2010 News
15-08-10 Hardwick - Bredon Sprint
An impressive turnout of club members for the Hardwick Sprint Triathlon, with 26 competitors in the field of 171 enjoying the (un?)seasonably pleasant weather conditions.
This event in
the club competition series produced some close, competitive racing, as well as a bit of
everything else that contributes to the pleasure of being a member of Cheltenham Triathlon Club.
The club cheering section (Karen) was in fine voice, as usual; Colin raced in the ladies wave as
Sue (only on weekends and only in rubber and lycra, I'm reliably informed) were he claimed to
have been 'roughed up' in the swim and Alan was on time (yes, really!) and looking remarkably
unflustered, until he realised that he had forgotten his wetsuit (a plea was issued over the
PA for a mens medium wetsuit and incredibly someone had a spare for Alan to borrow).
After all that pre-race action, normal service was resumed at race time with Olly posting the
fastest club time and bagging ten points for the Mens Under-40 competition. A mere ten seconds
back Paul W gathered the same for the Mens Over-40 comp. Maximum points also went to Anthony
(Mens over-50), Elizabeth (Womens Under-40) and Cathy (Womens over-40).
24-07-10 Cheltenham Off-Road Supersprint Triathlon
Perfect dry conditions in Pittville Park made for some fast times in the Cheltenham Triathlon Club Supersprint Triathlon on Saturday.
179 competitors swam 400m in the leisure@cheltenham pool before cycling 4 laps around
the park and running one lap around the same course. In addition, for the first time,
5 girls competed in the junior girls' race which was 300m, 3 laps and one lap.
In the main race the winner for the second year in a row was Roddy Gosden, who
improved his total time for the course by nearly 6 minutes, completing the race in
33:30 and also winning the 40+ age group. Second was Martin Cook, 40 seconds behind
in 34:00 and winner of the Senior men title.
Ade Clift was third in 34:43, another competitor who posted a massive improvement
over last year (when he came 9th in 43:40).
The first woman home was Helen Russell (4th overall) in a time of 35:10, with
Anna McCorquodale 2nd (35:43) and Emma Hornby 3rd (36:56).
In the junior event Rosanna Lloyd won the day in 30:24, including an extremely
impressive swim time of 04:49 for her 300m. Alice Conquest (31:22), Megan Teague (31:45),
Rebecca Hewlett (32:14) and Abbey Smith (33:29) (all from Ribston Hall School in Gloucester)
made up the rest of the junior contingent.
For the second year running the Gloucester Police (Glospol Plodders), ably led home by
Roddy Gosden, won the team event.
Full results can be found here.
17-07-10 The club has a good day out at the Cardiff Triples!
Fun, fun, fun? Pain, pain, pain? Yes, yes, yes! How I sniggered when first told the distances in total - 200m swim, 4.6km bike, 1km run (times three - each mini-race in a different order). I have now been put firmly in my place! The Cardiff Triples is a tough event that requires a lot of power, teamwork and concentration. An ability to laugh at yourself when you realise your neighbouring competitor is keeping up whilst doing backstroke is essential.
I arrived at
8am for my 3.30pm race (a bit keen I know), and so got the chance to watch the fabulously
named Cheltenham Tri Ladies Who Love Cake (Karen, Lucinda, Sally and Sarah). The team
worked particularly well together on the swim and run, and Karen looked especially fetching
whilst wearing a swim cap under her bike helmet! The team did well to finish as third ladies and an impressive fourteenth overall.
In the next wave a civil war of the triathlon world started as both Variants of Speed
(Gail, Mary, James and Cathy) and Not the Velodrome Victors (Torie, Graham, Navah and Mark)
fought it out. By this time the heat was rising and both teams did superbly - Variants of
Speed claimed the bragging rights by two places.
A blessed break in racing enabled some tactics to be discussed as Col and the Gang (the gang
members being Guy, Dan and Phil) readied themselves. In fact I'm sure Col could be heard in
the group huddle to whisper: "We were born ready!" A mightily impressive final mini-race saw
the team climb above the aptly named Norfolk 'n' Chance.
The final Cheltenham side to grace Geraint Thomas' hallowed tarmac were Ride It Like
You Stole It (Simon, Gareth, Jez and Josh). The team drafted well on the bike (this was
the key to a faster bike leg) and managed to latch on to a few teams. Simon abruptly
ended my keenness to jump on the back wheel of the Tewkesbury Ringers with a sensible
shout of: "NO!" We managed tactical run legs that meant we played to all our strengths -
that was until the Preston-Jones/Hand master plan of leaving a final sprint until the last
minute in order to fool the orange team. It transpired that the author had nothing left
to give!
The Cardiff Triples are a truly fun event: riding in groups on the track is hilarious and
you really do feel like a Chris Hoy or Torie Pendleton, spectating is great as you can see
all the racing within about 100 metres of where you stand and the marshals were very adept
at supporting, informing and generally picking up flying goggles and bibs. Well done to all
teams!
| Category | Team Name | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Total | Position |
| Male | Ride It Like You Stole It | 00:16:17 | 00:16:35 | 00:16:44 | 00:49:36 | 3 |
| Female | Chelt Tri Ladies Who Love Cake | 00:18:40 | 00:19:13 | 00:20:01 | 00:57:54 | 14 |
| Male | Col and the Gang | 00:20:10 | 00:21:08 | 00:20:15 | 01:01:33 | 17 |
| Mixed | Variants of Speed | 00:20:53 | 00:21:09 | 00:22:32 | 01:04:34 | 23 |
| Mixed | Not The Velodrome Victors | 00:23:52 | 00:22:53 | 00:23:26 | 01:10:11 | 26 |
10-07-10 Walklate top ten at Upton, and Bathgate wins again!
30 members of Cheltenham Triathlon Club made the short trip up the M5 to take part in the annual Upton Triathlon. The weather was scorching and humid, so the bike and run were particularly hard. In addition the river was flowing very slowly, so offered less help than usual.
There were
two different races, a standard length (1500m swim, 40km bike and 10k run) and a sprint
(750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run).
The 24 members who took part in the standard length event were led to the finish by a very
impressive Richard Walklate, who completed the course in 2:21:00, finishing tenth overall
and 9th in his category (M-Open). 8 places behind Walklate was Oliver Hilton, finishing
in 2:23:23.
Kevin Ord was the first M-Vet home for Cheltenham, finishing 9th in the Veteran (over 40)
category in a time of 2:31:53. David Symes followed him home in 2:34:40, 17th M-Vet.
Lucinda Neeves was the first Cheltenham woman home in 2:43:09, 7th in the F-Open (under 40s).
Just behind her was Sue Bathgate, who once again won her category (F-Vet) in a time of 2:43:46.
Karen Hilton (wife of Oliver Hilton) was third in the F-Vet category.
In the sprint event the first Cheltenham member home was Navah Langmeyer who was 3rd F-Vet
in 1:28:59, closely followed by Elizabeth Haigh (28th F-Open) in 1:33:23.
Other CTC finishers were as follows:
Standard length: Gareth Blackbird 2:31:56 (34th MO), Andy Monaghan 2:35:13 (41st MO),
Josh Hand 2:35:41 (42nd MO), Tim Cavanagh 2:37:01 (19th MV), Denis Betts 2:38:38 (22nd MV),
Dan Hortop 2:39:19 (48th MO), Anthony Lloyd 2:46:26 (40th MV), Lee Hunter 2:51:29 (74th MO),
Philip Henderson 2:56:39 (85thMO), Guy Douglass 2:58:34 (51st MV), Mikki Storey 2:59:10
(52nd MV), Sarah Roberts 3:01:09 (6th FV), Philip Gomm 3:01:22 (55th= MV), Roger Lipscombe
3:01:22 (55th= MV), Steve Yarnold 3:08:05 (63rd MV), Graham Beddis 3:08:54 (64th MV),
Colin Watkins 3:10:57 (67th MV).
Sprint length: Brian Bathgate 1:42:48 (28thMV), James Kearney 1:45:36 (33rd MV),
Audrey Healey 1:45:39 (48th FO), Mary Welsh 1:46:22 (11th FV).
04-07-10 Ironman Austria - Elly Millington
Training for an Ironman is a long, tiring and sometimes soul destroying process so it was something of a relief to finally make it to the start line in one piece with no injuries, knowing that realistically I couldn't actually have done much more (although resisting the temptation to do that one last long ride/run is always hard)!
Austria is a beautiful country and the race takes place in and around the small town of
Klagenfurt, popular with Austrians as a tourist destination. The swim is in a lovely clear,
warm, fresh water lake. The bike (contrary to what you might think) is 2 laps with only
800m of climbing on each lap, and the run is a flat figure of 8 loop which you do twice.
Lining up on the beach with over 2000 other triathletes is always a bit daunting, but
when the cannon fires it's just a question of getting on with it, making sure you stick
to your plan and don't go off too fast! The swim is very much like being in a washing
machine, I think I got kicked, hit and swum over more than ever before, but you just need
to keep calm, remember it's nothing personal and keep going. The swim finishes in a canal
which gets very congested, murky and weedy but there is terrific support from the crowds
standing on the banks. On getting out and looking at my watch I found (to my relief)
that my timing was pretty much spot on - so far so good...
My transitions (never that great) are always much longer on IM, after all you need to be
comfortable - it's a long way to go if something starts rubbing, or you start getting sunburn!
The bike course is lovely - quite fast at the start of the lap with undulations and hills
later on. I worked out what I needed to do to get to my 'what I think is possible if I have
a really good day and everything goes to plan' time and pushed on. I reached halfway a bit
ahead of time, my only concern was that maybe the pace was going to be too hard and it would
affect the run - there was only one way to find out...
I knew I had to start running by 3pm at the latest to have a chance of getting under
13 hours - that allowed me 5 hours for the marathon - this was going to mean that I had
to do more shuffling and less walking than last time. T2 - Vaseline on the feet (and
everywhere else) and off we go, a bit ahead of target - 2 disciplines down, one to go.
In IM, the word 'running' can really only be applied to the Pro's - the rest of us do
something called the 'Ironman shuffle' interspersed with (hopefully) short bouts of
walking to take on nutrition. It was a hot day, and lots of people were suffering on
the run so on the first loop I passed quite a few. I got to 10K in 55 minutes and
started to worry - this was way too fast. Half way in 2:05 and I was still shuffling...
Out to the turn point on the 3rd loop of the run, then the wheels started to come off -
30K and I had to walk. The advice in the book I had read was to keep moving at all costs -
after all, every step forward is a step nearer the end! I knew I had to do more running
to get the time I really wanted, so from that point on it was a question of mind over matter.
I employed the '10 steps shuffling, 10 steps walking' approach, the 'telling myself to get
a move on because it's way too expensive to come back and do it again' approach, and finally
the 'constant and repetitive counting to 10' approach, and... it worked! In my wildest
imaginings I had thought 12:45 was possible so I was over the moon to come in at 12:40:54.
How do you feel at the end? Elated, relieved, shattered, aching - all of those things and
more. Is it worth it? Absolutely!
I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone for their help and support, especially
Sue and Brain for their training advice, Karen and Sally for all the massages, and my
long suffering husband for his patience and understanding!
20-06-10 & 03-07-10 Granfondo & Marmotte or Trial by Ice & Fire! - Graham Steer
The Granfondo in Italy was a nightmare. The race was shortened because of the weather as there was snow and ice on the three highest passes we should have ridden. In the end we did 75 miles over four lower passes in torrential freezing rain.
Believe me over 6 hours in those conditions is no fun. Climbing the mountains was not too bad at least the effort
required kept you warm but descending was murder. Not only was it bitterly cold but
trying to race a bike down a steep mountain road, running with water, round endless hairpin
bends, with freezing wet hands was verging on suicidal. In fact one girl did not make it
and hit a crash barrier, went straight over the top and down the mountain. According to
the local paper she was airlifted to hospital by helicopter where she was in a critical
condition.
Another club member, James Waller, also rode in the event and he suffered
very badly from the cold and wet. When I met him at the last feed station he was shivering
violently and looked to be on the verge of hypothermia! It was only James' sheer will power
and determination not to give up that got him to the end.
For the Marmotte in France the weather was at the other extreme. Clear blue sky and
blisteringly hot. On the final climb up Alpe D'Huez the temperature in the sun was over
40 degrees. Not what you want when you have to climb a 3,600ft mountain for just over
8 miles at an average gradient of 8.5% (14% max) particularly after riding 100 miles
including 3 other mountain climbs totalling over 12,000ft all at similar average and
peak gradients. The 6,000ft descent covering 25 miles from the top of the Galibier to
the foot of Alpe D'Huez was, however, breathtaking - just imagine 20 Stanway descents back to back
only steeper with a generous helping of hairpin bends thrown in for good measure!!!
Given the conditions I was happy with my result as I had set myself a target of getting under 10 hours
for the race but eventually came in 10 hours and 10 minutes. That was after taking
two 2 to 3 minute breaks standing under waterfalls on the way up Alpe D'Huez just to
get my body temperature back under control!!!!!
As for the rest of the trip I did some excellent rides over some of the classic climbs
of both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France. The scenery is spectacular and the
climbs, whilst a serious challenge, are easily doable so long as you have got the right
gears on your bike and have put the miles in at home first. At a minimum I would recommend a compact 50/34 chain set with at
least a 28 as your largest cassette sprocket. I went with a 50/34 up front and an 11-32 on the back just
to give me a bail out gear or the opportunity to spin up on climbs to give my quads
a rest. I climbed Alpe D'Huez on relatively fresh legs 5 days before the race on my
target race heart rate (15 beats below my 25 TT rate) using my 34 up front and my
24 and 28 at the back in 1 hour 18 minutes. Alas some 20 minutes slower on race day!!!!!
The picture was taken just before the finish.
27-06-10 Bathgate conquers heat and wins in Ellesmere
With the temperature hitting 28C in the shade the Shropshire Triathlon at Ellesmere was always going to be a challenge. Add to that an extremely talented field (it was a qualifying race for the World Championships) and a hilly run course, the 12 members of Cheltenham Tri Club did the town proud with their performances.
Highlight was
Sue Bathgate from Charlton Kings, who won her age group (60-64), completing the 1500m swim,
40km bike and 10km run in 02:37:47. Bathgate found the run tough but still finished it in a
credible 50 minutes, pushing through the intense heat of the middle of the day.
Another impressive performance was from Anthony Lloyd (also from Charlton Kings) who was
third in his age group (55-59) in a time of 02:32:46, including a fast 24 minute swim.
First home for Cheltenham was Kevin Ord, whose 2:24:34 earned him 17th place in the 45-49
age group. Denis Betts (2:26:54) and Gwyn Williams (2:27:49) also both broke the 2.30 mark.
Alan Dougall achieved a time of 2:32:01 which placed him 20th in the 50-54 age group.
Guy Douglass (45-49) and Sarah Roberts (40-44) had a nip and tuck battle all the way round
the course, before Douglass eventually came home just 13 seconds ahead in 2:44:50. Douglass
was 34th in his age group, Roberts 8th in hers.
Three other members achieved top ten finishes in their age groups. Gail Beddis (3:00:22) was
6th in F50-54, Catherine Booth (03:01:23) was 7th in the same category and Colin Watkins
(03:03:13) was 9th M55-59. Graham Beddis finished in 03:03:52, coming 27th M50-54.
12/13-06-10 Another busy weekend for CTC
28 members of Cheltenham Tri Club made the short journey to Fairford, where the VOTWO Cotswold triathlon took place. There were two different race lengths, both with good representation from Cheltenham.
In
the Standard length event (1500m swim, 40km bike and 10k run) Oliver Hilton was the
first CTC mdember home, finishing in 15th place overall in a time of 2:20:45,
including a particularly impressive swim time of 24:33. Paul Wakefield was the
first Veteran home only 2 places further back in 2:22:03. The first Cheltenham
woman home was Sally Freeman, who finished in 88th place in 2:37:58. Freeman had a
ding-dong battle with Dan Hortop, who despite coming out of the swim nearly 4 minutes
behind her managed to reel her in and overtake her in the last 2.5km of the run and
beat her by 11 seconds. The remainder of the CTC competitors at this distance were
Gareth Blackbird (2:29:22), Denis Betts (2:29:26), Tim Cavanagh (2:39:22),
Gerry Carroll (2:41:02), Sue Bathgate (2:43:20), Derek Barlow (2:46:39),
Sarah Roberts (2:47:34), Steve Yarnold (2:48:34), Mikki Storey (2:49:21),
Simon Langmaid (2:50:00), Tommy Charles (2:57:16) and Cameron Pay (3:12:11).
In the sprint event (750m swim, 25km bike and 5km run) Josh Hand was fastest from,
Cheltenham, completing the shorter course event in 1:17:14, just 41 seconds ahead
of Douglas Waymark. Anthony Lloyd was the first supervet home (over 50s) in 1:20:31
and Lucinda Neeves the first CTC woman who finished 26th overall in 1:21:39. Other
CTC competitors in the sprint event were Ian Williams (1:20:34), Lee Hunter (1:24:43),
Julian Bullas (1:27:16), Navah Langmeyer (1:33:08), Brian Bathgate (1:47:14),
James Kearney (1:49:29), Hollie Smith-Charles (2:11:17) and Helen Yarnold (2:17:33).
Meanwhile 3 hardy members travelled to north Wales to compete in the Bala Triathlon, a long,
hard race with a swim in one of the coldest lakes available. The first from CTC to
complete the 2km swim, 80kmbike and 20km run course was Richard Walklate, who came
80th in Senior men in a time of 4:55:04. Gwyn Williams was just 2:34 behind Walklate
and was 61st M40 in 4:58:38. Ellie Millington finished in 5:51:57 and was 18th F40 home,
in preparation for her assault on a full ironman later in the year.
09-06-10 Cleeve Cloud Cuckoo
A few members braved the hills and ran the Cleeve Cloud Cuckoo which is a 5.5
mile multi-terrain race from Cleeve Hill Golf Club. There were 109 finishers and
it was as tough as ever! Members finishing times and positions were:
Josh Hand, 32nd, 38.27
Ian Williams, 41st, 39.26
Vincent Carroll (Gerry's brother, welcome to Cleeve Hill!), 52nd, 40.52
Sally Freeman, 81st, 47.05
Karen Hilton, 94th, 51.01
Torie Clark, 99th, 52.32
06-06-10 & 23-05-10 Mary takes Silver and Gold
On 6th June Mary Welsh competed in the BTF National Sprint Championships held at Emberton Country Park near Newport Pagnall and organised by Big Cow Events.
Conditions for
the race were excellent with an early mist keeping temperatures comfortable and cool after
the heat of the previous few days.
The 750m swim took place in a weed-free, clearish lake and the 20K cycle was a circular route
through undulating lanes and some pretty villages in the Buckinghamshire countryside.
The 5K run was a flat two laps round the lakes in the park.
Mary completed the course in 1hr 39 mins and came second in her age group (Cat M 65-69) to win
the silver medal.
Mary is pictured with gold medal winner, Georgina Jennings.
On 23rd May Mary competed in the Scottish Championships held in Strathclyde Country Park,
near Glasgow and close to Hamilton where she lived before moving to Cheltenham.
In contrast to Emberton conditions were very hot with temperatures in the 80s but this had
the advantage of raising the water temperature to 18.2 degrees. The cycle section was a
demanding, hilly four lap course and this was followed by an out-and-back run of 5K by
the edge of the loch with a few short, steep sections.
Mary completed this race in 1hr 46secs to take the gold medal.
06-06-10 Good turnout at women only tri at Cirencester
11 members of Cheltenham Triathlon Club competed in the Women Only triathlon held at the Keynes Country Park near Cirencester on Sunday. The threatened rain held off and conditions were perfect for some good times.
In
the Sprint event Sally Freeman was the first home from the club, coming an impressive 11th
overall (2nd in her age group), completing the 750m Open Water Swim, 20km bike and 5km run
in a time of 01:11:34. Particularly impressive as Sally had completed a half ironman only
a week earlier.
Sue Bathgate won her age group and was 16th overall in a time of 1:14:12, with Sarah Roberts
also posting a good time of 01:16:00 (23rd, 4th in age group). Right behind Sarah in 01:17:22
was Karen Hilton who was 5th in the same age group, 28th overall.
Elizabeth Haigh made the top 50 (coming 43rd overall, 6th in her age group) with a hard-fought
01:20:37, and Lesley Oliver 52nd and Abi Hawman 55th fought it out with just 20 seconds
separating them (01:22:01 and 01:22:21 respectively).
The remainder of club competitors were Gail Beddis (71st, 5th AG) 01:25:25, Torie Clarke
(95th, 23rd AG) 01:31:13, Rebecca Eden (105th, 16th AG) 01:49:47 and Helen Yarnold
(107th, 8th AG) 01:54:54
CTC had one competitor in the novice event, Dawn Carroll, who completed the 200m swim,
20km bike and 2.5km run in 01:03:35, finishing 16th overall and 4th in her age group.
Pictured are:
Back row L-R: Rebecca Eden, Sarah Roberts, Karen Hilton, Sally Freeman, Gail Beddis, Dawn Carroll, Abi Hawman, Sue Bathgate
Front Row L-R: Helen Yarnold, Lesley Oliver, Elizabeth Haigh, Torie Clarke.
22/23-05-10 Busy weekend for our Coaches
Starting early on Saturday morning the Lake 12 session for open water novices had 11 takers and on hand were the coaching team of Karen, Simon, Sue, Guy and Jane who accompanied each of the novices round an exploratory lap of the Lake, followed by a serious bit of swimming. The no longer novices now know all about why they need 2 pairs of goggles on race morning, how to put them on so they won't be knocked off and the conclusion was "EZ, what's all the fuss about?"
Saturday evening at St Edwards saw Colin and Paul putting 8 of the entrants to our race
on 24 July though their paces in a new initiative started last week, whilst Simon was running
the session for club members who can't make the Saturday morning lido session (which was
coached by Lucinda) and Bri was videoing one of our "frequent swimmers" to analyse their
stroke both over and underwater.
Sunday morning saw the Ladies' Cycle Skills workshop which started in the Lido car park,
working on hitting the apex when cornering and how to take your shoes off on the bike as
demonstrated by Sue. With the help of coaches Lucinda, Karen and Ellie this was followed
by a ride round Gretton with repeats on the Bugatti Hill. Then a return over Cleeve Hill,
which allegedly was described in most unladylike language.
Cheltenham Tri Club would not be where it is today without the dedication of all in the
coaching team.
09-05-2010 Chilly season opener
The first triathlon of the season for eleven members of CTC turned out to be more challenging than might have been expected due to a cold swim and a chilly north wind at the South Cerney water park on Sunday.
First home for the club in the Cotswold Supersprint Spring Triathlon, which consisted of a 400m open water swim, 25k bike and 5k run, was Josh Hand, who came 7th in his age group (25-29) in an impressive overall time of 1 hour, 2 mins and 6 seconds. Despite a faster swim Gareth Blackbird couldn't keep up with Hand and finished 29 seconds later in 01:02:35, 11th in his age group (30-34).
Other impressive times were posted by David Symes who came third in the 45-49 age group in 01:03:43, Lucinda Neeves (the first CTC lady home) third in the 25-29 age group in 01:09:01, Anthony Lloyd (4th 55-59 in 01:09:20), Elizabeth Haigh (5th 25-29 in 01:14:38) and Mary Welsh who won her age group (65-69) in 01:30:25.
The rest of the finishers from CTC were Lee Hunter (24th M35-39, 01:08:27), Steve Yarnold (8th M50-54, 01:15:55), Colin Watkins (6th M55-59 01:17:12) and Lesley Oliver (14th F35-39, 01:28:03)
Meanwhile at the Tewkesbury half marathon Dale Midwinter was the first CTC member to finish in 1:30:11, closely followed by Dan Hortop in 1.34.48 and Tommy Charles in 1:37:14. Cameron Pay completed the course in 2:03:05 and Hollie Smith-Charles in 2:04:21.
18-04-2010 Kempley Two Counties Duathlon
A few of us took part in the first Kempley Two Counties Duathlon yesterday and enjoyed
the countryside of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.
The duathlon comprised of approximately 3.5 miles run along quiet lanes, followed by
a 17 mile cycle route that included a testing climb from Much Marcle to Old Gore on the
main Ledbury-Ross road and then finally a repeat of the energy sapping 3.5 mile run.
Exact distances: run 5,487.25 metres, cycle 27,282.60 metres!
It was a glorious day and the promise of free cake and tea at the end kept us all going.
We all used at least one excuse as to why we could have gone a little better on the day but
it was a really enjoyable event. Olly did mention that he should have come in 7th due to
the guy who beat him by 13 seconds sitting on his wheel for at least 5 miles on the
bike - drafting next year we think will be out!
| Position | Run 1 | Bike | Run 2 | Overall | |
| Oliver Hilton | 8 | 21:35 | 0:50:09 | 22:46 | 1:34:30 |
| Gerry Carroll | 15 | 22:13 | 0:58:24 | 22:46 | 1:45:19 |
| Sally Freeman | 26 | 26:07 | 1:01:30 | 29.43 | 1:57:20 |
| Karen Hilton | 32 | 29:42 | 1:03:17 | 31.51 | 2:04:50 |
| Dawn Carroll | 34 | 25:07 | 1:13:13 | 32.28 | 2:10:48 |
29-03-2010 Forest of Dean Half Marathon
It was a beautiful day, so no excuses for a slower time (apart from the hills and the muddy 12th mile!). This is a spectacular event. 2243 starters lined up an hour earlier than we would have liked (clocks went forward) and set off on the new route for the the FOD half. The organisers have got this event beautifully organised (apart for the queues for the ladies loos (plenty of trees for the men!).
Ten members of Cheltenham tri club competed, and nine finished:
| Time | Position | Category | Cat. Pos. | |
| Gwyn Williams | 1:35:56 | 180 | MV40 | 49 |
| Dan Hortop | 1:36:19 | 172 | MSNR | 93 |
| Kevin Ord | 1:57:20 | 377 | MV40 | 109 |
| Sally Freeman | 1:48:56 | 548 | FSNR | 40 |
| Tim Cavanagh | 1:57:54 | 899 | MV40 | 247 |
| Guy Douglass | 2:00:50 | 988 | MV40 | 268 |
| Abi Hawman | 2:07:24 | 1222 | FSNR | 120 |
| Graham Beddis | 2:10:22 | 1300 | MV50 | 149 |
| Neil Dooley | 2:10:56 | 1373 | MV40 | 333 |
| Graham Fletcher | -- | -- | -- | DNF |
I think the positions are based on actual finish time rather than chip times, otherwise Neil Dooley and Graham Beddis don't look right in the figures above.
The impressive statistic is that we were all well up the field, indeed if all those that registered to run had done we would nearly all have been in the top half.
07-03-2010 Mad March Hare
Cheltenham tri club were out in force on 7th March, as 24 members clad in numerous layers of stretchy material took part in the first cycling Sportive of the season up in Bromsgrove; the Mad March Hare.
All those layers were needed as the temperature at 8.30 in the morning (when many
of us started) was still below freezing. But the sun was out and there was a promise
of spring in the air, so a general air of excitement and jollity surged like a wave
through the hardy participants.
The first twenty miles or so of this event are quite forgiving, with a net negative
climb. Average speeds were compared and it was generally thought that we were going
too fast. However, hills then start to come into play. The first major hill, from
Mickleton to Chipping Campden, is just a taster of what is to come later. For those
of us who didn't miss the turning into Sheep Street in Chipping Campden there is then
the long "Conduit Hill", followed by lots of uppy-downy bits through the Cotswolds to
Snowshill, where the phrase "what goes up must come down" was invented, and we whizzed
down Snowshill to Broadway at breathtaking speed.
But then there's a really nasty hill. The organisers decided that rather than go along
a nice flat road from Broadway to Honeybourne they'd arrange for everyone to take a detour
to Saintbury - a lovely village, well worth a detour, but up too much of a ridiculously
steep hill for my liking. I hear that a few of us managed to get up the hill without
resorting to Shanks's pony, but only by "tacking" up the hill. Well done to those who did
(mostly the women with a combined weight of a sugarplum fairy and age on their side!).
After a truly boring flat bit against a slight wind (which reminded me of driving across the windswept plains of Hungary - miles and miles of nothing much) there was the welcome sight of the refreshment stop at 76km. Lemon drizzle cake, fruit loaf, drinks and a hedge to pee behind were too much of a temptation to bypass, so at least 10 minutes were wasted there before setting off again.
That was effectively the end of the flat bit. After that distance any incline seems greater than it was before anyway, but once off the Evesham plain there are actually quite a few hills around Bromsgrove. And don't we know it. We were warned by the organisers that there was one final hill. Unfortunately they didn't mention the other 5 or 6 beasts.
Truly beautiful countryside unfolded around us (although many of us wouldn't have noticed it as our eyes were glued to our milometres, wishing they'd change quicker) and some competitors at this point started to go rather slowly, having pushed too hard early on (although CTC members appeared to have taken all the advice on board and kept a reasonable pace right up to the end). Villages and hills (and some frighteningly skittish horses) flew by, and before long we were amongst the eversoposh houses of the South Birmingham commuter belt and the end was in sight.
This is a truly memorable event, and many of us have already expressed a strong desire to do it again next year... we must be mad. Then again we did get three top 10 finishers in Olly in the men's and Sally and Sue in the lady's with excellent performances right across the crew.
28-02-2010 Bourton 10km
Simon Clarke 39:55, Gerry Carroll 40:38, David Symes 41:19, Gwyn Williams 41:55, Andy Monaghan 42:09, Jez Preston-Jones 42:46, Daniel Hortop 43:04, Adrian Lockstone 43:48, Sally Freeman 45:36, Philip Gomm 46:50, Derek Barlow 53:23, Abby Ord 54:44, Torie Clarke 56:52, Mary Welsh 58:22, Graham Beddis 58:32, Gail Beddis 58:37, Colin Watkins 59:12, James Kearney 65:52.
14-02-2010 Cirencester Off-road Duathlon
Four hardy souls from Cheltenham Tri Club braved the mud and freezing temperatures to compete in the Cirencester off-road duathlon on Valentine's Day.
Three of us competed in the longer race (2 mile, 10 mile, 2 mile) and Anthony Lloyd went alone in the shorter event (1 mile, 5 miles, 1 mile). Anthony obviously made the right choice, as he finished 6th overall (2nd in the MVet40+ section), with an impressive time of 46 mins 39 seconds.
In the longer race Gwyn Williams did well to record a time of 1:26:17 and came 64th overall with Kevin Ord close on his heels in 1:28:05 (75th). Guy Douglass finished in 1:31:24 101st overall, exactly half way down the field.
Interestingly I (Guy) had easily the fastest transitions of anybody from the club. I think everyone else had different shoes for the bike so it would be interesting to see if cleats make that much difference in such slow, muddy conditions.
| Short Race | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run 1 | T1 | Bike | T2 | Run 2 | Overall | |
| Antony LLoyd | 08:45 | 01:39 | 25:30 | 01:24 | 09:20 | 00:46:39 | Long Race |
| Run 1 | T1 | Bike | T2 | Run 2 | Overall | |
| Gwyn Williams | 17:37 | 01:14 | 48:28 | 01:02 | 17:55 | 01:26:18 |
| Kevin Ord | 16:54 | 01:33 | 51:15 | 01:04 | 17:18 | 01:28:05 |
| Guy Douglass | 18:59 | 00:53 | 50:46 | 00:46 | 19:58 | 01:31:24 |
Roll on the summer!
07-02-2010 Mayhill Massacre
A dozen of the most fearless, masochistic members of Cheltenham Triathlon Club braved bogs
and dizzying inclines in a fun and muddy 8.7 mile race. The first 2 miles were steep up hill,
the next 3 miles were muddy, and miles 5 to 7 were both uphilll and muddy. Fortunately,
for those who were about to collapse at the mile 7 marker, the last 1.7 miles were all down
hill! Phew!
Josh Hand was the first club member to cross the finish line, followed by some great times
from everyone in what were very challenging conditions. A slight thaw and rain during the
week had made the going significantly softer than last year!
Joshua Hand 01:09:37 David Symes 01:11:04 Kevin Ord 01:13:17 Graham Johnston 01:19:32
Lucinda Neeves 01:22:44 Mikki Storey 01:28:12 Sarah Roberts 01:28:17 Sally Freeman 01:28:29
Andrew Roberts 01:31:12 Elizabeth Haigh 01:37:35 Abi Hawman 01:38:01
Graham Beddis 01:53:19