Race Reports

Watts and Parsons win at Worcester Triathlon
Worcester Triathlon Club held their annual triathlons on Sunday 27th June at Top Barn Activity Centre, Holt Heath. On one of the hottest days of the year so far, 195 competitors took part. The event consisted of two separate races, a sprint distance triathlon with a 750m swim, 28km bike and 5km run, or a longer double-sprint distance option of a 1500m swim, 56km bike and 10km run.
Worcester Triathlon Club members were out racing in force, as well as organising and marshalling at the event. Tom Watts, although still a junior, was the stand out winner in the sprint event, in 1:16:59, over 3 minutes clear of the second place finisher. He exited the water in a very impressive 9:07 swim time - again over 2 minutes faster than the next athlete. Watts said of the race: ‘It means a lot to me to win at one of my home events, after being close in the past two years’. This result continues an excellent season so far for Watts, which has seen him place 5th Junior at the National Duathlon Championships and complete his first Olympic distance event racing in an elite international field at the European Cup in Strathclyde. In searing heat, he finished 30th overall, with many world class athletes failing to finish. Watts also took the bronze medal for the junior division at Blenheim triathlon. He now goes to race at the next round of the European Cup in Geneva, Switzerland in August.
There was also Worcester success in the double-sprint distance event, with Worcester Triathlon Club’s Michelle Parsons finishing as fastest female in 2:50:32 and also placing a very good 8th overall in a strong field. She was particularly happy with her bike, which was the fastest female time by almost 5 minutes and was bettered by only four males. Michelle will hope to utilise this form on the bike in the National 100 mile cycling time trial event on 11th July. She then competes in the Ironman race in Switzerland on 25th July. Kevin May, Henry Walker and Mark Howe all had strong races and finished the double course in 3 hours or better.
In both the sprint and double-sprint events there were a number of novice club members racing for the first time and all had excellent races to complete their first ever triathlon, many in very good times for a first racing experience. Ellen Winter posted a very creditable 1:45, taking part in her first ever triathlon.
Race director, Gav Vickers said: ‘The Top Barn races are the highlight of the Worcester Triathlon Club calendar held at one of the top multi-event venues in the country. Athletes came from all over the country to race - from London, Ipswich, Bridgend, Bristol, Stoke, Hereford, Portsmouth, Somerset as well as nearby towns and cities.
There was great racing in both the Sprint and Double events and some stand out performers; Tom and Phil Jenkins’ swims, Michelle’s double race to win by 6 minutes and Sam Orgee’s run in the sprint really stood out for me as the individual highlights. It was great to see so many competitors finishing their races following weeks or months of hard and dedicated training.
Everyone involved from the organisers to the marshalls to the competitors had a great time and everyone we spoke was keen to come back next year. The Tri club would like to thank everyone involved at the venue, all the local businesses who contributed and the club members and their families for making the day pass so smoothly.’
The club’s next event is the Droitwich Sprint Triathlon on 1st August, which consists of a 400m pool swim, 20km bike and 5km run – an ideal event for those new to triathlon to try a race. Details can be found in the event section of Worcester Triathlon Club’s website – www.worcestertriclub.co.uk.
Worcester Triathlon Club results
Sprint Triathlon
1. Tom Watts – 1:16:59
7. Neil Crump – 1:24:49
25. Gavin Vickers – 1:32:12
34. Ed Hardy – 1:36:09
39. Tony Knight – 1:37:53
63. Ellen Winter – 1:45:25
80. Ben Martin – 1:52:00
83. Alison Dunn – 1:53:09
90. Andrew Muir – 1:57:08

Double Sprint Triathlon
7. Kevin May – 2:47:24
8. Michelle Parsons – 2:50:32
12. Henry Walker – 2:54:11
20. Mark Howe – 3:00.13
31. Mark Elliott – 3:09:07
33. Steve Poulton – 3:11:59

The forecast was for a fine, calm day of racing at Bala on Sunday 13th June. The forecast was wrong! Six Worcester Tri Members made the journey to Bala for the National Middle Distance Championship. The event was a sell out with 723 athletes down to race. The first of the three waves were for Senior Males (under 40’s) and included Richard Gourlay, Henry Walker and Neil Wicks. Second wave approximately 10 minutes later saw Kim Bray take the water with all females and over 50 males. Finally it was the turn of Mark Howe and Duncan Jubb in the very competitive 40 to 49 males category.
Shortly before the start, the heavens opened for the first of many showers. Apparently due to a lack of rainfall in Mid-Wales(?), the swim times were down on previous years as the lake was low. A wide start line meant that entanglements were kept to a minimum and a mild water temperature of 15.8 degrees allowed the swim to almost be enjoyable.
Next athletes were met with a bike course that was described as undulating rather than hilly by the organisers. The route initially took you through Bala village where a large number of locals were out in support. This then led onto the main out and back haul with some great views. However, any easy rhythm was difficult to find with a strong wind and constant gradient changes.
Back into transition, athletes were faced with a similar profile for the run. No massive hills but an undulating uphill 10km climb out followed by a slightly easier 10km back. A large crowd greeted returning athletes and despite the increasing number of showers, everybody was well cheered home.
Neil Wicks (40th Senior Male) came home in a time of 4hrs 37mins 49secs with splits of 33:56, 2:31:25 and 1:28:48. Henry Walker (66th Senior Male) followed shortly afterwards with a time of 4hrs 49mins 28secs and splits of 33:10, 2:36:15 and 1:31:44. Mark Howe was 62nd Male Vet in a time of 4hrs 59mins 00secs (37:58, 2:37:12, 1:39:18). Richard Gourlay (115th Senior Male) in his debut at this distance finished in a time of 5hrs 5mins 5secs (39:57, 2:40:55, 1:41:50). Duncan Jubb (121st Male Vet) came home in 5hrs 23mins 22secs with splits of 38:59, 2:51:37 and 1:49:45. Last and by no means least was Kim Bray who finished as 5th Senior Female in a time of 6hrs 40mins 43secs (47:47, 3:25:43, 2:21:19).
Those who took part commented on the friendly, inclusive and supportive attitude of Wrecsam Tri Club, the wonderful Welsh scenery and the challenge of Bala which always makes this event popular – a good day out for Worcester Triathlon Club athletes.

At Weymouth Middle Distance (HIM) Triathlon WTC finishers were:
    Ed Garton – 5:03:29 (18th in age group 40-44)
    Dave Fenton – 5:09:28 (24th in age group 40-44).
At Barton Open Water Junior Triathlon (100m swim/4000m bike/1800m run):
    Helen Jubb - 24:54 (1st Tristar 2)
    Nixie Turner - 26:50 (2nd Tristar 2)
At Cotswold Ladies Only Triathlon (750m swim/20km bike/5km run):
    Rachel Ward - 1:15:22 19th
    Gill Jubb - 1:17:31 30th
    Ros Townsend-Hope - 1:18:56 39th

Last year some of the club’s members decided to enter the Elbaman race on Elba island and enjoyed it so much that they decided to take a bigger group back in 2010. The race organisers were incredibly helpful with the race arrangements and the island itself is a beautiful place to visit especially in September when the race is held.
So on 26th September 2010 the full Iron distance race will start at 7.30am with Michelle Parsons on the start line aiming for her maiden Iron distance triathlon victory in the elite category after clinching age group victories at Lanzarote and Austria last season.
Some 45 minutes later Les Bailey will be entering the water in the 70.3 race held on the same course on the same day. Bailey is racing courtesy of the race organisers and is likely to be the oldest competitor in the race. The course will suit the super veteran Bailey because of the undulating bike course playing to his climbing strength on the bike and the swim in the beautiful clear Mediterranean sea being wetsuit legal and therefore easier for the weaker swimmers.
The race is totally sold out for the first time this year after the positive press coverage it has received and at home in Italy and abroad in triathlon magazines. Kevin May is also hoping to make a return to Iron distance racing at Elbaman but first he has the challenge of Ironman Switzerland in July, another event in which Worcester Triathlon Club will be well represented. If you would like more details on the race itself the event website is http://www.elbaman.it/

Worcester Triathlon Club athletes have been busy racing overseas in recent weeks but it appears it is just the start of a busy international summer of racing.
After a few of the club members returned from a successful and incident free training camp in Italy it was Kevin May who was first to race in the internationally renown Ironman Lanzarote Triathlon. The Ironman distanced race is often regarded as the toughest long distance triathlon in the world not just because of the undulating bike course but also because the hot and windy weather conditions add an extra dimension to the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run course. This year was no different and was just over a year since Kevin returned from last year’s training camp accident where he sustained serious injuries which necessitated a two week stay in hospital in Italy followed by a flight home accompanied by a doctor to ensure he made it home without further complication.
The race held on 21st May 2010 consisted of a 2 lap sea swim of 3.8Km, then straight on to the 180km bike route that circumnavigated the whole island before returning back to Porto del Carmen where the 3 lap Marathon completed the event. This year the weather was hot with strong warm winds blowing and temperatures up in the 30’s by the time competitors were running the marathon.
The Mens’ Race was won by Spanish professional triathlete, Eneko Llanos in a time of 8hrs 37min 42 sec and first women was Catriona Morrison a professional from Scotland in 10hrs 3min 52 sec.
Kevin May from WTC was the clubs sole participant completing the race in a total time of 10hrs 40min 16secs. Taking 1hr 7min for the swim, 5hr 44min bike and managing a 3hr 38 marathon to come home in 177th position overall and 33rd in his 40-44 age group, from a field of 1500 starters.
Kevin was quite pleased with his times as he was only 5 seconds slower than his previous time at this event back in 2008, especially as he had to sit out most of 2009 following his bike crash during training.
He is now looking forward to racing at the clubs slightly longer than Olympic distance triathlon race held at Top Barn Hallow on 27th June, before getting ready for his next Ironman event held in Switzerland this July.

Club members Michelle Parsons and Les Bailey raced the Powerman event in Torhout, Belgium on Sunday 6th June. This is a memorial race for Benny Vansteerlant who tragically died three years ago. Fittingly his brother Yourie won the race this year.
The format of the race is unusual as it consists of a 10km run + 30km bike + 5km run + 30km bike + 5km run, this makes for a very tough race in the spite of the fact that the course is totally flat. Running takes place in the attractive town of Torhout on a 2 ½ km circuit and the bike on a 10km circuit on country roads on the outskirts of the town, all roads were totally closed for the duration of the race. Start and finish were in the market square with plenty of spectators and all the razzmatazz of Powerman races.
The weather was ideal, warm with some sun, but the wind was fresh at times making the bike sector a little tough.
Michelle was having a storming race leading on the 1st run and onto the bike sector until she was mis-marshalled on the bike sector in conjunction with other lead riders losing her almost 3 minutes. This cost her the lead position and she could not retrieve the lost time during the rest of the race finally finishing in second spot for the elite ladies in a great time of 3.00.11.
Les found the race exhausting for a 73 year old; he was the oldest competitor by 3 years. However he managed to finish in 3rd position in the 59 year plus age category. He also went off course in the same area as Michelle and finished with a total time of 3.55.50.

Sunday 30th May 2010 saw the 4th running of the Worcester Triathlon Club Children’s Duathlon race. It was held at the University of Worcester, the campus making an ideal venue. Running took place on the Astroturf sports pitches and the bike on the traffic free campus roads. The Club is very grateful to the University for allowing the use for this popular Midlands race.
There were 75 competitors in ages ranging from 8 to 16 years, all racing in their various age groups. The race is part of the BTF regional series.
Ideal weather prevailed with mixed cloud and sunshine. Competition in all the five race categories was keenly fought with just a few seconds separating the top three finishers in some races. Each race consisted of a run + bike + run of various distances for each age category.
Results of Worcester members:-
    Jack Raine       5th in the Tristar 1
    Helen Jubb      1st in the Girls’ Tristar 2
    Nixie Turner    2nd in the Girls’ Tristar 2
    Ethan Hunter 10th in the Boy’ Tristar 2
    Jennifer Klein 4th in the Girls’ Tristar 3

Nine Worcester Triathlon club members raced the Tewkesbury Triathlon on 16th May 2010. The event was a 400m pool swim, 25km out and back bike and 5km run on a mixture of road and grass. The weather stayed dry and fine and those who took part commented on the very friendly atmosphere which made for an enjoyable race.
There were some excellent Worcester performances, including Phil Parsons who finished 4th overall out of 173 entrants, in a time of 58:36. David Jubb notched up another win in his Male Youth category, finishing in 1:01:17. Worcester member, Michelle Parsons, racing for Tri UK, took the ladies’ overall win, six and a half minutes ahead of the second place female finisher.
Worcester Triathlon Club member’s overall results were: 4th – Phil Parsons 9th – David Jubb 13th – Michelle Parsons 24th- Richard Gourlay 27th – Marc Scriven 41st – Duncan Jubb 45th – Paul Scriven 73rd – Rachel Ward 82nd – Gillian Jubb

Elsewhere, Worcester Triathlon Club junior section member Nixie Turner recorded an excellent win at the Oswestry Aquathlon.

67 competitors braved the cold weather to compete in the Worcester Winter Aquathlon, organised by Worcester Triathlon Club and held at New College Worcester. The event consisted of a 400 yard swim followed by a 5km run.
The overall winner was Philip Wolfe of the Mammoth Lifestyle Racing team, successfully defending his title from last year in an impressive 21:02 overall time. David Jubb finished in second overall – an outstanding result for the 15 year old Worcester Triathlon club member who was also the top youth athlete. Zammie Cotterill of the BRAT club was the female winner, followed by Emma Bexson of Stratford Athletics Club.
There was great interest in the event from passing walkers and cyclists, several of whom were heard by marshalls to comment ‘they must be mad!’
The club’s next event is the Peopleton Duathlon, to be held on Sunday 14th March – details are on the Worcester Triathlon Club website.
Worcester Triathlon club finishers were:
2. David Jubb
13. Neil Crump
16. Charlie Carroll
24. Mark Scriven
33. Jo Lyons
34. Gavin Vickers
38. Gillian Jubb
59. Les Bailey

Race Reports 2010