Race Reports

Two members tackled these challenging races on the South Downs on a very cold Saturday 27th November.

Zoe Rocholl raced in the morning in the short distance event with 169m of elevation and 8km length finishing 5th in her age group and 14th female overall in 43.38.

Zoe commented that although the race had a steep climb at the start, it finished with a lovely downhill slope at the end. However she was pleased to finish because it was so cold it felt like her nose was going to freeze up.

Joan Murphy took on the challenging long distance and dark version of the event which started at 5pm in darkness and really cold conditions. This race included 357m of elevation within the 23km route. Joan finished 3rd in her age group and 10th female overall in 1.50.08.

Stewart Conway Training For World Ironman, Kona Hawaii

On 6th November Stewart spent a day filming with Ribble Cycles for a forthcoming mini documentary on the training required on the road to the Ironman World Championships. It is about helping 'age groupers' to get to the peak of fitness, including juggling work, family and the training required with regular 4am starts.

Abersoch Sprint Triathlon 16th October

Jacqueline Naish went all the way to Abersoch in North Wales for her first Triathlon. Despite feeling quite nervous, she completed the course in 2hours 14 minutes, coming 15th in her category. Afterwards Jacqueline commented that it was so much fun and that she is now completely hooked on triathlon.

Doug MacTaggart Ironmans & Marathons

Doug MacTaggart went off to compete in the Mallorca Ironman on the 16th October finishing in 13.21.15. He then competed in the Beachy Head Marathon on the 23rd October event, finishing in 4.55.28.

Finally, he then went thousands of miles away to compete in Ironman South Africa in Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth. Doug commented that it was a fun day out, with horrific sea conditions and really bad winds on the bike and run! He said this Ironman had the worst conditions of any he had done. However he was really pleased with his time of 11:58:28.

Helen Graham

Helen also competed in the Beachy Head Marathon finishing in 5.57.19. She laughingly said that she was easily tempted by a bit of bling (medal) and a burger on offer for finishers. She then went on to complete a Midweek Marathon in Milton Keynes on the 9th November.

25th/26th September

Barns Green 10k

Flo Wolfe and Mike Hook competed at Barns Green with Flo placing 3rd Senior Lady and 5th Lady overall in her first sub 45 min 10k. Mike Hook was not far behind in 50.52.

Hever Castle

Zoe Rocholl completed the Sprint Distance Triathlon (750m swim, 20km cycle, 5km run) in 1.54 placing 15th in her V40 age group. Steve McMenamin placed 2nd in the over 50's Standard Aquabike (1500m swim, 45km cycle).

Vicky Revis and Kirsty Perryman-Best competed in the Standard Aquathlon (1500m swim, 10km run). Vicky finished 2nd in the over 50's ladies in 1.49.55, with Kirsty close behind in 1.59.04.

They all commented that they enjoyed the swim but found the hilly run and cycle hard.

2nd/3rd October

End of season swim at Ardingly Reservoir

Saturday 2nd October marked the end of the season of swimming at Ardingly Reservoir with 30 swimmers attending, together with a few more who came for the coffee and cake afterwards.

This is the club's most popular activity, with about 1300 swims being completed by club members over the summer. Del Hastings attended every session, completing 40 swims.

London Marathon

Mike Jaffe completed his marathon in a very respectable 3.10.40, placing 122nd in the 55-59 age group. Julie Williams had to nurse a sore Achillies and was very pleased to complete her run in 5.16.16, and to raise over £2000 for the St Peter & St James Hospice in North Chailey.

Loch Ness Marathon

Helen Graham went much farther afield and had a lot of fun at wet and windy Loch Ness, completing her marathon in 6.00.57.

Saturday 18th September

Swim Serpentine 2 mile swim

Five members went up to Hyde Park on a lovely sunny morning to take part in this event in the Serpentine Lake. The event is very popular and is run in waves which start between 0815 and 1620. Steve McMenamin completed the 2 miles in just under an hour in 59.23, saying that he had to weave through lots of swimmers and then encountered the earlier wave. Steve was followed closely by Caroline Ray in 1.00.07 and Carl Clarke in 1.04.00. Kay McMenamin finished in 1.14.33 and Sally Gardner in 1.23.45. Sally was delighted with her time as she could hardly swim a 25m length in the pool 9 months ago.

Chiltern Wonderland Ultra Run

Doug Mac Taggart, the club's Ultra Marathon enthusiast, tackled this tough 50 mile scenic run which involves 5500ft of climb, in warm temperatures. Doug was pleased to  finish in 12.13.56.

Sunday 19th September

National Aquathlon Championships

On arrival at the Worthing Sailing Club venue Adam Bryant commented that there were some very fast looking people at the start. Despite this Adam relished competing with ITU athletes, completing a tactical roll at the buoy, which he was proud of,  finishing the 750m swim in 17.23 and the 5km run in 21.15, and placing 12th out of 13 in the 45-49 age group.

Run Reigate 10k

Zoe Deeley was very pleased to complete her 10k run in a net time of 1.11.00, placing 64th in her FV50 age group.