Partly as penance for being ‘retired’ from the V3K, and
partly because he just enjoys competing, Steve C dusted off his bike and, last
week, raced in the final round of the Capernwray Sprint Triathlon Series. This
series consists of 3 events run in June, July & August; each taking place
on Wednesday evenings at 7pm. Each event is a 500m open water swim in
Capernwray Quarry, followed by a 20k road cycle and 5k out and back run on the Lancaster Canal towpath.
The drizzly conditions on the evening did not deter Steve
one bit but the 150-strong wave of swimmers - all vying for exactly the same
bit of quarry water - did cause some predictable bumping, ducking and general
hindrance-of-progress issues. Steve is no stranger to tough swims but by his
own confession has been a stranger to
his bike for the past 11 months.
In spite of the lack of bike-specific training Steve
nonetheless didn’t find the ‘lumpy’ route too difficult and hit the run leg
along the pretty Lancaster
Canal towpath (pic) in
reasonable shape and was able to use his running strength and experience to
good effect. His competitive run paid dividends and resulted in a 3rd
in age group
Steve W
In other sprint triathlon news, on 15th July Steve
W raced in the Great Britain Age Group Championships (Swim 750m / Bike 24K /
Run 6K). This year the event was based around the Woodhorn Museum
in Northumberland and featured a (very) weedy swim, an ‘undulating’ bike, and a
trail run finish.
Run in searing temperatures, the swim was a single-wave
affair, which - much like Steve C’s swim - was spent bumping and jostling with
hundreds of fellow racers whilst also getting distractingly snagged in a soup
of weeds and algae that had flourished as a result of the long hot summer.
Emerging from the water draped in various forms of vegetative matter Steve made
a few places in the 300m run to transition and then a few more on the tough and
technical bike leg. The run was a different matter where a couple of niggling
injuries and an associated lack of run-training saw him struggle to hold
position and finish in a disappointing-for-him, podium-denied 4th
place.
