Fresh off the back of a 36th place overall in the IronMaori Quarter Triathlon in Napier, NZ (2:55:59), Andy Rawlins doubled the distance to complete the 70.3 Half-Ironman in Taupo, NZ in 6:04:44. Andy had a good swim in the 17C lake before picking up 100 places on the undulating bike course and holding this with a consistent run. Andy now lives in New Zealand but regularly keeps in contact with his friends in PACTRAC and Werrington Joggers.IronMaori Quarter:
swim 1,000m, bike 28-miles, run 6.5 miles.
36. Andy Rawlins .... 2:55:59 Age Group 7th.
70.3 Half-Ironman Taupo:
swim 1,900m, bike 56-miles, run 13.1 miles.
516. Andy Rawlins .... 41:21 .... 3:18:53 .... 2:04:30 ..= 6:04:44 Age Group 44.
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Steve Skelhon (on holiday) ran in the Fingal Bay park run in Australia on Saturday. Steve commented that the event was "very warm and humid, struggled with the heat and did 24.47 for 24th out of 97 runners".
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A team of 4 entered the LobsterSquadUK Cold Water Team Championships held in Lincoln.
Amy Mellor, Graeme Abrahams, Laura Hardy and Adam Boon had to each do two of 8 different distance swims and then compete together in the 4x 50m relay and the individual medley relay. Each swimmer swam 4 times in the lake at South Hykeham and with the points added up, the team finished 3rd overall.
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The next PACTRAC club event will be the Aquathlon on 24th March.
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The PACTRAC Junior Training Sessions take place fortnightly on Sunday's at Stanground. We have space for more juniors and currently these sessions are free to attend. Sign up via pactrac.clubpal.app or request further information via the contacts tab on www.pactrac.co.uk
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Rob Hammond travelled to Holdenby House just NW of Northampton to compete in the Standard Distance Duathlon; and finished 4th overall and 1st in his Age Group, just 66 seconds from a Podium finish.
Rob competed over the distances of:
Run 6.75 miles through the grounds and over surrounding farmland.
Bike 24 miles on undulating country roads.
Run 3.4 miles again through the estate grounds.
Result:
4. Rob Hammond .... 53:22 .... 75:56 .... 27:50 ..= 2:37:08 Age Group 1st.
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PACTRAC held their Annual AGM and Prize Presentation at Marholm Village Hall, where 20 Trophies were presented for 2023.
Rob Hammond received 5 awards, whilst Susie Freeman (Club Champion) and Adam Clark received 4 apiece.
Hugo Flikweert and India Lazenby were joint winners of the Junior Trophy.
The first ever presentation of the Lee Kilby Most Improved Swimmer award was presented by Lee's widow Deborah to the worthy recipient, Jeremy Storey.
Lifetime Achievement awards including Honorary Membership were awarded to Scott and Sue McLeod for their services to PACTRAC over 30-years. Sue also received this year's PACTRACer of the Year Trophy.
The Most Improved Trophy went to Steve Skelhon who has been competing in triathlons for many years but this year saw an improvement, especially in his Mini-Series and Standard Distance times and he narrowly missing out on Podium positions twice at Rutland Water.
The Novice Trophy for the best first-year triathlete went to George Dann who made constant improvements throughout the Mini-Series and competed in his first half-Ironman triathlon.
With 62 members having achieved the standard of at least a top 3 in their Age Group this year, their were a few nominations for the Outstanding Performance award. Some of the highlights were:
Sara Pearce's completing the Marathon des Sables;
Susie Freeman winning the Silver medal in the Triathlon England Sprint Championships;
Rob Hammond finishing 4th overall in his first Ironman distance triathlon;
Simon Hoppe representing GB for the 32nd time plus winning the Silver medal in the British Super-Sprint Championships.
Paul Lunn winning the 70.3 Half-Ironman World Championships for the second year in a row.
The Trophy was awarded to Adam Clark for his Bronze Medal in the World Standard Distance Championships at the first attempt; together with winning FOUR local triathlons outright (Duston, Box End, St.Neots and Oundle).
The club welcomed 2 new members onto the Committee and saw 3 members change roles including welcoming Terry Murphy to his role as Club Chairman in September.
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There was a late season Duathlon at Grafham Water today over the sprint distance of:
Run 3 miles
Bike 13 miles
Run 1.5 miles.
Chris Phillips (Werrington Joggers) and Daniel Richardson (PACTRAC) both competed in the same age category finishing 1st and 3rd respectively. Daniel said "It was a cold and miserable day, and certainly wasn't easy".
Results:
13. Chris Phillips ........... 22:37 .... 41:12 .... 12:25 ..= 76:14 Age Group 1st.
33. Daniel Richardson .. 26:28 .... 51:38 .... 14:04 ..= 92:10 Age Group 3rd.
PACTRAC hold their annual AGM at Marholm Village Hall at 3:00pm on Sunday 19th November. This will be followed by the Prize Presentation with 20 club Trophies being awarded.
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We had two athletes competing this weekend, in two big races, the opposite sides of the world - Hawaii and Majorca.
Becs Burge had qualified for the World Ironman Championships in Hawaii and in her first visit to the island, had a great race to finish 187th in her Age Group amongst the best athletes in the world. It is tough to qualify for the Ironman World Championships and even tougher once there, with the wind and heat sapping your energy throughout.
Becs swam the 2.4 mile non-wetsuit ocean swim in 1:27:46 and after a quick transition, had a solid bike section averaging 18.38 mph for the 112 miles. She then had to run a full 26.2 mile marathon in the heat, and finished in a superb time of 12:39:38 coming just over half way in the 2,000+ field.
Result:
1071. Becs Burge .... 1:27:46 .... 6:19:32 .... 4:52:20 ..= 12:39:38 Age Group 187.
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Steve Hope competed in Challenge Paguera in Majorca, an event that attracted some of the best athletes in the world, including Alistair Brownlee who finished in a very good third place after recent ankle surgery. Steve finished 6th in his Age Group, with the top 6 receiving a place in the Challenge World Championships to be held in Samorin, Slovakia next May. The last PACTRACer to compete in Samorin was Roger Canham who became an Age Group World Champion back in 2019.
Steve had to complete a 1,900m sea swim involving swimming out-and-back twice with an exit between to run around a cone on the beach.
The 56-mile bike involved 2 laps, riding up into the mountains with some fast sections later on, whilst the 13.1 mile run took in 4-laps of an undulating course through the town centre and along the beach front in 31C heat.
This is the 6th time that Steve has competed in Challenge Paguera, and as in previous years, the weather at home has held up just long enough to maintain full fitness.
Result:
328. Steve Hope .... 39:55 .... 3:05:11 .... 2:05:00 ..= 5:50:06 Age Group 6th.
Attached is one photo of Steve with Alistair Brownlee. The photo's from Hawaii are not yet available. Hopefully, they will be soon and I will forward one of Becs if I can.
We had the first Frostbite run at St.Neots on Sunday 8th October. Then on 15th October the Great Eastern Run.
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AsKeenAsMustard put on an extra Swim,Run event from Milton Ferry Bridge at Ferry Meadows on Sunday. The Survivor took on a different format, with 48 competitor's taking on 2-mile laps, each with 3 swim sections and 4 runs, in and along the River Nene with it's tracks, trails and meadows. The elimination time for each lap got ever-shorter, with athletes waiting at the start after each lap to all set off together again on the next lap.
The first few laps gave competitor's more time to complete them, but as the laps went on, the pressure built as the time allowed got shorter; the idea being to complete as many laps as you can before the time beats you, and the winner is the last man standing.
PACTRAC had 3 competitor's in this end of season race, taking on the 16 degree water's in their training shoes and running in wetsuits. Adam Clark and Rod Hall both completed 4-laps whilst Richard Wright completed 2.
How many laps can you do before the clock beats you? Adam said "Today was about having fun with mates. The Survivor format was absolutely brilliant".
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Andy Martin and Debbie Montague competed in the Paras' 10 mile off-road run at Catterick in North Yorkshire, with Andy opting for the 35lb bergen TAB (Tactical Advance to Battle) option, involving long trousers and hiking boots. The course is used for military training which has to stop for the event.
66. Debbie Montague ..... 1:38:57.
139. Andy Martin (TAB) ... 1:55:07.
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Three PACTRACers took part in the World Triathlon Championships at the weekend in Pontevedre, Spain, with all 3 making their mark. Jonathan Oakey moved up through the PACTRAC Junior ranks and is now a full time triathlete competing with the Elite in world events. In the World Under 23 Championships, Jonathan secured a fantastic 18th place overall. He came out of the 1500m swim in the lead group, in 15th place and only 14-seconds behind. A quick transition and Jonathan was able to join the lead group on the bike - a group which eventually numbered 24 and came in 2:20 minutes ahead of the 2nd bike group. Jonathan then had a superfast 10km run in 33:40 to finish 18th overall amongst the best under 23 triathletes in the world.
Adam Clark continues to make improvements and won the BRONZE MEDAL in the Standard Distance World Championships. Adam was 10th in the European Championships back in June and has improved further to record his first podium position whilst racing for the GB Age Group team.
Adam was 6th out of the water just 1:35 behind, before moving up to 5th place on the bike, with 5-athletes not far behind. The athlete just in front had a 17-second advantage coming in off the bike, but Adam had a superfast transition and exited transition ahead. One of the runners in front had a 2:16 advantage, but Adam reeled him in whilst keeping those behind at bay. He finished just over a minute behind 2nd place, whilst holding off an advancing athlete behind to take the BRONZE MEDAL by 17-seconds and avoid a close sprint finish.
Simon Hoppe competed in the Super-Sprint World Championships over the much shorter distances of: swim 300 metres, bike 5-miles and run 1-mile, finishing 13th in the World just 1:51 minutes behind the winner, with a very consistent and fast performance.
18. Jonathan Oakey .... 18:23 .... 55:55 .... 33:40 ..= 1:47:58
Standard Distance:
3. Adam Clark ............. 21:47 .... 70:02 .... 36:20 ..= 2:08:09 BRONZE MEDAL.
Super-Sprint:
13. Simon Hoppe ........... 4:45 .... 15:59 ..... 6:01 ...= 26:45.
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Stuart Neal competed in the Sywell Sprint Triathlon near Northampton, finishing 2nd in his Age Group.
28. Stuart Neal .... 83:56 Age Group 2.
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PACTRAC held their final Club Championship event of the year at Oundle over the distances of:
Swim 1500m in Oundle pool. 60-lengths.
Bike 27 miles - 3 laps of the Mini-Series course around Glapthorn and the Benefield's on damp but drying roads, with the wind picking up on each lap.
Run 5-miles all on tarmac around Glapthorn and Cotterstock.
Rob Hammond went into the race leading the Club Championships, just ahead of Adam Clark. With Adam away, on International duty, competing for GB in Spain (and securing a Bronze Medal in the World Championships), Rob was able to secure his place as Club Champion for this year.
Christian Richards led the swimmers out followed by Steve Skelhon 55-seconds later and Rob a further 1:23 behind. Steve caught Christian at the end of lap 1 of the 3-lap bike section, with Rob moving ahead of Christian half-way round lap 2. Rob then caught Steve at the end of lap 2 and pulled away, coming into transition after the third lap, 47 seconds ahead.
Rob then had the fastest run of the day to pull further away, finishing 4-minutes ahead of Christian, who regained 2nd spot on the run with Steve holding on to 3rd ahead of the rest of the field.
Rob is this year's Club Champion having last won the Trophy back in 2017, whilst Susie Freeman had already secured the Ladies Trophy.
Results:
1. Rob Hammond ......... 27:34 .... 1:17:17 .... 33:51 ..= 2:18:42.
2. Christian Richards .... 25:16 .... 1:22:08 .... 35:19 ..= 2:22:43.
3. Steve Skelhon .......... 26:11 .... 1:19:27 .... 38:32 ..= 2:24:10.
7 Novice triathletes competed in the accompanying Mini-Series race with Hal Whyatt dipping under the hour by 6-seconds.
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Andy Martin and Debbie Montague travelled to Italy to compete in the Emilia Romagna Ironman Triathlon in Cervia.
Debbie said "It was a long day, but went much better than expected.
I found the warm sea swim to be much quicker than I am in the lake, but I did get stung by a jellyfish.
The bike was pretty flat, apart from one hilly section with a really long, fast downhill afterwards; and my pace picked up on the motorway section.
The run went through the center of Cervia, with so much support that the laps went past really quickly.
Race day came and I hadn't slept and was tired before I started, and really worried about getting through the swim. I was one of the last competitors in the water and was so nervous, but I needn't have been. The swim went a lot better and quicker than expected. The only issue was getting a jelly fish in the face, which did sting a bit; but after a short stop to catch my breath, I carried on. Before I knew it the swim section was over and I was back on dry land and in good time. The extra buoyancy of being in salt water really helped and got me through the 2.4 miles.
It was a long run into Transition which seemed to take forever.
The bike was amazing and so quick. I was on the tri-bars for most of it. There were a few issues with masses of fruit flies to ride through; and then into the hilly part at about 37-miles, and again at 75-miles, but these weren't as bad as expected. By about 90-miles I'd had enough. The wind had got up on the way back which made it tough in places, but I just kept powering through until I was back in Cervia, with 112 miles done.
Transition 2 was a bit quicker, but still long. I took my helmet off and a load of the fruit flies fell out, they'd gone through the vents and got stuck in my hair.
I headed out on the run and felt very comfortable, apart from a few initial cramps. The run was through town and the support was amazing, with so many people clapping and cheering. The route was 4 laps and before I knew it, I was on the last lap. Out of all the marathons I've done this for some reason felt the most comfortable. I just got into a rhythm with the run/walk and managed to pace it perfectly.
I ran down the red carpet, rang the first timers bell and crossed the finish line where I heard those magical words "Debbie Montague, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN" !! "
This was Debbie's first (and last?) Ironman, whilst partner Andy Martin recorded a PB in under 12-hours.
"It was a good course, scenic, fast and mostly flat. Would I do it again though ... absolutely not. One full distance is enough for me, the training was at times brutal and my life became a cycle of sleep, work and train, with little time for anything else.…but I may come back to do the 70.3".
Next up for the pair is the Paras 10-mile run in just 2-weeks time.
Results:
1027. Andy Martin ............. 1:15:06 .... 6:13:18 .... 4:26:32 ..= 11:54:56 AG 142.
1764. Debbie Montague .... 1:38:53 .... 7:25:20 .... 4:52:39 ..= 14:27:44 AG 32.
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Roy Mayhew finished 2nd in the over 80's category in the Oslo Half-Marathon in a time of 2:41:22.
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Chris Northern and Sara Pearce travelled south to compete in the 70.3 Weymouth Half-Ironman Triathlon. Chris is coming back from a running injury and finished injury free in tough conditions; whilst Sara upped the distance to compete in her first Half-Ironman.
The morning started with some 4am Thunder and Lightening, and the swim section in the sea was cancelled due to some very high waves.
Chris had a good bike leg at over 20mph for the undulating 56-mile section and said " The half-marathon run was an easy pace just to finish injury free. I'm really happy my leg is okay again. They were tough conditions today".
Results:
557. Chris Northern .... 2:48:55 .... 2:00:24 ..= 4:49:19 AG 75.
1698. Sara Pearce ....... 3:48:57 .... 2:10:24 ..= 5:59:21 AG 36.
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Simon Hoppe finished 4th in the North Norfolk Standard Distance Triathlon at Wells-next-the-Sea. With the tide times once again being suitable in September, the event returned to its traditional weekend.
Swim 1,500 metres in the sea in Wells Harbour. Out and back.
Bike 25 miles on an undulating 1-lap course around the coastal villages.
Run 6.25 miles. 1-lap on the North Norfolk coastal path and out onto the beach.
Simon Hoppe was the 3rd swimmer out of the sea and had the 4th fastest bike overall, placing him 3rd going into the run. Still recovering to full fitness following a running injury, he missed out on a Podium place by just 1:42 minutes.
4. Simon Hoppe .... 21:16 .... 69:06 .... 43:12 ..= 2:13:34 AG 2.
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Nigel Hunt finished 6th in his Age Group in the Grafham sprint triathlon.
36. Nigel Hunt .... 17:11 .... 39:22 .... 25:44 ..= 82:17 AG 6.
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Having successfully defended his 70.3 Half-Ironman World Crown in Finland, Paul Lunn attempted to win his Age Group in the full Ironman World Championships in Nice on Sunday.
Paul got off to a good start in the sea swim and had the 6th fastest bike time in his Age Group on a tough, hilly course by the Mediterranean. He was lying in 5th position at the start of the run and made good progress in the first half of the marathon run, before the heat took it's toll and he endeavored to finish this grueling race, which ironically had moved from it's spiritual home in the heat and wind of Hawaii for only the second time in it's history. Paul's Age Group was won by Alexandre Vinokourov, the Olympic Cycling Road Race Champion from 2012.
Sam Chapman had a great race with a solid swim and fast bike section before consolidating on the marathon run to overtake his mentor for 38th in his Age Group and 166th overall from a field of over 2,000 of the best Ironman athletes in the world; all of whom had to go through a tough qualification process.
166. Sam Chapman .... 66:18 .... 5:52:10 .... 3:13:42 ..= 10:12:10 Age Group 38th.
850. Paul Lunn ............ 66:39 .... 5:36:46 .... 5:06:25 ..= 11:49:50 AG 75.
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4 big races took place on these shores at the weekend, including three World Championship qualifiers.
Simon Hoppe and Hannah Bassett ventured down to Bournemouth and qualified for the 2024 World Sprint Triathlon Championships. Simon had the fastest bike split in his Age Group and held on to pole position until close to the finish, where he was overtaken by 2 fast runners and settled for 3rd spot, with the top 4 qualifying.
Hannah had a great start with a fast swim in her come-back triathlon after 3-years away with various injuries. She finished in 5th position in her Age Group but with 2 of the girls already having qualified, was able to take one of the 4 places on offer.
Results:
34. Simon Hoppe ......... 13:54 .... 37:03 .... 20:53 ..= 71:50 AG 3.
140. Hannah Bassett .... 13:47 .... 43:21 .... 22:32 ..= 79:40 AG 5.
205. Steve Hope ........... 18:00 .... 43:04 .... 23:38 ..= 84:42 AG 19.
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The other 2 qualifying races were nearer to home at St.Neots. 3 PACTRACers narrowly missed out on qualification in the Standard Distance Triathlon and will go into the rolldown; whilst in the Aquabike, Susie Freeman qualified in 3rd place and Antony Brown won his Age Group but has already qualified through a previous race at Stewartby Lake. Both will be heading for Malaga for the World Championship showdown at the end of next year.
Results:
Standard Distance Triathlon.
71. Simon Guerin ........... 24:19 .... 69:25 .... 47:04 ..= 2:20:48 AG 14.
154. Christian Richards .... 26:52 .... 77:32 .... 51:26 ..= 2:35:50 AG 23.
186. Andrew Chapman ..... 27:24 .... 79:12 .... 55:01 ..= 2:41:37 AG 22.
Aquabike.
15. Antony Brown ........ 29:30 .... 64:10 ..= 1:33:40 AG 1st.
90. Susie Freeman ...... 24:00 .... 84:14 ..= 1:48:14 AG 3.
117. Verity Miles ........... 33:10 .... 82:44 ..= 1:55:54 AG 14.
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The other local races this weekend were at Rutland Water where Rachel Coe-O'Brien led a team of 7 home in the Half-Ironman distance Vitruvian race, whilst coming 2nd in her Age Group. Steve Skelhon came 3rd in his Age Group, whilst Roger Canham won his Age Group and was 5th overall in the accompanying Aquabike.
Results:
73. Rachel Coe-O'Brien .... 34:03 .... 2:43:42 .... 1:43:05 ..= 5:00:50 Age Group 2.
99. Jon Crowley ................ 37:52 .... 2:43:58 .... 1:51:14 ..= 5:13:04 AG 7.
112. Andy Corner ............... 41:10 .... 2:43:22 .... 1:51:44 ..= 5:16:16 AG 8.
166. Steve Skelhon ............ 35:13 .... 2:56:55 .... 2:03:33 ..= 5:35:41 AG 3.
209. Rebecca Burge .......... 41:05 .... 3:00:04 .... 2:08:07 ..= 5:49:16 AG 9.
304. George Dann ............. 39:31 .... 3:15:58 .... 2:36:26 ..= 6:31:55 AG 16.
344. Rod Hall ..................... 53:31 .... 3:56:24 .... 2:25:15 ..= 7:15:10 AG21.
Aquabike:
5. Roger Canham .... 35:00 .... 2:28:56 ..= 3:03:56 Age Group 1st.
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Steve Hope travelled to Bala in North Wales for the Standard Distance triathlon. However, the start was delayed due to mist covering the lake, and after an hour’s delay the event got underway as a shortened Duathlon, due to the timing of the road closures. After an undulating 1.5-mile run, the 24-mile out-and-back bike course was all on closed roads, followed by a 6-mile run on the same closed roads.
Results:
Steve Hope .... 12:52 .... 70:42 .... 43:42 ..= 2:07:16 Age Group 12.
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Mariska Niemeijer came 6th in her Age Group in the Letchworth Duck&Dash Aquathlon, whilst Hugo Flikweert finished 24th overall in the TriStart 1 Aquathlon.
TriStar 1:
Hugo Flikweert .... 2:08 .... 6:46 ..= 8:54. AG 24.
Senior Aquathlon:
Mariska Niemeijer .... 8:12 .... 31:14 ..= 39:26. Age Group 6th.
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Graeme Abrahams competed in the ChillSwim 11-mile end-to-end swim across Lake Windermere. Graeme has now completed the ChillSwim Triple of swimming Lakes Coniston, Ullswater and Windermere. The Windermere event was cancelled last year due to inclement weather and Graeme had to wait another 12-months to complete the swim. His time of 5 hours 34 minutes made him 85th overall and 11th out of those swimming without wetsuits in a tough event that saw 39 swimmers pull out of what is the longest swim in England and a unique chance to swim the full 11-mile length of Windermere, starting at Fell Foot Park at the Southern end of the Lake and finishing at Waterhead at the Northern end.
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Paul Lunn defended his Age Group World Championship crown in another amazing performance at the Half-Ironman 70.3 World Championships held in Lahti, Finland at the weekend.
Paul won the 70.3 world championships in St.George, USA, last year and retained the title of WORLD CHAMPION in Finland.
Paul was 65th out of the water in his 50-54 year Age Group and nearly 3-minutes down on his main adversaries. With the 2nd fastest time on the 56-mile bike section, Paul blasted past all bar one of his Age Group competitors and came in off the bike just 32-seconds down. At this point another 8 athletes were within 5-minutes of Paul with all to play for. Paul had a strong run and moved into the lead early on. Just two of the top ten athletes behind had faster run times, by just over a minute, but they had started the run 3-minutes behind and Paul came home to claim the GOLD MEDAL for the 2nd consecutive year in the 70.3 HALF-IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. His victory margin was 1:48 minutes and 2:12 minutes over 3rd place.
Paul said: "It was such a great course for a world championship, a calm lake swim, rolling fast bike, and a lumpy run and throw in some freezing cold rain and you end up with a tough old day. I was pushing hard on the bike to find the front of the race, which I eventually did at about 20miles; but then the rain came and I started to get cold, very cold, but managed to stay with the lead cyclists. I eventually warmed up on the run, but had to run very conservatively on the uphills due to a strained calf but managed to just hang on for the win being pushed the whole way by some super strong guys."
Paul is competing in the full Ironman World Championships in Nice in 2-weeks time.
Louise Hathaway also had a good World Championship race, finishing 38th in a very competitive Age Group on a tough course.
Louise was 83rd in the swim, but on the fast, rolling 56-mile bike course picked off 52 competitor's at an average speed of over 21mph. She then improved her run time by 2-minutes to knock 6-minutes off of her previous best 70.3 time.
Louise said: "I'm super happy with my result and I know I can make more improvements".
Results:
Paul Lunn ............ 31:33 .... 2:20:52 .... 1:24:38 ..= 4:17:03
AGE GROUP 1st. WORLD CHAMPION.
Louise Hathaway .. 37:46 .... 2:48:41 .... 1:48:25 ..= 5:14:52 Age Group 38th.
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Sue Davys competed in the European Middle Distance Triathlon Championships in Menen, Belgium, over the half-Ironman distance; finishing 8th in her Age Group - an improvement of 7 places over the last time that she represented GB in 2016.
Results:
8. Sue Davys .... 51:37 .... 3:27:08 .... 2:40:48 ..= 6:59:33 Age Group 8th.
Antony Brown qualified for the European Aquabike Middle Distance Championships at the same venue and over the same 1.2 mile swim and 56-mile bike courses, but without the half-marathon run. Antony came 4th just over a minute off of a Podium spot, after exiting the water in 15th position. Antony had the 2nd fastest bike time to pull himself up to 4th overall, the same position that he finished the World Championships in 4-years ago; but this time he was one of the oldest in his Age Group.
Results:
4. Antony Brown .... 37:11 .... 2:23:30 ..= 3:00:41 Age Group 4th.
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The English Sprint Championships took place at Blithfield Reservoir, with Susie Freeman taking the SILVER MEDAL in the 40-44 year Age Group.
Susie had to swim 750 metres in the reservoir, followed by an undulating, but fast, 13-mile bike section with little traffic about; and finishing off with an out and back 3-mile run on a mixture of road and off road terrain.
Susie led out of the water, but the Age Group winner pulled away on the bike and in spite of matching one another on the run, Susie had to settle for a well earned SILVER MEDAL.
65. Susie Freeman .... 12:47 .... 44:34 .... 23:03 ..= 80:24 Age Group 2nd SILVER MEDAL.
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Sam Folks and Jenny Williams chose the Half-Ironman in Vichy, France, for their first Half-Ironman Triathlon. Both recorded times of just over 6-hours in very hot, testing conditions.
Jenny said "I am one happy little lady. It goes to show anything is possible if you put your mind to it."
668. Sam Folks ......... 46:04 .... 3:16:26 .... 2:00:09 ..= 6:02:39 Age Group 123.
782. Jenny Williams .. 42:07 .... 3:29:36 .... 2:04:43 ..= 6:16:26 AG 21.
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Over 400 competitors entered the various triathlons at Oundle Leisure Centre on Sunday, including nearly 300 in the children's event in the afternoon.
Sunday morning saw the adult competitions with PACTRAC entering members in all 3 events. Adam Clark won the Sprint Triathlon outright with Verity Miles winning the Aquabike and 7 members taking 1st in their various Age Groups, including Sara Pearce who took 3rd overall in the Super-Sprint.
Adam once again led the field from start to finish using his swimming prowess to establish a 9-second lead and 49-seconds over the 3rd placed swimmer; and extending his lead with a superfast transition and having the fastest bike split by nearly 2-minutes. This is Adam's 4th open triathlon win of the season and 5th in total, as he hones his fitness for the World Championships next month in Spain. It also continues PACTRAC's dominance of the Oundle Triathlon's which started back last year after 3 events in the 1980's which were all won by PACTRAC members (1985 Chris Boon, 1986 Steve Hope and 1987 Steve Hope).
Hugo Flikweert led the team home in the TriStar 1 race for 9-10 year olds and knocked 2-minutes off of his time from last year.
Results:
Sprint Distance Triathlon:
1. Adam Clark .............. 9:01 .... 30:00 .... 19:13 ..= 58:14 AG 1st.
13. Steve Hope .............13:14 .... 36:38 .... 23:49 ..= 73:41 AG 1.
23. Harriet Lomas ........ 14:52 .... 37:31 .... 26:00 ..= 78:23 AG 3.
38. Kate Armstrong ...... 13:28 .... 44:41 .... 26:41 ..= 84:50 AG 1.
51. George Shaw ......... 10:45 .... 45:02 .... 34:41 ..= 90:28 AG 16.
54. Daniel Richardson .. 20:46 .... 46:37 .... 24:44 ..= 92:07 AG 3.
Super-Sprint:
3. Sara Pearce ............ 8:43 .... 31:16 .... 13:33 ..= 53:32 AG 1.
9. Steph Fordham ....... 8:00 .... 38:55 .... 13:22 ..= 60:17 AG 3.
13. Tracy Rookyard .... 12:10 .... 39:41 .... 15:20 ..= 67:11 AG 1.
14. Jill Bates ............... 13:58 .... 36:57 .... 17:18 ..= 68:13 AG 1.
Aquabike:
1. Verity Miles .............. 12:57 .... 37:20 ..= 50:17 AG 1.
Tri-Star 1:
23. Hugo Flikweert ...... 3:23 ...... 9:36 .... 6:31 ..= 19:30
40. George Mansergh .. 3:46 .... 10:05 .... 7:41 ..= 21:32
56. India Lazenby ......... 4:34 .... 10:45 .... 7:21 ..= 22:40
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3 members went up to Worksop to compete in the Bassetlaw Sprint Triathlon.
The event consisted of a pool swim of 400 metres in the leisure centre, a rolling bike route of 14.7 miles taking in the surrounding villages and a two lap 3.1 mile run around the residential footpaths of Worksop.
Darren Smith led the team home, whilst Georgina Jennings won her Age Group.
Results:
26. Darren Smith ............. 7:09 .... 45:48 .... 24:41 ..= 1:17:38 AG 7.
62. Ros Goatly ................. 8:17 .... 51:30 .... 29:27 ..= 1:29:14 AG 5.
110. Georgina Jennings .. 10:49 .... 61:10 .... 41:00 ..= 1:52:59 AG 1.
--------------------------
Rod Hall competed in the Bedford Triathlon, based around the Embankment near to the centre of the town.
swim 1500m - out and back in the River Great Ouse.
Bike 25 miles - 1 lap in the Bedfordshire countryside.
Run 6.25 miles - 3 laps around the river and Russell Park.
Results:
70. Rod Hall .... 38:50 .... 94:02 .... 53:50 ..= 3:06:42 AG 8.
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Chris Pike led the club home in the St.Neots Standard Distance Triathlon, winning his Age Group, whilst Sara Pearce chose the Super-Sprint distance and came 2nd in her Age Group in her first triathlon.
Results:
24. Chris Pike .......... 31:37 .... 86:44 .... 47:17 ..=2:45:38 AG 1.
26. Ellie Piccaver .... 28:17 .... 90:21 .... 48:00 ..= 2:46:38 AG 2.
27. Nathan Keir ....... 26:57 .... 93:25 .... 46:32 ..= 2:46:54 AG 15.
Super-Sprint:
14. Sara Pearce .... 10:28 .... 18:35 .... 12:59 ..= 42:02 AG 2.
================================
Christian Richards came 24th in his Age Group in the London Triathlon at the Excel Centre. After a swim in the dock, Christian had to cycle 25-miles all on closed roads before running 6.25 miles around the docklands area by the Excel.
318. Christian Richards .... 26:58 .... 76:08 .... 58:05 ..= 2:41:11 AG 24.
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There was a 1-2-3 at the Cowman events at Emberton lake nr Milton Keynes, with Antony Brown taking 1st in his Age Group in the Aquabike, Rob Hammond Age Group 2nd in the Cowman Triathlon and Sue Davys Age Group 3rd in the Calfman Triathlon.
Cowman (swim 1,900m, bike 56 miles, run 13.1 miles):
23. Rob Hammond .... 32:15 .... 2:51:20 .... 1:38:26 ..= 5:02:01 AG 2.
Cowman Aquabike (swim 1,900m, bike 56 miles):
4. Anthony Brown .... 37:11 .... 2:26:07 ..= 3:03:18 AG 1.
Calfman Triathlon (swim 950m, bike 28 miles, run 6.5 miles):
88. Sue Davys .... 24:50 .... 1:45:34 .... 70:10 ..= 3:20:34 AG 3.
--------------------------
John Crowley ventured over to Sutton Park for the Birmingham Triathlon
swim 1,000m in the lake.
bike 25 miles on closed roads within the park.
run 6.25 miles around the park.
John finished 8th in his Age Group in very wet conditions.
59. John Crowley .... 19:09 .... 78:49 .... 52:37 ..= 2:30:35 AG 8.
============
Andy Corner competed in the L'Alpe D'Huez Triathlon in the French Alps, one of triathlon's bucket list events that starts with a 2,250 metre swim in Lac du Verney - 1 rectangular lap in the 17 degree clear waters at the foot of the mountain.
The 74 mile bike route included 4 Cols, 3 of which lasted for 9-miles each, culminating in the 21 Hairpin bends of the Alpe d'Huez itself at an average gradient of 1 in 12.
To finish off, their was an arduous 12.5 mile run up to the Col de Sarenne and back 3 times; at an altitude of 1,850 metres. From 1,500 starters 129 failed to finish this grueling event, which tested Andy's stamina to the limit.
868. Andy Corner .... 47:14 .... 6:34:23 .... 2:26:46 ..= 9:48:23 Age Group 69th.
---------------------
Steve Hope and Sarah Haslam competed in Sunderland on a windy day, in the British National Championships; over the Standard Distance of swim 1,500m in the sea at 13.6 degrees, bike 23 miles (4 laps on closed roads) and run 6.25 miles (4-laps).
398. Steve Hope ........ 33:45 .... 87:30 .... 50:24 ..= 2:51:39 AG 30.
449. Sarah Haslam .... 33:17 .... 93:32 .... 58:49 ..= 3:05:38 AG 11.
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-------------------
Paul Lunn opened his Mini-Series account with a win in the final PACTRAC Mini-Series of this summer.
Chris Pithey led the swimmers out after the 400m pool swim, 12-seconds ahead of Simon Guerin, with another 20-seconds to the trio of Simon Hoppe, Paul Lunn and leading lady Susie Freeman.
Paul then pulled away on the bike leg, which was shortened to 8.8 miles due to traffic lights on the usual course. Chris held onto 2nd coming in 1-minute adrift after the bike, whilst the two Simon's fought it out less than 30-seconds further back; Simon Hoppe moving into a clear 3rd spot, whilst Graeme Kane and Aaron Blumfield both moved up into the top 6..
Paul then ran away from the field with a blistering 18:52 for the 3.1 mile run, and came home over 3-minutes ahead of Simon Hoppe who had managed to catch Chris early on just going out of Oundle. Aaron had a storming run to gain 3 places and clinch the final Podium spot. Graeme almost caught Chris on the line, but just ran out of road in a desperate sprint finish. Susie held on to first lady, 3-minutes ahead of Harriet Lomas who had the consolation of beating her own female bike course record by 30-seconds.
The overall Mini-Series Trophies go to Graeme Kane (male) and Susie Freeman (female). Scott Lloyd came in 2nd with Adam Clark 3rd. Susie remains unbeaten in all competitions and also picks up the overall female Club Champion with one event still to come on 24th September. Currently Rob Hammond leads Adam Clark by 3-points with all to play for in the men's competition.
Results:
1. Paul Lunn ............ 6:38 .... 20:17 .... 18:52 ..= 45:47
2. Simon Hoppe ...... 6:36 .... 21:45 .... 20:48 ..= 49:09
3. Aaron Blumfield ... 7:23 .... 23:26 .... 20:15 ..= 51:04
4. Chris Pithey ......... 6:05 .... 21:50 .... 23:26 ..= 51:21
5. Graeme Kane ...... 6:50 .... 23:38 .... 20:54 ..= 51:22
6. Simon Guerin ...... 6:17 .... 22:15 .... 23:48 ..= 52:20
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Simon Hoppe achieved a landmark 30thappearance for the GB Age Group Triathlon Team at the World Triathlon Championships in Hamburg, competing in both the Sprint Distance and Mixed Team Relays. Simon finished 32nd out of 114 competitors in the 50-54 year Age Group and 8th out of 29 teams in the Mixed Team Relay, in a highly competitive, world class field. 35 nations were represented including over 300 athletes from GB.
Simon commented “Hamburg hosted one of the best ever World Triathlon Championships and there was a super competitive field befitting of the race. I was satisfied with my personal performance in both individual and team races, with the 4th fastest bike leg in my Age Group, but my recent run injuries have led to a lack of form on the run, which ultimately cost me a top-10 finish. I’ll now go back and work on my run speed in time for the World Super Sprint Triathlon Championships in Pontevedra, Spain, in September. I’m incredibly proud to have competed for the GB Age Group Triathlon Team for the 30th time over the last 33 years, at European and World Championships, and having won 7 medals and secured 14 top-10 finishes across these 30 appearances. I’ve had the opportunity to travel to some great places, to meet some amazing people, and to compete alongside the best triathletes in the world, which has been an incredible privilege and well worth all the dedication and training”.
32. Simon Hoppe .... 11:59 .... 36:39 .... 20:35 ..= 69:13.
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At the Leighton Buzzard Children's Triathlon
17. Hugo Flikweert .... 3:21 (100m) .... 8:25 .... 5:49 (800m) = 17:35.
----------------
Adam Clark won the penultimate round of the PACTRAC Mini-Series, extending his lead in every discipline to come home 5:41 ahead of Chris Elder, with David Talbot 3rd, just holding off the fast approaching Scott Lloyd by 3-seconds. Scott had set off on the run with Wayne Stainsby, and managed to pull 15-seconds ahead, taking him towards David, but the pair eventually ran out of road. Susie Freeman was first lady in 6th place.
The final event in the series is on Wednesday 19th July.
Top 6.
1. Adam Clark ........ 5:34 .... 22:09 .... 20:16 ..= 47:59.
2. Chris Elder ......... 6:46 .... 24:07 .... 22:47 ..= 53:40.
3. David Talbot ....... 8:18 .... 23:55 .... 23:03 ..= 55:16.
4. Scott Lloyd ......... 8:44 .... 25:03 .... 21:32 ..= 55:19.
5. Wayne Stainsby . 7:18 .... 26:28 .... 21:48 ..= 55:34.
6. Susie Freeman ... 6:19 .... 27:25 .... 23:50 ..= 57:34.
-----------------------
Hugo Flikweert competed in the Chelmsford Junior Triathlon in the Tri-Star 9-10 year Age Category.
This comprised of an open water lake swim followed by a largely tarmac cycle circuit on closed roads and cycle paths; and an off road run course around the lake. It is one of the very rare opportunities for children to experience open water swimming accompanied by a cycling discipline on tarmac.
Hugo was towards the front in the swim, and raced on his new bike before holding off a fast approaching junior on the run, in a sprint finish.
Results: (swim 150m, bike 2,500m, run 1,200m)
21. Hugo Flikweert .... 5:06 .... 8:17 .... 8:45 = 22:08.
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On a very windy and wet Saturday in St.Neots, Rob Hammond and Steve Hope competed in the Odyssey Ironman-distance triathlon. With 40 mph+ winds forecast from 11:00am for the rest of the day, just staying upright on the bike was sufficient at times.
Competing in his first Ironman, Rob finished 4th overall, over 5-minutes ahead of the next placed finisher, on a windy, undulating, leg-sapping course and finished 2nd in his Age Group. Steve Hope was first in his Age Group and completed his 13th Ironman triathlon in less than ideal conditions. With the poor weather forecast, some chose not to start, and of those who did, over 25% didn't finish.
Sunday saw slightly better weather for the Standard and Sprint Distance events. Adam Clark won the Standard Distance outright, leading from the front in the swim, exiting over a minute clear. Some super-fast transitions and the 3rd best bike split saw him start the run 3:15 minutes ahead; a lead that he extended to 5-minutes by the finish. This is Adam's 5th race on the trot where he has led from start to finish.
Simon Guerin was 3rd out of the River Great Ouse and had a good bike leg before slipping back slightly on the run to 11th place overall; which together with Nathan Keir in 28th, helped PACTRAC win the team honours.
In the Standard-Distance Aquabike, Anthony Brown came from 10th out of the water to storm through the field on the bike and win the event by nearly 3-minutes; whilst Jo Chapman was 1st in her Age Group in the Sprint Triathlon.
Odyssey full Ironman-Distance (swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, run 26.2 miles):
4. Rob Hammond ..... 1:11:34 .... 6:11:00 .... 4:26:45 ..= 11:49:19 Age Group 2nd.
29. Steve Hope ......... 1:25:28 .... 7:19:40 .... 4:49:54 ..= 13:35:02 AG 1st.
Standard Distance:
1.. Adam Clark ........ 23:13 .... 76:30 .... 37:01 ..= 2:16:44 AG 1.
11. Simon Guerin .... 24:54 .... 81:34 .... 46:15 ..= 2:32:43 AG 4.
28. Nathan Keir ....... 28:30 .... 97:50 .... 48:45 ..= 2:55:05 AG 14.
29. Ellie Piccaver ..... 29:30 .... 97:05 .... 48:54 ..= 2:55:29 AG 3.
Standard Aquabike:
1. Anthony Brown .... 30:16 .... 73:49 ..= 1:44:05 AG 1.
Sprint:
48. Jo Chapman ...... 16:35 .... 57:32 .... 24:14 ..= 1:38:21 AG 1.
===========================
Chris Northern is currently nursing a leg injury, so decided to switch from the Middle-Distance Eastbourne Triathlon to the Aquabike. This covered the same 1.9 mile swim in the sea and 56-mile bike but without the run. Competitor's started by jumping into the sea, from the end of Eastbourne's pier, to begin the swim; which was followed by a fast and mostly flat cycle course. Chris finished 5th overall.
5. Chris Northern .... 30:06 .... 2:44:15 ..= 3:14:21 AG 3.
-----------------------------
Rhys Wilkinson finished In 5th place overall at the Sywell Sprint Triathlon, near Northampton. He was in 8th place after the 750m swim and maintained this on the 12-mile bike, before having the 2nd fastest 3-mile run of the day to move up to 5th overall and just over 30-seconds from a podium place. It was an Age Group 1-2 with Rhys winning his Age Group and Stuart Neal improving to 2nd in his.
Results:
5. Rhys Wilkinson .... 12:11 .... 30:41 .... 17:05 ..= 59:57 AG 1st.
37. Stuart Neal .......... 14:37 .... 35:39 .... 25:03 ..= 75:19 AG 2.
---------------------------
Mark Bedford beat his time from last year by 11-minutes in the Holkham Half in Norfolk. Mark is looking to double the distance in the Nottingham Outlaw at the end of the month.
356. Mark Bedford ....... 42:25 .... 2:47:45 .... 1:52:59 ..= 5:23:09 AG 37.
975. Andrew Taylor .... 1:03:31 .... 3:04:33 .... 2:42:51 ..= 6:50:55 AG 85.
----------------------------
Mini-Series 6
Adam Clark won his 2nd Mini-Series race of the season whilst again leading the race right from the start. His swims are very consistent and he exited the pool 18-seconds ahead of Simon Guerin, with Simon Hoppe and Graeme Kane a further 21 and 41 seconds behind. Due to roadworks, a neutral zone was put in place on the bike section; but it didn't spoil a great race, which saw some closely fought racing across the entire field. Jaap Flikweert had the fastest bike time moving up to 4th, whilst Adam held on to his 39-second advantage over Simon H and extended his lead over everybody else. Rob Hammond and Graeme Kane were 5th and 6th off of the bike, with both overtaking Simon G and Jaap on the run, to fight it out for 3rd spot. Starting the run together, Rob started to pull away slightly; only for Graeme to come back and take the final sprint by 2-seconds. Graeme maintained his Mini-Series form with a 9th top-3 placing in his 9 starts; whilst Adam has won all 4 club events that he has started in this year. In the closely-fought contest for 5th, Jaap started the run 58-seconds in arrears of Simon G and made that up, all bar 3-seconds, by the finish, as Simon realised that he was fast approaching.
Results:
1. Adam Clark ........ 5:37 .... 21:49 .... 19:51 ..= 47:17
2. Simon Hoppe ..... 6:16 .... 21:49 .... 21:03 ..= 49:08
3. Graeme Kane .... 6:36 .... 22:46 .... 20:40 ..= 50:02
4. Rob Hammond .. 6:52 .... 22:29 .... 20:43 ..= 50:04
5. Simon Guerin .... 5:55 .... 22:18 .... 22:35 ..= 50:48
6. Jaap Flikweert ... 7:33 .... 21:38 .... 21:40 ..= 50:51
=====================================
The 5th of the summer PACTRAC Mini-Series Triathlons took place on Wednesday night from Oundle School.
Adam Clark took control of the race right from the gun, gaining nearly a minute's advantage over Graeme Kane in the water, with a further minute to the next chasers, Martin Thorpe and Steve Hope. The top two then consolidated their positions on the bike leg, with Adam extending his lead to 2-minutes and adding a further 1/2 minute on the run.
Graeme has now come second to Adam 4 times in the last 2 season's Mini-Series. Scott Lloyd came through on the run to move up to 3rd overall.
1. Adam Clark ...... 5:36 .... 23:52 .... 21:03 ..= 50:31.
2. Graeme Kane .. 6:30 .... 24:56 .... 21:41 ..= 53:07.
3. Scott Lloyd ...... 8:45 .... 27:19 .... 22:42 ..= 58:46.
-------------------------------------
Adam Clark led from start to finish in the Box End Standard Distance Triathlon near Bedford. Adam took complete control in the water, swimming away from the opposition by nearly 2 1/2 minutes over the 1,500 metre swim. He then had the fastest bike leg of the day (25-miles) to extend his lead; and the 2nd fastest run (6.25 miles) to come home 3:24 minutes ahead to record an emphatic victory.
This is Adam's 3rd overall victory in open events in the last two season's and was also the 2nd race in 5-days that he has led from start to finish.
1st. Adam Clark .... 24:04 .... 64:22 .... 41:34 ..= 2:10:00.
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119 athletes took part in the various distances at the AsKeenAsMustard Swim,Run held at Grafham Water, with the PACTRAC athletes choosing the 14-mile option. The event involved 11 runs and 10 swims taking in the whole of Grafham Water, with competitor's constantly changing disciplines, whilst swimming in training shoes and running in their wetsuits. The 10 swims involved nearly 3-miles of swimming, all swum in the lake, whilst the 11 runs took in 11 miles of trails, through the woods and tracks around the reservoir, on mixed terrain, with the longest run being 3.75miles.
PACTRAC's Susie Freeman had a great race, staying strong until the end, in tough conditions, with the wind making the dam end really choppy, on a breezy day, although the water temperature was a warm 19 degrees. Susie came 4th and just missed out on a Podium spot by 1:40 minutes.
Roger Canham and Dylan Bogg teamed up over the same course, with team members on either end of a rope for the duration of the event. The pair finished 5th in their first attempt at the Swim,Run format.
Solo:
4. Susie Freeman .... 2:48:42.
Team:
5. Roger Canham / Dylan Bogg .... 3:23:48.
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John Crowley came 22nd overall and 4th in his Age Group at the Bananaman Triathlon held at Dorney Lake, Eton, over the Standard Distance of swim 1,500 metres, bike 26.5 miles and run 6.25 miles. John made up some places on the bike section with the traffic free laps around the lake.
22. John Crowley .... 28:22 .... 76:19 .... 47:25 ..= 2:32:06 Age Group 4.
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Gill Bates won her Age Group in the Hitchin Sprint Triathlon, which took place in the 50m outdoor pool, followed by a 12.5 mile bike around the local country lanes and a 3-mile run through the park and town centre.
156. Gill Bates .... 14:56 .... 54:16 .... 33:28 ..= 1:42:40 Age Group 1st.
====================
The PACTRAC Mini-Series took a one-week break last Wednesday, but will resume this week, on 28th June, for the final four races.
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The Dambuster Triathlon’s consisted of both Standard and Sprint distance events at Rutland Water; with the Standard distance event being selected as the Triathlon England Standard Distance National Championships. Both events were on closed roads through the heart of Rutland, with the run heading out over the Dam.
In the English Championship event, Dave Thorold won a convincing SILVER MEDAL, whilst both Jonny Hynes and Steve Skelhon had to settle for 4th places in their respective Age Groups, narrowly missing out on a medal.
Jonny was leading a tough Age Group coming out onto the run and had just over a minute’s advantage over 3 chasers. In spite of a 42-minute 10k run he was caught by all three in a closely fought contest and missed out on bronze by 34 seconds.
Steve was 2nd going into the run and was caught just before the 2-mile marker. He had another 4-miles to hang onto that third spot and with the line getting ever closer and a fast approaching competitor behind, he was caught just before the line and lost out on an English Championship medal by just 6-seconds.
Results:
29. Jonny Hynes ............. 26:30 .... 66:34 .... 42:33 ..= 2:15:37 AG 4.
67. Dave Thorold ............ 31:44 .... 69:31 .... 44:01 ..= 2:25:16 AG 2. SILVER MEDAL.
108. Steve Skelhon .......... 28:39 .... 76:36 .... 50:52 ..= 2:36:07 AG 4.
226. George Dann ............ 33:59 .... 88:50 .... 52:06 ..= 2:54:55 AG 16.
308. Emma Brocklehurst .. 36:28 .... 84:06 .... 68:54 ..= 3:09:28 AG 12.
In the accompanying Sprint distance triathlon, Simon Hoppe finished in a fine second place, winning his Age Group by 64 seconds. Simon was leading the race by 58 seconds going into the run and in spite of a good run, was caught and had to settle for second place overall.
Stuart Neal was caught on the line and lost 2nd by just 5 seconds.
Results - Sprint Tri:
2. Simon Hoppe …... 13:00 .... 36:28 .... 21:30 ..= 70:58 AG 1st.
23. Gary Shoemake .. 16:21 .... 42:23 .... 25:18 ..= 84:02 AG 6
39. Stuart Neal .......... 16:33 .... 43:08 .... 27:00 ..= 86:41 AG 3.
56. Laura Johnson .... 19:14 .... 45:41 .... 26:43 ..= 91:38 AG 8.
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The Standard Distance Aquabike at Stewartby Lake in Bedford was a qualifying event for the World Championships to be held in Malaga next year, alongside the triathlon.
Anthony Brown qualified for Malaga, whilst Simon Meade and Verity Miles just missed out in close contests. All 3 had to swim 1,500 metres in the lake followed by a 23-mile fast, flat, lapped road bike. Anthony stormed through on his favoured bike section to take 14th place overall and 2nd in his Age Group.
Sue Davys chose to compete in the full triathlon which finished with a 6.25 mile run on paths alongside the lake into Marston Vale Country Park.
Results:
Standard Distance Triathlon.
Sue Davys ….. 45:50 .... 76:04 .... 69:29 ..= 3:11:23 AG 3rd.
Standard Aquabike.
14. Anthony Brown .... 32:19 .... 54:25 ..= 1:26:44 AG 2nd.
55. Simon Meade ...... 31:50 .... 63:24 ..= 1:35:14 AG 10.
99. Verity Miles .......... 35:52 .... 69:19 ..= 1:45:11 AG 5.
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Dave Patmore-Hill came 6th overall and won his Age Group in the half-ironman distance Cardiff Triathlon. He was happy with his performance over the 1,900m swim, 55-mile bike and 13.5 mile run, in tough conditions with plenty of wind in high temperatures.
1900m swim in Cardiff Bay, a freshwater lake around the former dockland area south of the City Centre.
The 55-mile bike route consisted of seven laps of a flat and fast course on entirely closed roads.
The out and back run route was completed five times.
---------------------------------
Steve Hope, together with Chester and Rowena Homan plus Kate Armstrong chose to swim the length of Lake Coniston, a total of 5.25miles in the Chillswim organised event which attracted over 1,000 entrants.
315. Chester Homan ….. 3:08:35
493. Steve Hope ………. 3:51:58
Kate Armstrong (non-wetsuit) .... 4:03:27
529. Rowena Homan ..… 4:10:31.
=========
PACTRAC held the 4th of 8 Wednesday night Mini-Series Triathlon's at Oundle before taking a one week break and resuming on 28th June.
The usual course and distances applied with a 400m pool swim, 9-mile bike and 3.1 mile run. The event incorporated a Novice section with competitor's able to choose a relay option or a 200 metre swim option as preferred. The 2nd Novice event takes place on 28th June.
In the main event, 3 of the 4 PB's overall were recorded by athletes in the top 4.
Christian Richards led the swimmers out, 12-seconds ahead of Rob Hammond, followed a few seconds later by Chris Elder and Wayne Stainsby, who had a 24-second advantage over Phil Groves at this point. On a good day for cycling, Rob overtook Christian and extended his lead, coming in 1-minute clear of the chasers; led by Phil who had an 8-second advantage over Chris, with Christian now a further 20-seconds behind in 4th.
Some fast run times were witnessed as Phil caught Rob on the way back into Oundle and took his 2nd ever Mini-Series win, by 24-seconds, recording a new Personal Best on the course by 1:50 minutes. Rob also posted a new PB as did Wayne in 4th place who was just caught and outsprinted by Scott Lloyd in a tight finish by 7-seconds.
Results:
1. Phil Groves ......... 7:12 .... 24:18 .... 19:25 ..= 50:55
2. Rob Hammond .... 6:36 .... 23:55 .... 20:48 ..= 51:19
3. Scott Lloyd .......... 8:27 .... 24:38 .... 19:41 ..= 52:48
4. Wayne Stainsby .. 6:48 .... 25:26 .... 20:39 ..= 52:53
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Louise Hathaway was delighted to attain a 3rd in her Age Group at the 70.3 Half-Ironman in Staffordshire - an International event over the distances of:
swim 1,900m in Chasewater Country Park.
bike 56 miles through the Staffordshire countryside.
run 13.1 miles finishing in Stafford Town Centre.
"Well I’ve finally made an Ironman 70.3 podium"
On a good day for competing, with warm conditions and perfectly still water, Louise started too far back and had a lot of people to swim past, for a good swim time.
On a tough bike course, Louise was stuck at the side of the road after 5-miles, with rear brake problems. With some big hills to come, Louise was calling it a day when a motorcycle mechanic came to her rescue. 7 minutes were lost and the chances of a podium now looked slim, having to overtake a lot of cyclists whilst also avoiding the usual potholes.
The run was always going to be hard on a hilly course with the temperature rising; and Louise was surprised and delighted with 3rd spot in equal measure, as she held off 2 rapidly advancing runners at the end and managed to avoid a tight sprint finish by just 30-seconds, with 5th place less than 2:30 minutes behind.
Next up is the 70.3 Half-Ironman World Championships in Lahti, Finland.
Results - Staffordshire:
345. Louise Hathaway .... 35:44 .... 3:07:52 .... 1:55:23 ..= 5:38:59 AG 3.
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Over 800 competitors finished in the 5th edition of the Lakesman triathlons held at Keswick; with over 80% of the athletes choosing the Half-Ironman distance. Mark Bedford competed in the Full Lakesman, for the 4th time in the 5 editions.
The distances were:
swim 2.4 miles in Derwentwater.
bike 112 miles - 2 out-and-back laps taking in a couple of nasty hills around the north west of the lake district, but largely on good flattish main roads.
run 26.2 miles - 6 laps around the immediate Keswick area.
On a warm day, the wind picked up on the way back into Keswick on lap one, which made for a tougher bike leg; whilst Mark was met with a torrential downpour on the final lap of the run, as he dug deep to finish.
Mark Bedford completed the 1,900m swim event 2-days before the big race, in 76th place in a time of 47:17.
Steve Hope competed in his 2nd Half-Ironman triathlon in consecutive weekends, recording an Age Group 5th to add to his 4th place last week.
Results:
Full (2.4miles, 112 miles, 26.2 miles)
115. Mark Bedford .... 1:29:53 .... 6:37:45 .... 5:35:24 ..= 13:43:02 AG 21.
Half (1.2 miles, 56 miles, 13.1 miles)
167. Barry Ryan .... 40:09 .... 2:58:54 .... 1:48:38 ..= 5:27:41 AG 22.
193. Steve Hope ... 37:57 .... 2:55:25 .... 2:00:07 ..= 5:33:29 AG 5th.
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A week after being brought down by a young child on a bike in the Derby half-marathon, Paul Jephcott recovered sufficiently to win his Age Group in the Staunton Harold Standard Distance Triathlon. Struggling to walk, during the week, Paul managed to complete his opening triathlon of the season and had a very consistent race.
Results:
22. Paul Jephcott .... 33:47 .... 89:28 .... 58:59 ..= 3:02:14 AG 1st.
--------------
Hugo Flikweert and India Lazenby competed in the Sandringham Schools Triathlon at St.Albans in the TriStart1 category.
Results:
Boys - 16. Hugo Fl;ikweert .... 3:01 .... 9:12 .... 5:41 ..= 17:54
Girls - 10. India Lazenby ....... 3:58 .... 9:34 .... 6:32 ..= 20:04
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In other races, Rob Head competed in the Army Sprint Triathlon Championships at Oxford, with the Standard Distance Championships being held at the same venue next week.
Andrea Robinett was 59th in the Bosworth Triathlon in a time of 1:33:22 for 3rd place in her Age Group.
================
The 3rd Mini-Series of the summer took place at Oundle on Wednesday with Graeme Kane making it 3 from 3, but he didn't have it all his own way.
Simon Guerin led the swimmers out, nearly 30-seconds ahead of Suzanne May. There was a short gap before Graeme Kane came out with Simon Hoppe hot on his heals.
Simon Hoppe and Graeme had a great battle on the bike, constantly changing lead and keeping to the prescribed 10-metres apart. Simon Guerin was caught and the 3 of them came in off the bike together. At this point Graeme kicked on to take his 4th ever Mini-Series win from 7 starts. Simon Guerin pulled ahead of Simon Hoppe, who held onto 3rd by just 18-seconds from a rapidly approaching Phil Groves.
Adam Clark, the only competitor to have beaten Graeme in a Mini-Series, was due to compete, but having competed in the European Sprint Championships in Madrid, his flight home was delayed by French Air Traffic Control, to Graeme's benefit.
Grace Rundle managed to catch Suzanne on the run to come home as first lady, on a night where 7 Personal Best times were recorded.
1. Graeme Kane .... 6:26 .... 23:45 .... 21:10 ..= 51:21
2. Simon Guerin ..... 5:51 .... 24:25 .... 21:52 ..= 52:08
3. Simon Hoppe ..... 6:28 .... 23:40 .... 22:19 ..= 52:27
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Andy Martin took part in the Weekend Warrior Triathlon at Blenheim Palace. The main sprint triathlon consisted of a 750m lake swim followed by a 12.5 mile bike and a 3.5 mile run. The Weekend Warrior covered the same course and distances but as many times as you could achieve over the weekend. Andy Martin finished 61st overall completing 3 sprint triathlons and 1 super-sprint (400m, 9m, 2m). His times were 87:20, 90:44, 92:05 and 67:08 for a total of 5:37:17.
-----------------------
Richard Wright finished 167th in the Bristol Triathlon over the Standard Distance of; swim 1500m, bike 22 miles and run 6.25 miles. Richard gained a large number of places in his favoured run discipline to finish 21st in his Age Group.
Results:
167. Richard Wright .... 33:01 .... 72:19 .... 39:30 ..= 2:24:50 AG 21.
--------------------------------
Steve Hope competed in the Challenge Wales Triathlon at Fishguard over the Half-Ironman distance.
Swim 1,900 metres. 2-laps in the sea bay.
Bike 59 miles. Out-and-back to St.Davids twice, on a very undulating course, but with roads closed to traffic.
Run 13.1 miles. 4 tough laps with 2 big hills on each, in humid conditions.
Steve came 4th in his Age Group and qualified for the Challenge World Championships, which are held every May in Samorin, Slovakia, over the half-ironman distance. Challenge are a rival group to Ironman, using the same full and half distances and with events all over the world.
158. Steve Hope .... 42:30 .... 3:20:20 .... 2:18:43 ..= 4:21:33 AG 4th.
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155 competitors took part in the various AsKeenAsMustard Swim,Run events held at Ferry Meadows. This involved constantly changing disciplines from swimming to running and back again. Competitors, therefore, swam in their training shoes and ran in their wetsuits. 4 PACTRACers chose the 13.1 mile half-marathon distance which had 10 trail runs and 9 swims, in and out of the river Nene and the lakes at Ferry Meadows, with the longest single run being nearly 3-miles. Adam Clark finished 4th overall and just missed out on a Podium spot by 70-seconds. A further 3 PACTRACers competed in the 3.1 mile Swim,Run covering 5 runs and 4 swims.
13.1 miles:
4. Adam Clark ............. 2:32:49.
9. Susie Freeman ........ 2:43:28.
23. Rod Hall .................. 3:19:34.
28. Willow Worthington .. 3:32:34.
3.1 miles:
16. Sara Pearce ............ 59:15.
19. Daniel Richardson ... 66:38.
23. Gill Bates ................. 72:17.
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Graeme Kane won the 2nd PACTRAC Mini-Series triathlon at Oundle on Wednesday, to make it two out of two for the rising star this year. Since his debut last year, Graeme has now won 3 Mini-Series and come second 3 times (all to Adam Clark) in his 6 outings.
Christian Richards led Susie Freeman out of the water, with Graeme in close attendance. Chris Northern was a further 24-seconds behind. Graeme took the lead on the bike, with Chris gaining a few seconds to come in off the bike just 15 seconds adrift, leaving Christian a further 30-seconds behind, on a windy night. There then followed an epic battle between the two leaders, but Chris could only eat into Graeme's lead by 9-seconds, leaving him just 6-seconds down at the finish. Christian held onto 3rd but only by 11-seconds from a rapidly advancing Andy Corner. Susie Freeman was the first lady in 6th position.
Chris Northern after his first triathlon of the season, said "That reminded me how hard I need to try. 2nd place and a great battle for 1st with Graeme, who deserved the win and pushed me all the way".
Mini-Series 2
Results:
1. Graeme Kane ......... 6:26 .... 24:58 .... 20:45 ..= 52:09
2. Chris Northern ........ 6:50 .... 24:49 .... 20:36 ..= 52:15
3. Christian Richards .. 6:15 .... 25:54 .... 22:33 ..= 54:42
4. Andy Corner ............ 716 .... 25:59 .... 21:38 ..= 54:53
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Adam Clark had a top 10 finish in the European Sprint Triathlon Championships in Madrid. Adam moved up from 12th at the start of the 2nd run and just missed out in a sprint for 9th on the line.
Heavy rainfall in Madrid overnight meant that Sunday's triathlon was changed into a Duathlon, the initial swim section being replaced by another run. The concern was the condition of the lake, from a safety perspective, with poor water quality from thunder storms flooding the area.
A short 1-mile run separated the athletes for the 13-mile bike, before Adam secured 10th spot with a 16:57 3-mile final run.
Result:
10. Adam Clark .... 5:49 .... 33:15 .... 16:57 ..= 56:01.
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The Grafman triathlon took place at Grafham Water on Sunday over the half-ironman distance and incorporated the English National Middle-Distance Championships. Stuart Neal came home 4th in his Age group, missing out on a medal; whilst Mark Bedford fine-tuned his fitness for his 4th attempt at the Lakesman full Ironman distance triathlon in two weeks time. Anthony Brown competed in the accompanying non-championship Aquabike, picking off 80% of the field in front of him with the 4th fastest bike split overall to win his Age Group.
The distances were:
swim 1,900 metres in Grafham Water - 2 laps with a rolling start from the beach.
bike 56-miles with 4 different out-and-back legs on quiet country roads.
run 13.1 miles - 2 out-and-back laps on tarmac, footpaths and grass.
Results:
116. Mark Bedford .... 43:39 .... 2:55:47 .... 1:44:55 ..= 5:24:21 Age Group 20.
240. Stuart Neal ........ 38:21 .... 3:05:06 .... 2:54:36 ..= 6:38:03 AG 4th.
Aquabike (swim 1,900m, bike 56 miles) NON-CHAMPIONSHIP.
6. Anthony Brown ...... 38:16 .... 2:30:28 ..= 3:08:44 AG 1st.
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Hugo Flikweert continued his triathlon season with 20th place in the Rob McLean Junior Triathlon at Cambridge, whilst India Lazenby competing in her first triathlon, came 34th. Both PACTRAC Juniors were competing in the TriStar 1 category for 9-10 year olds. They had to cover a 150 metre swim (6-lengths), followed by a 1.25 mile bike (2-laps) and 3/4 mile run (2-laps) all on grass.
Results:
20. Hugo Flikweert .... 3:11 ..... 9:14 .... 5:57 ..= 18:22.
34. India Lazenby ...... 4:08 .... 10:42 .... 6:10 ..= 21:00.
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Sam Chapman smashed his previous best Ironman time at Ironman Hamburg on Sunday. This was his 5th Ironman race and he knocked 30 minutes off of his previous best time, recorded in Hamburg last year. Sam's 8:44:55 took him to 16th place overall out of 1,732 finishers in this prestigious event with a big International field. He had the strength to record an incredibly consistent run, with every mile between 6:56 and 7:13 minutes per mile.
Paul Lunn was not far behind in 27th place with a time of 8:54:10, which gave him yet another first place in the over 50 Age Group. Paul had the 2nd fastest bike split in his Age Group to start the run 6-minutes down, but soon took the lead and won his Age Group by 20-minutes. Paul started the run just 10-seconds behind Sam, but the younger man had the legs recording a 3:00:30 marathon whilst Paul showed that he still has it with a 3:09:55 marathon, after already having swam 2.4 miles and cycled 112 miles.
Both athletes qualified for the Ironman World Championships later in the year, which this year are being switched from Hawaii to Nice in France.
16. Sam Chapman .... 1:04:29 .... 4:39:56 .... 3:00:30 ..= 8:44:55 Age Group 4th.
27. Paul Lunn ............ 1:03:38 .... 4:40:37 .... 3:09:55 ..= 8:54:10 AG 1st.
779. Stuart Cleworth ... 1:11:50 .... 5:22:29 .... 4:23:21 ..= 10:57:40 AG 147.
1008. Dave Thorold .... 1:19:14 .... 6:03:08 .... 4:07:24 ..= 11:29:46 AG 41.
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PACTRAC held their first of eight Wednesday night Mini-Series triathlon's at Oundle, with Graeme Kane establishing an early lead and holding off a late charge by Wayne Stainsby to come home ahead by just 17-seconds.
Graeme led out of the water, just ahead of Susie Freeman, whilst Wayne was third out, half-a-minute down. Graeme moved further ahead on the bike, and started the run 1:16 ahead of Wayne, whilst Scott Lloyd had the fastest bike split, propelling him up to 3rd after being 12th out of the water. Scott started the run 42 seconds behind Wayne, but the two had similar run splits, and although catching Graeme, they both ran out of road, leaving Graeme to hold on for overall victory by just 17 seconds.
Susie Freeman was the first lady home ahead of a late charge from debutant, Fiona Phillips, with Harriet Lomas just behind following a great bike section which was just 20-seconds behind her own female bike course record.
The Mini-Series continues each Wednesday with a break on 21st June, whilst those on 14th and 28th June are designated as Novice events including shorter swim and relay options.
Results:
1. Graeme Kane ....... 6:23 .... 25:26 .... 21:39 ..= 53:28
2. Wayne Stainsby .... 6:52 .... 26:13 .... 20:40 ..= 53:45
3. Scott Lloyd ............ 8:55 .... 24:52 .... 20:37 ..= 54:24
5. Susie Freeman ....... 6:27 .... 28:29 .... 24:18 ..= 59:14
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This week, Hugo Flikweert competed in the Stradbroke Aquathlon, for children aged 8-16. For Hugo, this consisted of a 120 metre pool swim and a 1,500 metre run around the playing fields next to the Leisure Centre; with Hugo finishing 7th overall in his Age Group.
Results:
TriStars 1. (Ages 9-10).
7. Hugo Flikweert .... 2:29 .... 7:22 ..= 9:51.
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6 PACTRACers competed at Box End, near Bedford. The triathlon took place over the Standard Distance of:
swim 1,500 metres - 2 laps in the main lake at 15.9 degrees.
bike 25 miles - 1 lap around the local roads, some fast main roads and other back roads with plenty of pot holes to look out for.
run 6.3 miles - 2 laps on freshly cut grass.
The event was a Qualifier for the World Standard Distance Championships to be held in Malaga next year; and for the 2nd weekend on the trot, Adam Clark came to the fore finishing 5th overall in the race and 2nd in his Age Group. Adam is improving with every race and to finish 5th overall in a major national race represents another step forward.
Adam said: "Malaga 2024 here we come! Finally a swim which showed my potential, coming out of the water in 6th.
On the bike, I worked hard but the super strong cyclists showed me I've still got work to do there, dropping down to 10th. I had a great and patient run on a tricky off-road course to pick off some guys in front to finish 5th overall."
Adam is now looking to recover ahead of the European Sprint Championships in Madrid in the first weekend of June.
Clubmate Bill Haslam competed in the Aquabike, an event over the same swim and bike course but with no run involved; finishing 2nd overall.
Box End Results:
5. Adam Clark ........ 24:11 .... 65:28 .... 40:34 = 2:10:13 Age Group 2nd
57. Simon Guerin .... 25:55 .... 67:42 .... 52:29 ..= 2:26:06 AG 13.
91. Christian Richards .. 29:02 .... 73:38 .... 50:29 ..= 2:33:09 AG 18.
141. Steve Hope ........... 32:09 .... 77:07 .... 53:11 ..= 2:42:27 AG 7.
235. Sarah Haslam ....... 31:12 .... 93:55 .... 67:28 ..= 3:12:35 AG 11.
Aquabike (swim 1500m, bike 25m)
2. Bill Haslam .... 32:39 .... 73:39 ..= 1:46:18 AG 1st.
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Andy Martin and Debbie Montague competed in the Outlaw Half Nottingham held at the National Watersports Centre, Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham, over the distances of:
swim 1.2 miles - 1 lap in the rowing lake.
bike 56 miles on a fast, flat course.
run 13.1 miles on a flat, multi-lap, mostly tarmac course.
This was Debbie's first half distance triathlon.
Debbie said: "Suffice to say I'm extremely chuffed with myself and when I saw the swim course yesterday I really thought I wasn't going to get round. It wasn't my best swim as I was so nervous and it took me a while to get going; and also the run to transition was longer than I would have liked, due to fingers playing up from the cold. But both the bike and run went much better than expected.
I was already really nervous about the swim in particular, so when I saw how far the first buoy was that we had to get to I very nearly said "I quit" there and then!! But I registered still and set myself the goal of just getting in and getting to the first smaller marker buoy. Anything else was going to be a bonus.
I haven't been in open water much this year and when I have been in, it hasn't gone particularly well. Plus it was a time trial start, off of a pontoon, so no easing yourself in gently off a ramp or getting in the water beforehand to get used to it. I struggled for a while to get settled and going, but before I knew it, I was past the first smaller marker buoy, in a rhythm and actually enjoying it. A few bumps from other people but all good. My hands started to get cold by the first large buoy, but I kept going and before I knew it, the exit ramp was there. To say I was happy to have done the swim was an understatement. I cheered so much you would have thought I'd won the whole race.
Next I had the long trek to my bike, over a quarter of a mile and wetsuit off, which was tricky due to my fingers being very numb. But I did it and was soon flying around the bike course . It was cold to start, but soon warmed up, and I saw and heard Andy shout out to me on his way to do the second loop.
Again I was nervous and worried about the one real hill. But I gritted my teeth and got on with it. The hill was steep and hard work. Some had got off and were pushing their bikes up. I felt so happy to have just got past it and I could then relax and enjoy it more. I almost came off at one point, but managed to save it.
Back into transition, running shoes on and Andy was just running past and at this point I knew I had it in the bag. Running is my strong point, even after the swim and bike. The course was around the rowing lake with a couple of extra bits added on, very hot and with the wind in your face on one side of the lake. But I felt amazingly strong and surprised myself by putting in a time that I would be happy with for just doing a half marathon on its own (2 hours 8 minutes). I finished it and in one piece.
I'd been so scared, nervous and anxious before race day and really felt like quitting before the start. Next up is the full Ironman, double the distance, in Italy in just 15 weeks time.
The swim went better than expected. I was so nervous that I almost didn't do it at all. Absolutely chuffed to bits with the bike. It was not only quicker than expected, but I also didn't walk up the hill, which I thought I might have to. I felt surprisingly comfortable out there on the run, and ended up being a lot quicker than expected."
Both Andy and Debbie had great races and picked up places on the run.
Results:
474. Andy Martin ........... 41:23 .... 3:02:16 .... 1:40:26 ..= 5:24:05 Age Group 59.
1416. Debbie Montague .. 60:15 .... 4:00:49 .... 2:09:14 ..= 7:10:18 AG 43.
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The first of the 3-series sprint triathlons took place at Sywell Country Park, near Northampton, on Sunday.
Swim 750m - 1 lap in the lake.
Bike 12.5 miles - 2 undulating laps on the surrounding country lanes.
Run 3 miles around the lake.
Rhys Wilkinson was amongst the leaders out of the water and won his Age Group with 7th place overall; whilst Rob Head competed in his first triathlon of the year, finishing 4th in his Age Group.
Results:
7. Rhys Wilkinson .... 14:54 .... 30:39 .... 17:52 ..= 63:25 AG 1st.
33. Rob Head ............ 18:49 .... 33:25 .... 24:44 ..= 1:16:58 AG 4.
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PAUL, LOUISE, ADAM and SUSIE ALL QUALIFY, WITH PAUL AND HUGO WINNING THEIR RACES.
Paul Lunn, Jon Crowley and Louise Hathaway competed in the 70.3 Half-Ironman triathlon in Alcudia, Majorca at the weekend. This was Paul's 12th time competing in this race, and his first race since winning the World 70.3 Championships in St.George, Utah, last October. After surgery on a torn cartilage,
Paul has been back training for 8-weeks.
The event was held over the distances of:
Swim 1.2 miles in the sea at Alcudia Bay – out and back in a rectangular loop.
Bike 56 miles - 1 lap taking in the climb up to Lluc.
Run 13.1 miles - 3 laps on a flat course around the coast line and bay.
Paul Lunn had a superb result, finishing 14th overall from a field of 2,509 Age Group athletes. Paul took the lead on the bike, coming into the second transition 2:11 clear of his nearest rival. He then stormed through the half-marathon run in 1:21:30 to win his Age Group by over 15 minutes. Paul's run time was less than 2-minutes away from last years split time in spite of his troubled start to the season.
This was Paul’s 10th top-3 placing in this event in the 12 times that he has competed. It is also his 6th Age Group win in a race that he has finished in every year since 2011, although no event took place in 2020.
In his first triathlon of the season, he has started in great shape. Paul is the current World AND European Champion in his 50-54 year Age Group over the 70.3 distance and will be looking to retain his crowns later in the year, in Finland and Estonia respectively.
Louise Hathaway had a great race in Alcudia, starting with a solid swim, gaining some places on the bike and consolidating on the run to also qualify for the 70.3 World Championships in Finland. Louise exceeded her time from last year by nearly 15-minutes, chipping away in all 3-disciplines. This will be her 2nd World 70.3 Championships after competing in St.George, Utah with Paul last October.
Jon Crowley was delighted to complete his 4th 70.3 Ironman Mallorca. After 18 months of injury and setbacks, he finally completed an event with no issues or pain, saying "It’s been a long road to recovery".
Conditions were testing, with a choppy sea and windy bike section; but the cooler
run played to Jon's strengths. Overall he had a quicker time than last year, largely down to bettering his half marathon time by 11:18.
Results:
14. Paul Lunn .............. 30:26 .... 2:34:10 .... 1:21:30 ..= 4:26:06 Age Group 1st.
812. Jon Crowley ......... 35:01 .... 3:15:35 .... 1:47:27 ..= 5:38:03 AG 86.
890. Louise Hathaway .. 35:20 .... 3:14:25 .... 1:52:22 ..= 5:42:07 AG 17.
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Adam Clark and Susie Freeman both qualified for next years European Sprint
Triathlon Championships with great performances at the Eton Sprint at Dorney
Lake. With 4 places up for grabs in each 5-year Age Group, in this first qualifying race, both PACTRAC
members qualified in 3rd place, competing against the best Age Group athletes in the country.
After a great swim, Adam moved up the field in each discipline, and moved up the field to qualify with the 16th fastest run overall.
Distances:
swim 750 metres - 1 lap in the 15 degree waters of Dorney Lake.
bike 13 miles - 4 laps around the lake perimetre.
run 3.2 miles - out and back along the tarmacked path.
Results:
22. Adam Clark ........... 11:44 .... 34:47 .... 17:56 ..= 64:27
140. Rhys Wilkinson .... 12:58 .... 40:11 .... 18:52 ..= 72:01
205. Susie Freeman ..... 12:37 .... 40:37 .... 23:02 ..= 76:16
248. Steve Hope ........... 14:47 .... 39:56 .... 24:05 ..= 78:48
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On Sunday over 1,000 7-13 year old's from local schools competed in teams of four completing relays of swimming, cycling and running whilst raising money for Restless Development and local charities.
The Oundle School Kight Frank Schools Triathlon was the second Annual event following on from the successful edition last year, with 259 school teams competing over age related distances, an increase of 52 teams from last year.
Schools were invited to submit teams of 4 with each competitor swimming in turn, then cycling in turn before running in turn. Athletes therefore got a rest between each discipline whilst their team members took over.
PACTRAC's Hugo Flikweert competed in the Ghostbusters team from Laxton Junior School, with 118 teams in the Year 3-4 race. Hugo's team finished 1st overall, bettering their 7th place last year, but more importantly came first from the 15 Laxton Junior School teams, to take the bragging rights by the same 21 seconds as last year. Each Year 3 and 4 team member had to complete a 50m swim, 1,000m bike and a 750m run.
The 4-man "Ninja Ghostbusters" Team also included George Manserg, another PACTRAC Junior who trains with the squad at Stanground. (The other boys were William Carlson and Henry Perkins). The team name is Ninja Ghostbusters. Now in the higher of the 2 ages, the pressure was on, but they performed.
They beat their Laxton classmates, Team Panthers (who came 2nd), despite Henry Perkins losing his shoe in the final straight, picking it up and finishing with one shoe and one sock.
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Jonathan Oakey competed for Ireland in the Africa Triathlon Cup in M'Diq, Morocco, finishing 13th in the Elite Mens race in 1:51:27. Jonathan was 25th out of the water 37 seconds down after the 1500m swim, but the athletes came together by the end of the 25 mile bike section in a large group at the front. Jonathan then held on to 13th place in a tightly fought race, with a rapid 31:55 for the 10km run.
Result:
13. Jonathan Oakey .... 21:13 .... 58:19 .... 31:55 = 1:51:27.
===============================================
PACTRAC held their annual Mid-Distance Triathlon at Oundle over the distances of:
swim 800 metres - 32 lengths of the 25m pool.
bike 20 miles - 2 laps around Glapthorn and the Benefields, with a couple of hills as well as some fast descents.
run 5 miles - around Glapthorn and Cotterstock.
12 athletes started together in the pool, with Adam Clark quickly establishing a lead. Adam was 30-seconds ahead of Simon Guerin after the half-mile swim, with first lady, Susie Freeman, just ahead of Christian Richards 1:45 minutes later. Rob Hammond was 6th at this point, another 45 seconds down. Adam, Simon and Rob came in off the bike in the top 3 positions, but the gap between them had widened, as Adam powered ahead in all 3 disciplines to win by 5:43 minutes. Simon had extended his advantage over Rob on the bike to nearly 5-minutes, but Rob pegged much of this back with a solid run to come home 3rd but by now only 1:35 behind Simon. Christian Richards held on to 4th whilst a storming run from Richard Wright pushed him up to 5th with leading lady, Susie Freeman in 7th.
PACTRAC's popular Wednesday night Mini-Series Triathlons start on Wednesday 24th May and are open to non-members. These are a great way to practice your skills ahead of any open events and take place on 8 consecutive Wednesday nights at Oundle pool with a 1-week break on 21st June. The events on 14th June and 19th July have also been designated as novice-specific races, with relay and 200m swim options. Entry is in advance via pactrac.clubpal.app
Top 3.
1. Adam Clark ...... 10:58 .... 48:46 .... 31:27 ..= 91:11
2. Simon Guerin .... 11:28 .... 50:03 .... 35:23 ..= 96:54
3. Rob Hammond .. 14:02 .... 52:20 .... 32:07 ..= 98:29
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St.Neots Triathlon
Jo Chapman and Chloe Moore competed over different distances at St.Neots on Sunday, with both coming home first in their respective Age Groups. Jo competed over the sprint distance triathlon (750m, 13m, 3m), while Chloe chose the Standard distance Aquathlon with twice the swim and bike distances but no run.
Sprint Triathlon:
39. Jo Chapman .... 19:13 .... 58:15 .... 24:18 ..= 1:41:46 Age Group 1st.
Aquathlon:
12. Chloe Moore .... 38:16 .... 1:55:42 ..= 2:33:58 Age Group 1st.
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Dave Patmore-Hill competed in the 70.3 Venice - Jesolo triathlon in Italy. This was the 28th time that Dave has competed over the half-Ironman distance, with the vast majority being abroad. Dave again produced a sub 5-hour time over the 1.2 mile sea swim, 56-mile flat bike course and 13.1 mile run. He said "That was a tough day for me and not enough training but at least I know where I’m at now".
Result:
703. Dave Patmore-Hill 30:36 .... 2:49:46 .... 1:39:12 ..= 4:59:34 Age Group 39th.
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London Marathon:
PACTRAC's Daniel Fitzjohn completed his 12th London Marathon and after taking a hard fall at mile 3, went on to record a PB of 2:58:51.
Roy Mayhew turned 80 in March, and celebrated with a 5th place male over 80 placing. He was probably the 16th oldest competitor in the race and finished 7th (male and female) from the 16 over 80-year old's competing.
Results:
2760. Daniel Fitzjohn .... 1:27:34 + 1:31:17 = 2:58:51
47239. Roy Mayhew ...... 2:47:46 + 3:50:08 = 6:37:54 Age Group 5th.
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St.Georges Ultra Run at Ferry Meadows:
Rod Hall, PACTRAC and first claim Werrington Joggers, finished the Ultra run at Ferry Meadows with 29.93 miles after completing 9x laps of the 5.3km circuit.
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Sara Pearce is currently in Morocco competing in the 6-stage Marathon des Sables. After the first stage of 22.6 miles on Sunday 23rd, Sara was in 626th position out of 1263 competitors. This gruelling race consists of 6 long stages, running over unrelenting Sahara desert, with heat and sand to contend with.
Stage 1. 626th Sara Pearce ..... 7:05:04.
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Adam Clark WON THE DUSTON TRIATHLON IN NORTHAMPTON OUTRIGHT on Sunday. The 400m swim was organised into groups of 4 every 2-minutes, with Adam starting in the first wave and leading throughout the race to finish first both on the road and overall. Team mate Rhys Wilkinson finished 7th overall, a further 6-minutes behind Adam in this sprint triathlon over the distances of:
swim 400m in the pool.
bike 12.5 miles on country lanes, largely flat and fast, but with one short, sharp climb.
run 3-miles on an undulating circuit with a flat finish.
Adam moved into second position on the bike and had a fast 17:38 minute run to propel himself into the lead.
Results:
1. Adam Clark .............. 56:40 Age Group 1st.
7. Rhys Wilkinson ........ 62:40 AG 3.
56. Wesley Wilkinson .... 81:04 AG 5.
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PACTRAC held their annual Duathlon at Oundle on Sunday with Rob Hammond taking the victory ahead of Tony Birch-James and Michael Samways with Susie Freeman not too far behind as first lady. Rob lead from the start to open his seasons account over the 3-mile run, 9-mile bike and further 3-mile run, in wet wintery conditions, with a chill wind about. {results are not yet in}.
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3 PACTRACers headed to East Leake near Loughborough on Sunday for the first triathlon of the season. This Sprint Distance event included a 400-metre pool swim followed by a 14-mile bike and a 3-mile run, both on tarmac on fast, flat courses. Over 400 competitors entered this season opener, which is now in it’s 20th year.
Adam Clark finished 8th overall and first in his Age Group, whilst Tracy Rookyard and Gill Bates were 18th and 8th respectively in theirs. Last year Adam was 12th overall. On Sunday he had some good Age Group competition which pushed him to 8th overall. Adam had a good swim and was 13th overall going into the bike section. 3 Age Group competitors made slight gains on him on the bike and he started the run 4th in his Age Group. However a fast 3-mile run in 17:48 saw him overtake all 3 ahead of him and he took the Age Group win by just 6-seconds.
Results:
8. Adam Clark .......... 6:30 …. 36:56 …. 17:48 ..= 1:01:14 AG 1st.
359. Tracy Rookyard .. 12:29 …. 65:15 …. 30:51 ..= 1:48:35 AG 18.
366. Gill Bates ……… 14:25 …. 61:29 …. 33:37 ..= 1:49:31 AG 8.
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PACTRAC members have been busy entering a number of early season running races, with Natasha Martin leading the team in 16th place overall in the Oundle 10k; Daniel Fitzjohn the first member home in the Stamford 30k in a time of 2 hours and 8 minutes; and Sara Pearce with a phenomenal effort recording a time of 9:31:56 in the Brecon to Cardiff 43mile Ultra run, followed less than 2-weeks later with a time of 3:36:00 in the Oundle 20 mile run, where Mark Weathersby finished 3rd overall in 2:02:41. Sara's next epic run will be towards the end of April in the Marathon des Sables, an arduous 7-day run across the desert in Morocco. The PACTRAC team finished in 14th place in the local Frostbite running league whilst the Juniors finished in 12th.
Two members, Amy Mellor and Laura Hardy, took part in the World Ice Swimming Championships, in Samoens, France, with Amy taking 2nd in her Age Group for the SILVER MEDAL in the 100m back stroke and just missing out in 4th place in the 250m front crawl. Graeme Abrahams, Jackie Brandon and Matthew Williams have also taken part in Ice swims this year; whilst at the GB Ice Swimming Championships in Cheltenham Amy Mellor took the SILVER MEDAL in her Age Group in the 500m front crawl and the GOLD MEDAL in the 250m front crawl to record PACTRAC's first National Champion of the season.
7 members have just returned from a training camp in Majorca, where Jon Crowley will return to compete in May and Steve Hope in October.
Last weekend PACTRAC held their first club race of the season, the Aquathlon from Oundle pool. 11 members competed for the trophy on a cold morning over the 400m swim and 3.1 mile run. Adam Clark led out of the 400 meter pool swim in 5:33, 33-seconds ahead of Simon Guerin. Nathan Keir and Susie Freeman were just over a minute behind Adam, with just a few seconds before Rob Hammond led Natalie Askew out. Rob moved up from 5th out of the swim to 2nd after the 3.1 mile run, but Adam was able to hold on to his lead, pulling a further 19 seconds away on the run to finish 1:35 ahead of Rob, with Simon in 3rd place, a further 44-seconds behind. Susie was the first lady, extending her lead slightly on the run to come home in 5th place overall, behind Nathan and ahead of Natalie.
Results:
1. Adam Clark ........ 5:33 .... 21:22 .... = 26:55
2. Rob Hammond .. 6:49 .... 21:41 .... = 28:30
3. Simon Guerin .... 6:06 .... 23:08 .... = 29:14
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This Sunday PACTRAC hold their Duathlon from Oundle pool over the distances of run 3.1 miles, bike 9-miles and run 3.1 miles.
3 members compete in the first triathlon of the season at East Leake - Adam Clark, Gill Bates and Tracy Rookyard.
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The next club event will be the Mid-Distance Club Championship Triathlon from Oundle on 7th May, whilst the ever popular Mini-Series will be over 8 Wednesday nights in the summer from 24th May until 19th July with a break on Wednesday 21st June and races 4 and 8 on 14th June and 19th July designated as Novice / Relay races for those looking to get into triathlon in a friendly environment.
The club also hold fortnightly Junior sessions at Stanground, which are currently free for the 2-hour sessions held between 11:00 and 13:00 on alternate Sundays.