Race Reports

Mark Jordan and Jim Graham from Mid Sussex Triathlon Club were delighted to both finish as top GB athletes in their events amid a large GB age-group team. It was a wonderful boost to shake hands with Gomez, a true great.

Mark was fast on both swim and bike to finish 5th in the world in the 60-64 Aquabike category. This terrific result was despite a chronic ear infection. Mark's pain and deafness was remedied within 24 hours of his return to UK by an emergency appointment procedure by top Sussex ENT surgeon, Mr Prodip Das.

00:50:38 3km swim
00:02:57 transition
03:39:11 120km cycle
04:32:46 overall

Jim had a slow swim as usual but strong cycling and the 2nd fastest run in age group lead to an 8th in the world finish in the 55-59 Long Distance Triathlon Category. A weak run at Ironman Norway 2 weeks earlier made him narrowly miss 1st place, but this time there was a steady 7:30 minute/mile pace throughout plus a good sprint finish.

01:11:20 3km swim
00:03:47 transition 1
03:26:01 120km cycle
00:03:22 transition 2
02:18:29 30km run
07:02:59 overall

British Middle Distance Triathlon Championship at Hever Castle 8th July

Mid Sussex Triathlon Club Member Kate Mactear, who is studying for a Masters Degree at Bristol University, achieved a magnificent 3rd place with a time of 5.19.47 in the British Middle Distance Championships held within the Festival of Endurance Gauntlet event at Hever Castle. This is an event in the popular Castle Triathlon Series and involves a 1.9km swim in Hever Lake followed by a tough 90km bike ride round the High Weald of Kent anf the Ashdown Forest, and finishing with a 21km run with a challenging off road element.

Vitoria Gasteiz Midddle Distance Triathlon, Northern Spain 8th July

New member Amanda Hyatt achieved 2nd place in her age group with a time of 7.21.11 in this popular event held in the Capital of the Basque Autonomous Community in Northern Spain. It comprised a 1.9km swim in Ullibarri-Gamboa lake, a 94km bike ride around the beautiful landscape of Alava, and finishing with a 21km run through the medieval town. Amanda commented that the club's open water swimming sessions at Ardingly Reservoir had given her the confidence to tackle the swimming part of the event.

Thorpe Park Middle Triathlon, 14th July

Emma Jayne Smith took on her first Standard Distance Triathlon at Thorpe Park (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) finishing in 3.27.36. She commented that it had a nice course, was well organised and very enjoyable.

Ironman Boulder, Colorado 9th June

Jim Graham continued his worldwide Ironman and Marathon experiences in this high altitude event held at 5000ft. He had made meticulous preparations for this event,  with every detail addressed, with the aim of securing a Kona qualification for 2018. Kona is the Ironman Championships in Hawaii. At the Boulder event, after a slow swim, Jim did well on on the moderately hilly bike route, averaging 22.5mph, with his home-made bike, put together mostly with second hand parts, proving to be very aero, and held his form in the run, despite 100F temperatures, to come in overall 1st in his age group in 10.39. This performance gives him a slot medal for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, later in the year. Jim said that this achievement was "a dream come true", "unbelieveable" since previously he had never ranked better than 5th in his age group, having completed 22 Ironman distance events over the last 9 years. Jim expressed his gratitude for all the terrific support from friends, family and colleagues, and said that " Kona promises to be  awesome."

You can read Jim's full race report here.

23rd & 24th June

It was a busy weekend for members who were competing in Triathlons of varying lengths and also for 16 members who took part the River Arun Swim.

Swim 1st Triathlon, Crawley

 Rachael Baker won the women's race, with Rob Hoodless coming 3rd in the men's race. Sarah Hinton, Clair Hunt, Rebecca Moore also took part.

River Arun Swim

This is a 3.8km swim from Ford to Littlehampton. Steve McMenamin was the 1st member to finish in 48.46 (4.68 km/hr), with Mike Jaffe 2nd in 50.45 and Jo Fleming 3rd in 53.34. Joanne Barton was the first woman member to finish in 55.28 (4.11km/hr), with Tiggy Rose 2nd in 55.54, and Merrin Forbes the  3rd member to finish in 58.15.

Chomondley Castle Triathlon

Andrew Biggs went to Cheshire for this Castle Triathlon Series event. He did the sprint plus event on Saturday, finishing the 800m swim, 44km bike and 8km run in 2.20.10, and then did the Standard Distance event on Sunday, completing the 1500m swim, 44km bike and 10km run in a very respectable 2.47. 

Leeds Castle Triathlon

Lawrence Wintergold came 3rd in his age group in the Standard Distance Event in 2.23.22. Jane Faulkner also took part, finishing in 3.33.19. Adam Bryant competed in the sprint event, finishing in 1.48.08.

The triathlon season is in full swing with members competing locally and further afield in Hanpshire, Somerset and Cheshire.

The Galdiator Ironman at Bucklers Hard, New Forest, Hampshire

Juliw Williams and Jean Fish competed in this event and were cheered on by a group of club supporters. This event includes a 3.8km swim from Beaulieu to Bucklers Hard followed by a 180km cycle ride around the New Forest and finishing with a 42.2km run. (Results not yet posted)

Exmoor 70.3 Ironman at Wimball Reservoir

Cliff Wilson completed the event in 8.03.09.

Arundel Castle Triathlon

Gunter Eifler placed 10th overall in this Olympic Distance triathlon on 2.13.34. After many marathons and falling off his bike during the week Doug Mac Taggart finished on 2.55.47.

Swim 1st Sprint Triathlon Crawley

A large contigent competed at Crawley with Lawrence Wintergold finishing in 3rd position in 58.49. Rob Hoodless was 7th in 1.00.09 and Ben Fergie 9th in 1.02.02. Rachael Baker was 10th and 1st woman in 1.02.15. James Graham 1.07.44, Brad Williams 1.11.38, Jeremy Paine 1.17.12, Steve Birchall 1.18.21, Ricci Lennon 1.18.56, Sarah Hinton 1.19.30, Pippa Crouch 1.27.20, Helen Graham 1.32.24, and Gemma Graham 1.45.13 all put in good performances.

Boskman Half Ironman at Bucklers Hard

Simon Barton, Simon Hodges, Colin Chambers and Charlie Landhorne all competed in the event in the Beaulieu River and the New Forest. (Results not yet posted)

Cholmondeley Castle Olympic Triathlon, Cheshire

Andrew Biggs competed in this popular event finishing 46th in 2.40.10.

South Downs Marathon

Darren Bird and Douglas Mac Taggart competed in the South Downs Marathon, starting at Slindon College and then following a route up to and along the South Downs Way to the Queen Elizabeth Country Park at Petersfield. Darren completed his marathon in a very respectable 3.27.13 whilst Doug completed his 150th marathon in 4.58.37.

River Arun 3.8km swim

Twelve members competed in the 3.8 km swim from Arundel to Littlehampton on Saturday morning. Sarah Moore finished in a fantastic 11th position and was the second woman to finish on 53.07. She was followed by Katie Chatfield on 59.21 (71st), Mark Jordan 1.00.02 (77th) and Mike Jaffe 1.05.52 (135th).  Debbie Nisbet 1.08.21, David Ricketts 1.09.38, Simon Hodges 1.11.00,  Sharon Chaldek 1.11.38 and Rose Ryan 1.15.58 were not far behind.

Dambuster Olympic Distance Triathlon at Rutland Water

Eight MSTC athletes made the journey up the A1 to Rutland Water on Friday night to take part in the Dambuster, an Olympic-distance triathlon that started early on Saturday morning and was a qualifier for this summer's age-group World Championships in Mexico.

 Conditions were cold and overcast for a 1500m swim in Rutland Water, followed by a 42k bike ride on the roads around the reservoir and a 10k run that went out across the dam and back, finishing in front of a large crowd, stoked up by pumping rock music and an excitable race commentary.

 Callum Murray led the Mid Sussex contingent home in 2.54.26, just 18 seconds ahead of Matt Critchley in 2.54.54, who in turn was followed by Julienne Stuart-Colwill, the first MSTC woman home in an impressive 3.02.42.

 Cliff Wilson finished in 3.14.49, Joanne Barton in 3.19.51 and Ricci Lennon was delighted with a 3.23.13 in her first-ever Olympic-distance triathlon.

 Tracy Brownings wasn't far behind in 3.34.38 and she was followed home by Angela Murray in 3.43.17 and by Clair Hunt in 3.58.44.

 All these results were put into perspective, however, by the overall winner's time, an amazing 1.58.21, not far off the time that the winner of this summer's Olympic triathlon in Rio de Janeiro might expect to post. This was a high-quality field.

Saturday Morning swim in Ardingly Reservoir

Meanwhile 11 members did the regular 8am swim in Ardingly Reservoir, supported by 3 safety observers in kayaks and on the dock.

East Sussex Cycling Association 50 mile Time Trial Sunday 19th June

Nine members competed in the 50 mile time trial along the A22 in East Sussex. Kevin James was first member home on 2.16.04, followed by Neil Giles 2.16.32 and Phil Couch on 2.18.43. Lawrence Wintergold, Colin Chambers and Jez Fallon finished on 2.20.27, with Graham Bond 2.20.54, Steve Alden 2.21.49 and Sharon Chaldek 2.31.12 also competing.