A bright golden summers day, blue sky and a slight breeze to cool the air. Perfect for sunbathers but not necessarily for triathletes. Nine Bromley Veterans competed: Mike Turner, Katrina Patching, Greg Morris, Janice Bailey, Helen James, Claire Clarke (nee McGavigan), Clive and Lynette Walker and Myself.
Ardingley College is a private school deep in the Sussex countryside with beautiful green and pleasant grounds large enough to accommodate a huge triathlon. Triathlon is a very friendly sport, supporting and welcoming all abilities and ages. Helen and I had some interesting conversations with quite a few handsome young men while we waited patiently for our turn to swim.
Because there were some problems with the organisation of the 500 metre swim. Contestants were requested to line up in number order and each had a specific start time. But there were so many contestants by the time the 300’s should have been in the water the event was running an hour late. The pool was quite small and only had four lanes. I was supposed to swim at 10.40 but eventually was in the water at 11.50! However once you had finished your swim the boring wait was forgotten and you were off.
We were told to leave shoes outside the pool because it was 200 metres over stony ground to the bike transition. They did not tell you about the steep hill you had to climb to get there. The bike ride was 15 miles approximately and a pleasant route including some nice flat fast bits. There was one nasty hill which we were warned about. Be in a low gear they said. Well, I was in a low gear struggling up the hill that led to the nasty bit. I had to get off and walk. Also my chain came off which cost me several minutes.
The run was 5k and was four times round a huge field which had a steep hill at the start. The sun was very hot by this time and with so many contestants when I stumbled across the finish line there was no water! However that was a minor quibble in a triathlon that was altogether a life enhancing experience. The free pasta meal [very generous servings] in the college refrectory was excellent too.
Mike and Greg achieved very good times and both are in training for the full ironman [2.4 miles swim, 112mile bike and marathon 26.2 miles run] later this year. [Absolutely awesome]. This was Katrina’s first full triathlon sprint and was excellent as the times below indicate. Janice achieved some very good times; obviously the triathlon club training is paying off. Helen managed to beat me yet again with her bike riding skills [ but I did lose time when my chain came off].