Our ladies' captain is Kate Stannett.

Well done girls!

What a season, have we ever before seen so many club members feature so highly in so many races? Everyone has done so well that it would be unfair to pick some names and perhaps miss others so lets just have a team hug!

The Vitruvian was to have been my last race of the season but I came down with a heavy cold and cough the week before. I kept thinking that I would recover, but on two days before the race I submitted my withdrawal.  However, as the dearly beloved was still racing I went along to support him and offer to marshal. I don’t think I have ever felt more needed!  I started my day at about 5am checking in bikes and helmets and as soon as the race began I was down in the shallows at the waters edge hoiking the weaker swimmers out at the turn around and exit. Two hours later and with soggy pants I had ten minutes for a cuppa and a bap before I was called to help at the feed station on the run course where I spent the rest of the day until the last runners finished.

Do you know what?  I had a great day, I don’t often get to see the winners and so from the vantage point as a marshal, I watched the race develop, spotted chums to cheer on and made some new friends too.

The moral of this story is that if you can’t race, don’t miss out on the fun, pitch in, your help is always welcome, and even if you are asked to man a remote place, the sight of a cheery marshal will warm the heart of a lonely athlete.

Happy resting and enjoy working on those bits you hate so that you’re even better ( as if that could be possible ) next year!

Kate

Susannah Rosenberg - The Big Norwegian Triathlon Sunday 5th August 2008

The big event of the year was upon us – yes, the Eidfjord Mini Triathlon deep in the heart of Norway where trolls hide under every bridge ready to eat you for supper.

I was about to embark on not only my international sporting career, but also my open water swimming career.  However, as the water was icy, the race organisation changed the race to a duathlon: 1.5k/20k/4.2k.

The first run just split up the field and I assumed my normal position a few places ahead of the lanterne rouge. The bike route must get the prize for the most beautiful race route ever, along the banks of Hardangerfjord.  It was simply stunning.  But was I admiring the views? Oh no!  I was overtaking all and sundry as if they were out for a picnic.  When I arrived at T2 there were plenty of spaces awaiting returning bikes.  The second run was pretty sticky.  The organisers had accidentally included a hill, which I felt was rather unfair.  Anyway, a few of people I had passed on the bike got me back, but I plodded on to come in as 1st UK female - don’t ask how many there were ;-) 

You would have thought that after 1 hr 23 minutes of exertion I could sit back and rest on my laurels for a few days. Hmmm.  I was tricked.  Dave (Copland) had other ideas, muttering words like “Norseman” and “long distance” and “support crew”.

Normally the Norseman swim would be just by Eidfjord, but as it is the end of the fjord where all the snow melt runs in, it was too cold, so they moved the swim 20k south and 3°C warmer further along the fjord.

I was up at 2am (yes!) with Dave, Craig Maude (a friend who is a regular at Wensleydale Triathlon) and Dianne (Craig’s partner).

Dianne and I saw Dave and Craig onto the boat at 3am and watched the boat sail off at 3:30am.

We then piled into my car which was already loaded with bikes, clothes, food and assorted kit, and drove 20km down the road to T1.

Dianne and I then unloaded bikes, clothes etc, pumped up tyres, checked brakes* and set up all the kit in the designated spots.

Then we drank muddy coffee and watched the beautiful sunrise over the fjord.  * Except that I forgot to check Dave’s brakes – fortunately he noticed that the lever was in the wrong position before the first descent.

At 5am the ship’s horn sounded and the athletes jumped off the back end of the boat to swim 3.8km (via a half-way health check by a bonfire on the beach) to T1.

Dave had an excellent swim (by his standards) and he was soon stripping off his wet suit and everything else ;-), and put on cycling kit.

Once Dave and Craig had cycled off, Dianne and I scooped up all the wet kit and all the other bits and bobs that they no longer needed, chucked them into the car and headed back to Eidfjord to collect Anne (my pal) and Sam (Dianne’s son) at 7am.  That’s 5 hours working purely on adrenalin.

Anne and I loaded my bike into the car along with mountains of kit, clothing, food and drink, and headed off to our first rendezvous at the top of the first major climb at the official 40k mark (now 60k with the relocated swim).  They do an excellent buffet breakfast at Dyranut with fab pancakes and blueberry jam, smoked salmon and cheese, herrings (of course) and a mountain of other yummy stuff.  Just right for celebrating Anne’s birthday.

When Dave arrived we gave him an extra layer of clothing and a new bottle of drink.  He gave us instructions of what he’d like at the top of Climb two.

As a point of interest, if you give a water bottle containing a fresh packet of energy drink to a waiter for filling up with water, it is more helpful if said waiter does not wash out all the energy drink :-) No matter, I had plenty of spare sachets and could just add another – at least I realised what had happened and didn’t pass it on to Dave leaving him to run on empty.

We then zipped on to Geilo, overtaking Dave near a cow on road incident.  We rolled down the windows and blasted out a few bars of a fave tune (Big Panty Woman by Barefoot Man) to make Dave smile.  We did a quick refuel for Dave and Craig and drove on…

Dave was enjoying stripping off in public – so at the top of climb two he changed into overknee cycle tights, and had a cup of coffee, to the accompaniment of Englebert Humperdink singing Cuando Cuando Cuando.  By this stage Anne was getting quite embarrassed about our musical tastes…

Climbs three and four were fairly uneventful for the support crew although Dave was getting cramp (eventually cured by a dose of salty fish - that weird continental thing of salty liquorice in amusing shapes).  It was getting trickier to find parking places at the top of climbs, but by now we were well acquainted with the support crews of riders near Dave, so we all helped each other out.

The final bike climb was up Imingfjell – which is quite big.  The car was quite pleased to get to the top of it.  We managed to grab a hot sandwich in the café before Dave got to the top.  Our East Essex pal Sue Fuller (who was crewing for husband Richard and friend Gary) spotted Dave coming up the hill, so I even managed to get photos of him cycling.

 
Dave layered up ready for the descent – except that before the main descent is a flat spell for a few km with a mega head wind.  Just when the athletes thought they had cracked it for the bike ride they were battling along at 7mph on the flat!

Anne and I drove on to T2.  The athletes had completed 200km on the bike.  In order to avoid any more criticism of my musical choice I told Anne that any more complaints would bring on the Nolan Sisters.

The weather at Austbygde was substantially warmer than the top of Imingfjell, which made Dave’s final strip of the race a bit more comfortable.  As only brief nudity is permitted during Norseman, he had to put on running kit for the marathon. Off he trundled round the lake.  We packed away his bike, and got mine into action.  I changed into my favourite red and black cycle gear and arranged to meet Anne near the 15km mark.  This is one of the few races that allow runners to be accompanied – obviously, not driving alongside the athlete, as that would be daft and dangerous, but cycling is permitted.  So I caught Dave up and cycled alongside for the first 25km.  It’s probably a good thing that Anne didn’t hear my motivational singing: Banana Splits theme tune, Three Little Fishes (boop boop diddam daddam woddam choo), various Monkees songs.  You get the picture.  (Yes, we see)

At Rjuken (25k point) my bike went in the car and Dave loaded up on salty fish.   Rumours were confirmed that the mountain top finish was cancelled because of heavy fog. Dave had said that he was feeling fine, and I could meet him at the mountain check point.  On this occasion he was incorrect.  After three hairpins of Zobie Hill I asked Anne to pull in at the next safe spot.  We then went through about 10km of me trotting down to meet Dave, walking up the mountain with him past where Anne had parked, me failing to keep up with Dave’s pace, then Anne picking me up and depositing me a bit further uphill.

Hårek (one of the Norseman Race Organisers) was driving up and down the marathon route chatting with everyone and making sure they were OK.  He informed us that

a)       nobody had gone to the top of the mountain, and

b)       Dave could certainly qualify for a coveted black t-shirt. 

This improved morale considerably. 

When we reached the check point Anne drove on to check us into our hotel rooms and be ready for the all important finishers photo.  I climbed on with Dave.  I couldn’t match his pace, so after a km or so, I let him go on and waited for his return.  I think that he could probably hear my encouragement for several hundred metres (for those well acquainted with my cheering style).   As Dave was running back down from the top point of the race I tried to keep up with him, but as he had kindly handed me a layer of clothing and a water bottle, and I was not wearing a sports bra, there was no way I could keep up.  So I hitched a lift to the finish line with a couple of Dutch ladies. 

Dave got to the finish in just over 15 hours.  I was exhausted.   And all those who completed in less than15 hours were ugly.

After a good shower we returned to the finishing chute to cheer in more athletes.  We stumbled into bed around midnight.  The next day, after a substantial breakfast, we attended the finishers ceremony.  Pride of place and special green t-shirts were given to the four men who have completed all five Norseman events.  So, no pressure on them to turn up next year!  Black t-shirts were awarded to all who reached the top check point in 16 hour and had completed the distance. Dave is more than happy to model his t-shirt to all and sundry.

Those who reached the check point between 16 and 18 hours did a flatter course to complete the distance and were awarded a white t-shirt. (Times were adjusted to allow for the extra 20k cycle).  Then we embarked on the buffet brunch… 

Graham White - Cambridge Triathlon - Sunday 5th August

I have competed in this race several times and have always gone wrong on the swim – I planned not to do this again.

The day started well (albeit early – left home at 4 am) with a bright, sunny, hot, windless day promised.  I hoped it was not too hot – it turned out to be the hottest day of the year!

The swim started well – I found the water and joined the rest of my wave.  I managed to negotiate the first part of the M course and the second without straying too far off course.  It then went wrong (as usual) as I lost my bearings, sight marks (and my mind?) and veered off course only to be re-directed by a canoe.  Finally I made it back to the pontoon but my swim of 38.16 was nearly five minutes slower than my usual slow time and gave me 10th fastest J and 154th overall.

My bike was much better as it did not involve goggles, buoys and wet stuff.  My time of 72.19 was okay (second fastest J and 74th overall) but I had hoped for sub 70 minutes on what should be a fast course.  The sun was hot and I drank all my bottle contents well before the end of the bike split.

The run over 10km is always my strength and saviour but on this occasion was cr**.  A time of 47.33 (2nd J and 39th overall) was simply not good enough to compensate for the poor swim so I finished with 2.38.08 and 3rd in my age (96th overall).  The weather was too hot, I was not prepared or acclimatised to such heat and there was not enough drinks or water on the two lap run.

It is a good venue (Mepal Outdoor Centre) and a very well organised race – DO IT.

If 1st is the winner and 2nd is the first loser that makes me the 5th loser (2nd J loser)! ie.just a poor loser.

Four more Ironman finishes - Sunday 19th August

Four members of the club acquitted themselves well at Ironman UK, held in Sherborne Dorset (19th August).

Ironman UK has a reputation for being a particularly challenging route with lots of hills, and with a lot of the run being off-road. Although the rain held off, the race suffered from appallingly windy conditions.

Despite suffering a tyre blow-out early into the 112 mile bike section, ladies captain Kate Stannett managed to come fourth in her F45-49 age group – the puncture almost certainly costing her third place. As it was, she knocked over half an hour off her previous PB to finish in 13hrs 03mins 04secs – completing the final 26.2 mile marathon section in an amazing 4:21:10.

William Newland was competing in the M50-54 category and doing his first Ironman. Will’s legs suffered a bit on the run and he came in a few minutes behind Kate with 13:11:21 – still a great time. Well behind Will at 15:31:34, fellow M50-54 competitor Charlie Stannett was reasonably happy with knocking 20 minutes off his PB.

But the real star of the Ipswich contingent was 29 year old “newbie” Richard Woodward, who had only relatively recently joined the club. Rich came 28th in the M25-29 category, with an overall time of 11:04:54. Rich declared himself “absolutely ecstatic just getting over the (finish) line” but his time includes an awesome swim. Rich covered the 2.4 miles in just 49 minutes 21 seconds, ranking 15th overall (out of 1,230) on the swim, and ahead of a majority of the professionals.

Richard's secret? "My parents chucked me in the drink when I was 10. Have been a fish ever since ;-)"

I seem to have a complete mental block with this race - I seem convinced it is a triathlon! - last year I turned up with goggles, got a two minute penalty for leaving my race belt in transition tri-style and had to borrow my mum's socks on the start line as I had forgotten mine.

This year I wore the 'made-to-measure' Adidas trainers which were the biggest waste of money ever. And I didn't wear socks because they are too difficult to get on in a triathlon. And they always give me blisters. This time they excelled their selves by rubbing my feet raw within about 2k of the first 5k run. When I changed into my cycle shoes at T1 I had a quick look and it was nasty. I was a bit lethargic on the first lap of the bike (too many ciders in the pub the night before) but picked up a bit for the second before the horrifying shoe change at T2.

I don't know how I managed to get those horrid trainers back on let alone get through the run and when I finished I was too scared to take my shoes off until we got back to the car!! Three enormous blisters (I didn't bother to count any of the little ones) one of which was just raw skin and then went septic and hurt for about five days which meant I couldn't run for the rest of the week and had to limp around like an old lady. And, of course, I could have worn socks because it was a duathlon!! How thick am I!!! Needless to say, not one of my better performances.

Next year I will get it right!!!

I don't have a race report for the Sunday but Mary Lumkin has photographs of the event in her Flickr area at http://www.flickr.com/photos/11175366@N02/sets/72157602158721650/

Ann Fish

...flies the flag for Great Britain...

Olympic distance

On 30^th August, Steve Robinson, Grayhame (Fish) and myself set off for the World Age Group Championships in Hamburg, Germany.  It was my fourth Age Group Worlds for the Olympic distance and with the introduction this year of the Sprint Distance, Grayhame’s first Championships and Steve’s second.

We all booked through ‘Nivana’ the British Triathlon’s official travel agents for such events and arrived late on the Thursday at the Team Hotel the Radissan right in the middle of Hamburg.  Friday was spent registering for the event, making ourselves known to the Team Manager and Captains plus finding our way around central Hamburg including the course and transition areas.

Friday was also an opportunity to assemble your bike and book it in for a ‘check’ with the Team Mechanics for a modest fee.  This has proved well worth it in the past as they found a serious problem with the handlebars in Madeira which resulted in having to quickly purchase new ones.  The bike rack awaiting the Mechanics check, held a stunning array of very expensive bikes all having run the gauntlet of the Airport baggage handlers in either a bike box or bike bag.

We carefully read all the messages from the various team captains placed on the ‘official’ notice board, the foyer window.  After some debate we decided not to take up the ‘cycle the bike route’ option since it was happening during the Hamburg rush hour and the roads were not closed.  Survivors of this 2 ½ hour ride said it was a waste of time and if anything confused them more than anything.  The actual race on the day was on closed roads and went the wrong way up an einbahnstrasse (one way street), not possible in the rush hour.  Instead of that Steve, Grayhame and I checked out the transition and run route more closely as well as the coffee shops.

Around the registration tent, set up on the waterfront side of the Binnenalster (lake), were a huge number of trade stands and displays offering everything the triathlete may want.  The afternoon was spent watching the Elite Juniors and under 23s battle through the more compact, spectator friendly, multi lap, Elite course in central Hamburg whilst drenched with rain.  We ended up buying umbrellas so we could watch the Elite races in relative comfort.  The finishing 400 metres run and the Binnenalster swim are the only parts common to both Elite and Age Group events, the lake looked dark, murky and cold, with rumours circulating about oil slicks.  Another decision was made not to do the Saturday evening practice swim; well the wetsuits would have still been wet for race start the following morning.

Sunday was race day and I was off at 0840 hrs after breakfast at 0530 hrs, lots of nervous chatter.  I didn’t enjoy the 1500 metre swim, the water was very cold and seemed a long way including swimming under two bridges that were more like tunnels.  The long transition followed which must have been a nearly a kilometre to my bike, at least the cobble effect road was covered with a carpet.  The bike was an out 11 Km, back 9 Km, out 9 Km and back 11 Km, hence a total of 3 “U” turns, not everyone spotted the second “U” turn and hence did the Sprint distance and were DQ’ed.  Much of the confusion was due to the faster younger age groupers working their way through the field and a certain amount of drafting which didn’t seem to be controlled very well.  I found it very cold on the bike after a cold swim but soon started to warm up; I was pleased on the day with a 1 hr 23 min bike time.  Next was the run, this time a straight forward out and back and consequently not the usual crowds to support and cheer you on (previous championships had been multi lap).  The GB team Manager hands out team lists to encourage supporters to cheer and call out your name, this works well on a multi lap run, but not so well on an out and back.  The last kilometre was well supported with the cheers for the age groupers being unbelievable, a fantastic experience.  I grabbed a Union Flag from the Support Team and raced for the finishing line.  My time was 3 :04:08, finishing 24^th out of 34 in my age group (K) and have already booked my place in Vancouver, June 2008 when I move to the “L” age group.

After the race I was able to catch Grayhame and Steve exiting the swim after an 11.40 hrs start in the Sprint event.  This was a memorable 4 days in Hamburg, it is such a lovely city and such a good atmosphere meeting and competing with people from all over the world coupled with the experience of being part of the GB team.

See www.hamburgcityman.de and www.asiphoto.net competitor number 1972.
Grayhame was 4268 and Steve 4215.

Grayhame Fish

...beating a black tri suit...

I registered with British Triathlon for the Dambuster Tri, which was one of the Olympic Distance Team qualifying events for Hamburg.  Unfortunately coming six days after the Wimbleball 70.3 Half Ironman it was not a good decision and hence I finished well down the field of 19 in my age group.  However, it did open another door with the introduction of the less popular Sprint Distance at the World Championships for the first time.  Having already registered with BT, I was given an opportunity to compete in the Sprint event.

So being given the opportunity (competitor 4268) I was keen to not end up embarrassing myself and being last, no pressure then.  So a GB Tri suit had to be purchased as well as a GB polo shirt for the team photo call.  Recently I have been struggling to get my seven-year old second hand wetsuit off at T1, so I decided to take advantage of the end of season bargains and bought a new Aqua-sphere Marlin.  This suit has a seal skin finish and you get supplied with a tube of shark repellent cream for use in the sea, which proved unnecessary in the middle of Hamburg (joke – well Steve nearly fell for it).  Anyway I christened the suit five minutes before the start of the 750 metre swim and managed to exit the water in 7^th place out of 32 in my age group with a time of 13:33mins.  The long T1 run to the bike followed (and this time, for once, wasn’t the last bike left on the rack) and away on the 22 Km cycle leg without problem.  Sadly my cycle was not so good and I watched a succession of Black German Tri suits and the bulk of the GB team pass by, not all in my age group.  T2 went well and I was off on the 5 Km run having tried recently to up my 5 Km time for this distance, just for this event.  Throwing a cup of cold water down my throat at the 1 Km point on the run was another bad decision, half went the wrong way and somehow set me off wheezing, which I then did to the finish line.  I managed a bit of a sprint finish and secured 25^th place out of 32  in my age group beating one Black Tri suit to the line but given the same time as him. (check the picture at www.asiphoto.net)

Hamburg was a wonderful experience and a weekend to treasure, something to tell the grandchild when she is a little older, well maybe not.  Winter training has to focus on the cycling and I am open to any advice that anyone might wish to offer apart from ‘give up at your age’.

Steve Robinson

...works for his bling.

"NO! Any kit will do as long as it says G.B. somewhere" - the response of Ian Pettitt, team manager, to my query, would my old trisuit suffice or should I get some more up to date. An enlightened view I thought!

HOORAY for the ITU for introducing the sprint distance --750 swim 20k bike and 5k run to the World Champs and bizarrely not that popular. Has the U.K. triathlon world become full of shufflers, hence my inclusion, not that fit , didn’t qualify and riddled with plantarfasciitis. I was really just making up the numbers. Maybe I wouldn’t be last!

We arrived in Hamburg  in pouring rain, by coach from Bremen with many fellow age groupers poring over the 30ish pages  of email. Having been without a computer for most of the summer I was thankfully spared that weighty read. Age group champs are really just like the local event, you just register, rack and go.

Having lugged the bike ( state of the art Reynolds tubing 753, carbon fibre is so last century) up to the 23rd floor realised there was still enough time for a practice swim around the course. The  lake ,the Alster is right in the centre of Hamburg but it was still raining and freezing cold and the wind was whipping up quite choppy water--- so I wimped out. I'm afraid it was the same story for organised group ride over the bike course. The warm cosy cafes by the canals were not omitted however !  The arrival of the Fishes, Anne and Grayhame, raised my mood but Anne was relishing the challenge of the Olympic distance and Grayhame was going on about his new wetsuit --The Marlin or Barracuda or the Swordfish. I was really pleased to be doing the sprint. I would have opted for the mini sprint but it was not an option and wouldn’t dare don apparel bearing the name of such masters of the water.

Race day eve approaches and Ian Pettitt's laid back briefing calms it all down. A few words of encouragement from Tim Don ,looking like he took timeout from Woodstock, and we're all ready to go!

Race Day--- 'DON'T YOU LUV THE SMELL OF NEOPRENE IN THE MORNING.' Well I do and am not afraid to admit it! Once I've got my face in the water and the initial feelings of hyperventilation have subsided I really start to enjoy it . I position myself way over to one side at the back and try not to notice 'Marlin Man' right at the front and right in the middle. Grayhame was to have an excellent swim, 7th in his age group.

We exit the swim right by the dramatically gothic Rathaus(Townhall)  and have a 1km run to transition. So that means the Olympic lot would be running 11km!-- nearly an ultra distance event. The sprint was definitely the best bet. The bike was flat and fast as we dip into the infamous Reeperbahn. The bike is completed at an average of about 21mph and I'm really pleased with my running dismount. A charming young German girl clears away a stray bike from my transition spot and high fives me off on the run which I do in about 22mins---beyond my expectations. My position was 40th out of 50 in J class some 17mins behind the winner.

The presentations and party in the old fish auction hall down by the harbour were loud, lively and atmospheric. Oh, and of course, all the young Kiwis just have to strip to the waist and do the Haka, ---and not just once.....or twice...or three times!!!  

Hamburg was a really good experience. It was a 4 day triathlon party. The people of Hamburg were really welcoming --very warm and humorous and the organisation excellent, as you can imagine.

Ipswich Triathlon Club’s Lucy Bowditch (race number 880 below) won third in her age group in the National Middle Distance Triathlon Championships.

Mark Bowditch was close to DC after a 35 minute swim and 2.34 bike but ‘problems’ meant he finished 468th in 5.35.12.  The final ITC member was evergreen C.S. who, despite being ‘abused’ by the drinks marshal at the end of the first run lap, achieved 6.58.57 for 690th.

In all a very good performance by all.  I will be back again next year.  I had mistakenly thought I might make top three in J but I would have needed to find 15 minutes to achieve that.  I might have made top 5 (4.57.48) with a better swim and bike.  Thanks to all who cheered including ‘Foghorn’ – it made a real difference.

Graham White
(52 years old, runs like a highly tuned moped and swims like one as well...)

Wendy Quantrill

...makes the case for a new bike from Santa Clive...

I don't appear to have received any full race reports from anybody about the duathlon, although Wendy Quantrill tells me she "had a blast at the duathlon on Sunday – we won the ladies’ prize – hooray!!! I got a PB by 6 minutes – over the moon!"

However, Mary Lumkin was on hand with her camera - see Mary's "Flickr" area at http://www.flickr.com/photos/11175366@N02/sets

Essex Duathlon - Sunday 7th October

Wendy also tells me "The girls done good! Nicola (Miller) and I got 3rd and 4th places at yesterday's Essex Duathlon :-)."

"As you can see from my poor bike performance my campaign for a new bike has ramped up a gear! Nothing to do with my poor leg strength, oh no, it's all about the bike!"

Full results at ttp://www.t2events.co.uk/results/T2FullResultsOctober2007.xls but note - it says the first run was 4.5k but this is a typo - T2 have confirmed it was definitely the full 5k.