Chester Triathlon Club

It has been a week of endurance racing for Chester Tri, both at home and overseas, with a number of athletes completing their first ‘Iron’ distance event. These events, which event elite professionals take over  hours to complete, are a test of stamina for athletes and supporters alike, with the swim starting as early as 7a.m. and the event cut-off time up to 17 hours later.

Four Chester Triathletes took on the 3.8km swim, 180km bike and marathon run at The Outlaw triathlon in Nottingham, with Sophie Rees's relay team first of the bunch over the line in 22nd position overall and 11th in the team standings in a time of 10.05:54. As the sun shone, Leigh Holland, competing at this distance for the first time, finished accompanied by his family in 11.47:43. Next came Gary House, competing in only his third ever triathlon, finished in 12.56:13, followed by Carolyn Hume in a personal best time over this distance in 13.54:26.

At Ironman Frankfurt Andrew Roberts was also making his Ironman debut in adverse weather conditions, nonetheless recording a time of 12.49:31, whilst Mark Worrall, a veteran of many Lanzarote Ironman races, finshed in 11.40:59 having recorded excellent bike and run times. Martin Wilcock lost valuable time repairing a puncture in wet conditions on the bike leg he described as ‘catastophic’, but more than made up for it on the run, completing the marathon in 3hrs 29min for a total time of 10.45:48.

In France, meanwhile, Neil Thomas, Andy Wilkinson and Chris Prior won the relay team race at the gruelling Alpe d'Huez Long Distance triathlon, a 2.2km swim, 115km bike and 22km run in mountainous terrain. With Neil out of the swim in a solid 40 minutes, national 24-hour time trial champion Andy gained 30 minutes over their nearest rivals on the bike leg, which included the Tour de France climbs of the Col du Grand Serre, Col d’Ornon and the Alpe d’Huez, with Chris gaining another 3 minutes on the run leg for a total finish time of 6.03:56.

 Back in the UK, Mike Lee and Clare Page took on the challenge of an ultra-marathon in the Lake District. Mike, competing in the 50 mile race, was running in his first ultra event to raise money for local charity Sundowns, which raises money for children with Down’s Syndrome, finished at 4am on Sunday morning, 15 hours 46 minutes 37 seconds after the start. Clare Page, competing in the 100 mile event which started on Friday evening, also finished in the early hours of Sunday morning, as 5th woman finisher and 56th overall in the 100 mile event in 33.41:32.