Not the biggest field at a mere 19 competitors, but egos were on the line and there were two very distinct races going on.
The first wave off was the 'friendly' rivalry bunch, they were led out of the pool by new girl Helen Banbury closely followed by 'one of Sues ringers' Ludovica, they were both passed in T1 though by Big Rich
who's obviously been following the coach's advice regarding free speed. Once onto the bike however Ludovica took over the wave lead and held onto it right up to the point where she decided that a 3 lap run wasn't far enough for her and she was going to do 
4 laps. This allowed Olly Friend to come in first in the wave amid rumours that he'd found a slightly quicker version of the bike course than others, or was it sour grapes by those ashamed to be beaten by someone over half their age??? 
Steve White worked his way up to 2nd in the wave with the fastest run split of the group and Ludovica 'extra lap' Bruno followed a short time later.
who's obviously been following the coach's advice regarding free speed. Once onto the bike however Ludovica took over the wave lead and held onto it right up to the point where she decided that a 3 lap run wasn't far enough for her and she was going to do 
4 laps. This allowed Olly Friend to come in first in the wave amid rumours that he'd found a slightly quicker version of the bike course than others, or was it sour grapes by those ashamed to be beaten by someone over half their age??? 
Steve White worked his way up to 2nd in the wave with the fastest run split of the group and Ludovica 'extra lap' Bruno followed a short time later.15mins after the first wave hit the pool it was time for the big
ego battle. Could Iain hold onto his recent run of wins at In-Club races? Could wanna be Elite Triathlete and club coach Alan 'Toasty' Ward knock him off his perch amid his recent run of top results? Who'd win the consistantly tight battle 
between Phill, Mark, James, Chris, Mitch and Tim? and could any of them cause an upset by deposing both Iain and Alan? Would one of the West Buckland students that were racing cause a big upset and hammer everybody? 
Now was the time to find out!
ego battle. Could Iain hold onto his recent run of wins at In-Club races? Could wanna be Elite Triathlete and club coach Alan 'Toasty' Ward knock him off his perch amid his recent run of top results? Who'd win the consistantly tight battle 
between Phill, Mark, James, Chris, Mitch and Tim? and could any of them cause an upset by deposing both Iain and Alan? Would one of the West Buckland students that were racing cause a big upset and hammer everybody? 
Now was the time to find out!The swim was hectic but predictable as James, Alan, Phill and Iain all exited the water within 8secs of each other, James then promptly went from 1st to 3rd in T1 as 
he messed around for almost as long as Iain, you'd think he'd be quicker with so little hair to dry. With the swim only being 400m a big group all exited the water together a minute later and once on the road the fun began. 
The early mover on the bike course was Iain as he quickly dispatched the snail like Chairman James (who's obviously been eating far to many flapjacks of late) and set about chasing Phill who himself was holding the gap to Toasty. 
Behind however the chase group had formed and a strong group it was with all of the races contenders within sight of the leaders. As the bike course started to climb Iain caught Phill but was himself caught by Mark and then Mitch 
while Toasty continued to plug away a small distance ahead. Then disaster.......
he messed around for almost as long as Iain, you'd think he'd be quicker with so little hair to dry. With the swim only being 400m a big group all exited the water together a minute later and once on the road the fun began. 
The early mover on the bike course was Iain as he quickly dispatched the snail like Chairman James (who's obviously been eating far to many flapjacks of late) and set about chasing Phill who himself was holding the gap to Toasty. 
Behind however the chase group had formed and a strong group it was with all of the races contenders within sight of the leaders. As the bike course started to climb Iain caught Phill but was himself caught by Mark and then Mitch 
while Toasty continued to plug away a small distance ahead. Then disaster.......There were a set of roadworks on the course. If the lights are on red you must stop, no exceptions. Race leader Alan 
caught to them on red, Phills small group caught up and also had to stop, then the rest of the wave rolled up and still the lights were red. Finally after almost a minute they changed to green and the pack of 8 were back on the move. 
Toasty put the hammer down immediately in a bid to catch the rest of the group napping, then once off the main road and onto the steepest bit of climing Iain also broke away from the group and bridged the gap to the front where he and 
Alan then traded places in a bid for bike supremecy. Iain was first back to the school but Alans blistering transition speed once again saw him out front with just the 5k run to go. Next into T2 was West Buckland dark horse Harry 
Aitchinson who'd ridden very well in amongst the NDTC quick boys, could he run as well as he'd ridden and scare a few of the clubs big names? With all of the big names following close behind it was now time to find out who'd conserved their 
running legs and who'd left it all out on the bike course.
caught to them on red, Phills small group caught up and also had to stop, then the rest of the wave rolled up and still the lights were red. Finally after almost a minute they changed to green and the pack of 8 were back on the move. 
Toasty put the hammer down immediately in a bid to catch the rest of the group napping, then once off the main road and onto the steepest bit of climing Iain also broke away from the group and bridged the gap to the front where he and 
Alan then traded places in a bid for bike supremecy. Iain was first back to the school but Alans blistering transition speed once again saw him out front with just the 5k run to go. Next into T2 was West Buckland dark horse Harry 
Aitchinson who'd ridden very well in amongst the NDTC quick boys, could he run as well as he'd ridden and scare a few of the clubs big names? With all of the big names following close behind it was now time to find out who'd conserved their 
running legs and who'd left it all out on the bike course.The first lap of the run was steady with people finding their feet and checking out the course but then things started to spread out a little. Iain 
made his break on lap 2 and went on to keep his recent winning run going, Alan held on for 2nd and was left wondering how things may or may not have been different if it hadn't been for those traffic lights, then one by one the rest of the 
field filed in before chatting and discussing the race as they waited for Mr Marshall to drag his carcase around the run course.
made his break on lap 2 and went on to keep his recent winning run going, Alan held on for 2nd and was left wondering how things may or may not have been different if it hadn't been for those traffic lights, then one by one the rest of the 
field filed in before chatting and discussing the race as they waited for Mr Marshall to drag his carcase around the run course.Once the race was settled we all piled off to Lady 
Devonshire's Country Palace to eat drink and make merry while lounging in the hot tub and getting some last minute training in the Rapid River. Soon the race was all forgotten about and it was smiles all round as we were spoilt rotten for the afternoon.
Many thanks to the organisers and helpers of the race and of course to Peggy Crome who proved that not only is she a Triathlon Legend but also a supreme after race entertainer.
The full results for the NDTC In-Club Triathlon can be found somewhere here.
1 comment:
Sounds like a fun race! Glad I wasn't waiting behind you at the traffic lights though.... Congrats to all.
Post a Comment