, and kept thinking to myself that I really should have practised some more brick sessions.  The sight of the finish arch after my second lap was a welcome sight and crossing the line I was very surprised and pleased to be given 2nd place in my wave.  I'd completed my first tri and it was worth the wait!

My results:

SPRINT DISTANCE (400m, 20km, 5km):

The GE Great Britain Age Group Team delivered a phenomenal 81 medals including 27 gold across the sprint and standard distance races at the ETU European Championships in Spain over the weekend of 23^rd to 26^th July 2011.

The two age group races gathered from all over Europe 1.500 to 2.000 athletes and as part of the GBR team, 3 of our own MSTC athletes were there: Rachel Baker, Margaret Hollamby and Steve Alden.

On June the 25th the sprint distance race (swim 750m, bike 20km, run 5km) took place which included Margaret who achieved an amazing 2^nd place in her age group (55-59).

Next day, Rachel and Steve took part in the Standard distance race (swim 1500m, bike 40km, 10km), coming a proud 16th & 11th for Great Britain.

The GBR Age Group recorded the fastest overall male and female triathletes in both the sprint and standard distance races. In the sprint race, Mat Clarkson (35-39) from Hertfordshire crossed the line first in 1:01.50, with Anna Turvey (30-34) from Newcastle leading a British one, two, and three in the women's event finishing in 1:08.12.

In the standard distance event, an equally impressive race saw Roger Witz Barnes (25-29) from Manchester finish first overall in 1:58.40, with Nick Dunn (30-34) from Nottingham crossing the line in third.

Final results:

STANDARD DISTANCE:

SPRINT DISTANCE:

Author: Sharon

Ardingly Triathlon Race Report - 5 June 2011

The reincarnated Ardingly Triathlon, revived by Paul Hedger's Hedgehog Tri after a one-year break, was not on the BAR list this year, but with 12 MSTC athletes competing surely deserves a race report.

Five MSTC athletes - James Dear, Ant Grey, Andy Heath, David Ricketts and Callum Murray - were enticed to compete by the offer of a free place in the race in exchange for counting lengths in the pool, an experience that generated a new respect for those that do the tricky job of counting the lengths of four swimmers simultaneously, while remembering to stick the '2 lengths to go' paddle in the water at the right time for each swimmer.

Two others, Angela Murray and Rachel Baker, counted lengths but didn't compete, contributing to the good relations we are building up with Paul, who will play an important role at the Go Tri! Juniors event we are running on July 30 and 31.  Many thanks to them.

For those doing both, as James Dear said, it was a case of getting your counting head on first, followed by your race head, and not mixing up the two.  James, needless to say, had no such problems, coming second in the race overall in 1.08.50, with a magnificent bike split of 40.36, considering that the long drag up to Turners Hill - hard going at the best of times - was into the teeth of a strong headwind.

Performance of the day probably has to go to Ant Grey, though, who was 13th in 1.16.31, with strong showings in all three disciplines.  With a five lap run course up and down the hill on the college playing fields, I got plenty of chances to see him gradually closing the gap between us as he came round each time.

Also proving himself to be a strong all-rounder was Martin Sanwell in 32nd position, while Andy Heath's strong swim split of 08.19 drove him into 46th position.

Other notable performances came from: Trevor Moore, who was competing the day after completing the Arun River Swim; Stuart Anderson, with a welcome reappearance in club colours after concentrating more on cycling recently; Paul Wills, who's definitely getting the hang of this triathlon game; David Ricketts who continued his long-awaited triathlon comeback; Tim Cresswell who was reduced to a walk at one stage on the tough run course but still gamely finished in a decent time; Jean Fish, who threw her leaky goggles away in disgust as she emerged from the pool (don't worry Jean, I rescued them, and will return them when I next see you), but vented her fury on the bike course with a storming split; and Rose Ryan, whose delight at getting another triathlon under her belt warmed the heart.

As at East Grinstead, it felt like MSTC 'owned' the finish line, as our athletes gathered to cheer home each of our finishers.  Great shouting guys!

Oh, and perhaps I could just mention that I scored an Ardingly Triathlon PB and have been on a high ever since.

MSTC athletes' results below.  There were 149 finishers in the race in total.  For the full results, follow this link: http://www.hedgehogtri.co.uk/ardinglytri/docs/results/Ardingly_20110605_Tri_Summary_v0.pdf

Ardingly Triathlon 5 June 2011.  MSTC athletes' results
Position Name Time
2 James Dear 1.08.50
13 Ant Grey 1.16.31
32 Martin Sanwell 1.22.41
46 Andy Heath 1.25.00
51 Callum Murray 1.25.34
55 Trevor Moore 1.26.42
61 Stuart Anderson 1.27.38
65 Paul Wills 1.28.03
83 David Ricketts 1.32.44
111 Tim Cresswell 1.40.24
120 Jean Fish 1.42.58
128 Rose Ryan 1.46.54

Author: Callum Murray
 

BAR  Race 3 EG Tri Sunday May 15th 2011

An incredible 45 MSTC athletes took part in the East Grinstead sprint Triathlon on Sunday. Over 370 took part in the race and we finished with 12 athletes in the top 50. That is an almost unbelievable achievement.

It was great to welcome back David Ricketts, James Duddy and Callum into the world of racing after lengthy times out of competition. Each had doubts about their fitness but acquitted themselves very well, and we hope to see them racing regularly now.

We did have the usual 'sicknote' brigade claiming all sorts of injuries before they started, from David's popping calf, to Loz and his neck.

It was certainly interesting having an MSTC specific start. I don't think there were any particular issues with the swim although there may have been the odd length counting mistake which helped one or two! Loz did struggle a bit with his neck problem but gamely persevered.

The main problems were encountered on the bike leg. Ant Grey was bemoaning a rear mech problem which limited gear selection, but he was still pretty quick. He also misunderstood how you qualify for an ARSE award, and was seen groping Ian O's backside as he rode past!
Angela Murray had to stop when her chain came off but she stopped, fixed it and had barely any oil on her hands, with a slick(!) recovery. David Ricketts tried to ride into the back of Rachel in the Forest Row snarl ups, although Rachel's modified 'Ann Summers' trisuit may have been a contributory factor that distracted him! Further on Rachel got into quite a battle with Steve Mac as he desperately tried to avoid being chicked. In the end he resorted to the underhand tactic of a dodgy roundabout manoeuvre, to get into T2 ahead (although Rachel's bike split was still faster).

The main problem on the bike leg was the traffic. Loz thought he could get an edge on everyone by starting early, but found that this coincided with tractor traffic. Was this the same tractor that caused mayhem for the later starters, I wonder? He also had a chain issue, so had to go and overtake the same people all over again. Several riders got caught in the bottleneck that is Forest Row, many were held up by the ambulance following the earlier incident (rumour has it that a pedestrian stepped out in front of a cyclist), many were blocked at the chicane at the entrance to Hartfield. Some were held up by all of the above and Sunday drivers and red lights. Steve Mac got the better of the tractor by leaping onto the pavement and undertaking successfully, but had plenty of hold ups to make up for it. It is fair to say that this time it was quite a frustrating bike leg, although Rupert seemed to enjoy it, with the general lumpiness suiting his strength on the bike. Sharon enjoyed a moment of glory when she left Steve Birchall in her wake, then realised he was just messing about with his shoes, and he came storming past again.
Everyone felt sorry for poor Fiona in her first Tri, when she punctured early on the bike and was brought back by the sweep van.

The new run course was about 2 minutes longer than last year, but is still quite a quick route. A few of the faster athletes got caught out by the cunningly hidden low wall behind a tree on the dogleg, and Kev had to take split second evasive action. The most fun was had around transition when everyone came in at the end of Lap 1. There were different arrows for everything and it is amazing that only 2 managed to go wrong. David tried to finish a lap early and actually crossed the finish line before turning round and heading off again, looking a bit disorientated, although whenever David is near a transition he does look a bit like this, and Trevor tried to make up for it by attempting to start a 3rd lap before realising his error and trying to cross the barricades.

I have not reported on individual times as there is just too much information, but I will comment on Dave Jones' awesome run split of 17m33s only bettered by the first 3 in the race, which allowed him to take the MSTC crown,and James Dear's bike split which was 5th fastest overall.  Also well done to Pete Harris with his 2nd place in the V50 men. The ladies race was comfortably won by Rachel from Sam. I think the general consensus was in spite of the traffic problems it was a great day for the club. Jean summed it up by saying it was an event she enjoyed all the way round, and several people commented on how good the marshals were especially on the run route. Clare even jetted in from warmer climes just to make sure she didn't miss out.

And finally, in the race of the day, with Ian 'bigging up' his athletic ability over Steve Mac, all eyes were on them. It was certainly a very close race with Steve only just narrowly winning by 10 minutes.

**Update:

Report from EG's safety officer:

The incident took place in Forest Row on the Hartfield Road just after the double roundabout as the road passes a parade of shops on each side of the street. A member of the general public stepped off the pavement to walk across the road and into the path of one of our competitors. Unfortunately, she is an elderly lady and was considerably shaken having come into contact with the competitor and falling to the ground. The competitor received cuts and grazes and no doubt bruises. The emergency services were called to the scene and the lady was taken to hospital, the competitor and his bicycle were recovered to East Grinstead Leisure Centre by members of EG Tri club.

We will be following up the incident with the police to find out how the lady who was taken to hospital is getting on. The competitor returned home unaided.

Men Winner 1.05.45

Dave Jones              1.11.23   8.58%  10pts
James Dear              1.12.34  10.36    9
Phil Couch                1.14.00  12.55    8
Loz Wintergold          1.14.42  13.46    7
Rob Hoodless           1.16.52  16.50    6
Dave Lashbrook        1.17.14  17.46    5
Pete Harris               1.18.11  18.90    4
Rupert Robinson       1.19.34  21.00    3
Colin Chambers        1.19.36  21.06    2
Ant Grey                  1.19.41  21.19    1
Steve Alden             1.19.57  21.59
Kevin James            1.20.14  22.02
Steve Birchall           1.23.01  26.25
Steve MacMenamin   1.24.29  28.49
Martin Sanwell          1.25.59  30.77
Mat Record              1.26.18  31.25
Andy Heath              1.27.44  33.43
Trevor Moore            1.28.12  34.14
Andy Miles               1.28.49  35.07
Callum Murray          1.30.00  36.88
Justin Hampshire      1.30.39  37.87
James Duddy           1.32.38  40.88
Paul Wills                1.32.44  41.03
Gary Bates              1.33.20  41.90
Graeme Fitzjohn       1.35.06  44.64
Richard Bool            1.35.13  44.81
Ian Ogborn              1.35.14  44.83
David Ricketts          1.37.30  48.29
Alan Thomas            1.38.06  49.20

29 started

Women Winner 1.16.28

Rachel Baker            1.22.32   7.94%   10pts
Samantha Anderson  1.27.25  14.32      9
Margaret Hollamby    1.31.31  19.68      8
Sharon Chladek        1.33.25  22.17      7
Jess McMorris           1.41.20  32.49      6
Pippa Crouch           1.41.27  32.68      5
Jean Fish                1.43.45  35.69     4
Clare Cresswell        1.44.29  36.65      3
Rose Ryan              1.47.44  40.90      2
Kay MacMenamin     1.48.28  41.85      1
Jules Stuart-Colwill   1.49.35  43.32 
Julie Williams          1.50.29  44.51
Sarah Hinton           1.50.44  44.82
Clare Parkinson       1.52.47  47.50
Angela Murray         1.59.07  55.78
Fiona Bussell             DNF

16 started

Author: Steve Alden