The NiceTri Triathlon at Grafham Water on Sunday was a qualifying race for the World Championships in 2020 to be held in Edmonton, Canada.
The lake at Grafham was 12.5 degrees and as a result, the swim was shortened to 1,000m from the advertised 1,500m. Even so 35 competitors failed to finish due to either getting too cold in the water, or later on, too cold on the bike. The beginning of May sees the earliest open water swim events with the water always still cold.
The distances were:
swim 1,000m.
bike 25 miles.
run 6.25 miles.
3 PACTRACers competed, and with only 4 places available in each Age Group from this race, the 3 missed out this time, and will try again later in the season in Leeds and Kent.
Aaron said: " I really missed racing. Their are lots of positives to take into the season; just a little time wasted in transition, messing about with warmer clothing for the bike.".
110. Aaron Godden 18:08 68:59 41:09 = 2:08:17 AG 21.
238. Tom Moorhouse 18:32 73:59 48:20 = 2:20:53 AG 36.
410. Angela Wallis 25:14 88:37 54:32 = 2:48:25 AG 10.
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PACTRAC held the first of their Club Championship Triathlons at Oundle on Monday with 17 competitors competing a chilly and windy morning.
The distances were:
swim 900 yards - 18 lengths of Oundle Pool.
bike 20 miles - 2 laps around Glapthorn and the Benefields including 2-climbs per lap and 2 fast decents.
run 5 miles - one lap around Glapthorn and Cotterstock.
Susie Freeman led out of the water in 13:03 with Charlie Brookes 68 seconds behind, and Steve Hope another 45 seconds behind. At this point Andy Corner was 9th out of the water; but Andy was to have both the fastest bike and run of the day. He took the lead on the bike, after a bit of tooing-and-frowing, getting stronger as the event went on. He then ran well off the bike and soon pulled a 90-second gap on Steve, who held the gap in the second half of the run to come home 94 seconds adrift. Charlie followed in 41 seconds later for a comfortable 3rd. Susie held on to 4th and took an early lead in the ladies club championships.
Results are on https://pactrac.co.uk/events/4226/
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Roger Canham and Giles Cooper competed in the World Long Distance Triathlon Championships, with Roger winning the 55-59 Age Group to become PACTRAC's latest WORLD CHAMPION. Roger follows in the footsteps of Georgina Jennings, whilst both George Prodrick and Wendy Gooding have won European Duathlon titles. Roger finished 56th overall and is the WORLD CHAMPION. He won the European Long Distance Championships in Spain in 2010, but now has a world title to add to his impressive cv which includes qualifying for and competing in 10 Ironman world championships.
He was disappointed to finish 2nd in his Age Group in China, just 3-weeks ago. Roger has a busy season ahead, with no less than 8 big races schedule, all abroad.
The distances were:
swim 1900 metres.
bike 67.5 miles
run 19 miles.
Results:
1. Roger Canham 32:31 3:33:42 2:13:10 = 6:19:23
14. Giles Cooper 35:13 3:51:45 2:37:33 = 7:04:31
In the accompanying World Aquabike Championships (swim 1,900m bike 67.5m) Robin Brookes finished 21st.
21. Robin Brookes 33:14 4:03:40 = 4:36:54
Roger's report is here:
"2019 is the year of 4 championships for me and the campaign starts here, in Pontevedra. The ITU is the world governing body for triathlon and they have a week of world championships across various disciplines culminating in the long distance triathlon at a unique distance. The last time I had competed in this final was 2007 and I had come 26th so there was some room for improvement! There were two changes to the standard long course distance, with water and air temperatures below 14oC the rules mandated the swim distance was cut from 3,000m to 1,900m and in addition, the bike course was cut from 75 miles to 67.5 miles to eliminate some of the technical descents.
The swim was a deep water mass start - great, lots of contact and a real race to the turn buoy and back out the water. Throughout the race I would be toe to toe with my peers, when being passed I would have to dig deeper to remain in contention or when passing I could surge to create a gap and move up through the field. This was going to be way more fun than the rolling start format and the prize was a world crown.
The swim to the turn was up stream and so it was critical to find some fast feet to sit behind and conserve energy. I quickly found myself at the pointy end of the swim and it seemed like I was in the front pack through to the turn but on the way back I seemed to get gapped and lose valuable time on the lead guys. I exited the water and sprinted the 500m to the change tent at T1, ripped off the wetsuit and jumped on the bike. I had finished the swim in 8th spot and had made up a place in transition to now be in 7th but I didn’t know that at the time, it’s just full gas from gun to tape.
The bike course was three laps of a 22.5 mile course that was either up or down, totaling 1500m of climbing with some hairy descents and dead turns. The fastest bike splits would be down to who had the best descending skills and had the nerve to drive the bike hard into every corner, inevitably there were a fair number who lack one or both and ended up on the deck with nasty road rash. I worked hard to keep the power on up the hills and used any aero advantage I could on the long downhill sections, passing a number of my age group to complete the first lap in the top three. I was now in a race, exchanging places with the leaders by burying myself on the uphill sections and on the rivet descending, reaching speeds in excess of 43mph. By the end of the second lap I felt I had created a gap sufficient for them not to see me anymore and therefore I could focus on fueling for the run and getting to the dismount line safely. I was desperate to know my placing, and whether I could be conservative with my run pace, or needed to red line it to catch anyone in front of me.
Quickly through T2, I just locked into a pace that felt comfortable so I could compose myself and keep a strong rhythm. I hadn’t run 19 miles for over 6 months so it was a bit of an unknown quantity pace and endurance wise, but I resolved to focus on the now and just run at or below my target pace of 4:30 minutes/km. At the end of the first lap I saw my wife, but the athlete tracker wasn’t helping with figuring out my race standing. The pace was comfortably ahead of my target so I was less stressed about my position as I knew my run split would probably be the fastest on the day. I kept the fuel going in and maintained my rhythm and by the end of the second lap I was in the lead by five minutes or more. Simply by staying on my pace would be good enough for the win, my mind started to drift to the finish line and the prospect of my first world title. I seemed to float through the next two laps and I before I knew it I was running down the finish chute to take the tape.
It still hasn’t sunk in really, winning gold and being crowned world champion was never in my contemplation when I started out in this sport 17 years ago. I had a plan to try and win a title this year and I was giving it everything but that’s still more of a wish list than a certainty. I couldn’t be more proud and so grateful for all the support I get from family and friends. Chuffed."
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PACTRAC are promoting the first Peterborough Schools Triathlon over various age-related distances on 29th June.
PACTRAC (in partnership with British Triathlon/GO Tri), are organising the inaugural Peterborough Area Schools Triathlon on 29th June 2019 at Stanground Academy – aimed at introducing local school children (ages 7 – 16) to the sport of triathlon, as a means to encourage healthy lifestyles, participation, fun and competition for young people – we’re committed to giving local children the chance to participate in triathlon, in a safe and friendly environment.
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6 PACTRACers ventured over to Alcudia in Majorca for the 70.3 Half-Ironman Triathlon on Saturday.
The distances were:
swim 1.2 miles in the sea.
bike 56 miles - up into the mountains.
run 13.1 miles - laps along the coast.
Paul Lunn, raced in this early season opener for the 9th time and won the SILVER MEDAL in his Age Group. Paul finished in a time of 4:21:14 to take 12th place overall and 2nd in the 45-49 Age Group. He moved up from 3rd to 2nd in the run. This was a big international race and all 6 finished in the top half of the field of 2,877.
Results:
12. Paul Lunn 28:06 2:32:54 1:20:14 = 4:21:14 AG 2nd.
516. Chris Pike 33:10 2:57:45 1:42:09 = 5:13:04 AG 16.
1032. John Crowley 30:59 3:08:43 1:55:00 = 5:34:42 AG 88.
1094. Simon Guerin 28:45 3:03:06 2:05:47 = 5:37:38 AG 200.
1150. Steve Skelhon 30:31 3:07:10 2:02:34 = 5:40:15 AG 49.
1323. Richard Pike 32:31 3:16:47 1:58:07 = 5:47:25 AG 124.
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Charlie Brookes competed in the Grafman at Grafham Water - an early season half-ironman distance triathlon.
The distances were:
swim 1.2 miles - however, due to the extreme fog early on Sunday morning, the swim had to be cancelled, because the rescue craft had limited visibility. At just 13 degrees, the water was pretty cold, so their weren't too many complaints.
bike 57 miles - 1x out and back, with a number of dog-legs. This was a fast bike course, with good road surfaces and only the odd short climb.
run 13.1 miles - out and back, north and south along the edge of the lake, completed twice.
129. Charlie Brookes 2:49:07 1:48:29 = 4:37:36 AG 24. (bike and run splits, as the swim was cancelled).
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Nearly 700 competitors entered the Southport Standard distance triathlon, many hoping to qualify for next year's European Championships. The event was also the Triathlon England National Championships. Held at Southport's Marine Lake, this event has become one of the biggest events in the North West, reaching maximum capacity every year.
Distance's were:
swim 1500m in the lake.
bike 25 miles on closed roads
run 6.25 miles around the Marine Lake on tarmac paths.
Tim Fletcher came 5th overall and 3rd in his Age Group. Tim won the BRONZE MEDAL and also qualified for the 2020 European Championships in Tartu, Estonia. Tim was well up the field after the swim, in 26th position; before moving up to 12th after the bike section; and with the 2nd fastest run of the day, he was able to move into 5th place by the finish. Training at the track under the guidance of Sean Beard has helped him to consolidate his triathlon running.
Aaron Godden also gave a good account of himself and will try again in the next qualifying race. Aaron said "The things we do to try and get a slot....170 mile drive up to Southport - up at 04:30am - rack bike 06:30am - race at 08:00am for 2 & 1/4 hrs at 90% max heart rate and then drive 170 miles home again, but boy was it fun (well sort of)."
5. Tim Fletcher 21:58 65:19 35:29 = 2:02:46 AG 3rd.
158. Aaron Godden 28:43 71:03 44:22 = 2:24:08 AG 22.
Tim received a SILVER Medal at last years Standard Distance European Championships in Tartu, Estonia. Tim will be competing in this years Standard Distance European Championships in Weert, Netherlands in early June; and has now qualified for the 2020 edition in Tartu.
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2 PACTRACers chose to compete at Eton Dorney in the Eton Sprint Triathlon. Both gave a good account of themselves against some tough competition.
The distances were:
swim 750 metres in Eton Dorney lake.
bike 13.25 miles around the lake perimeter on closed roads.
run 3 miles along the lakeside and back.
50. Mark Weathersby 12:24 34:27 18:24 = 65:15 AG 9.
320. Debs Wright 13:30 39:16 23:55 = 76:41 AG 14.
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Nathan Hyden represented PACTRAC at the Wee Beastie open water triathlon run by Thames Valley Triathletes in Berkshire. This is a junior event for 8-16 year old athletes and is a rather unique open water swim for the junior athletes. The bike and the run are safe within the grounds of Beale Park in the Berkshire countryside.
This was Nathan's first race in the Tristar 2 category. "He started with a good swim in very murky lake waters, had a great T1 (getting the wetsuit off very quickly) and well paced cycle, good T2 but sadly got a stitch in lap 2 of 3 on the run, slowing him to walking pace for a lap but he managed to soldier through and ran the last lap at full pace. He still achieved a respectable 18th place as a youngster in that category and got commended by the marshals for keeping going despite clearly being in a lot of pain."
18. Nathan Hyden 5:34 16:53 12:05 = 34:32.
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The first of 8 PACTRAC Mini-Series Triathlons, takes place this Wednesday 22nd May at Oundle. This one and next weeks on 29th May are both designated as Novice events, which means that the swim will have a 200 yard option as well as the usual 400 yards. The bike (10-miles) and run (3.5 miles) are the same for all events.
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Terry Murphy competed in the Bedford Triathlon at Robinsons Pool in Bedford.
swim - 400m in the pool.
bike 15-miles on country roads.
run 3-miles around the park.
Terry said: "Bedford went okay, 74th out of 133 so not too bad for a 71 year old. 1:33:34 hrs. New run course was a bit tight in places."
74. Terry Murphy 11:10 51:49 30:35 = 1:33:34 AG 1st.
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PACTRAC's Andy Rawlins ventured over to the Slateman Triathlon in north Wales, based around Llanberis .
swim 1,000 metres in Lake Padern surrounded by mountains.
bike 32-miles including up the infamous Pen-y-Pass in the heart of the Snowdonia National Park.
run 7-miles through the slate quarry.
246. Andy Rawlins 22:42 2:04:53 1:10:47 = 3:38:22 AG 68.
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The first of 8 mid-week Mini-Series Triathlons, took place at Oundle pool on Wednesday.
The distances are:
swim 400 yards in Ounle pool - 8 lengths.
bike 10-miles. 1-lap around Glapthorn and the Benefield's.
run 3.5-miles out to Glapthorn and back.
Jonathan Arnold led Neil Tandy out of the water, over half-a-minute clear of Tony Daniels and Susie Freeman.
Jaap Flikweert came out of the water in 8th place, with Aaron Godden in 11th and Scott Lloyd in 15th.
Tony soon took the lead on the bike and came in 1:33 minutes ahead of Jaap, with Aaron just 7 seconds further behind. The two leading ladies, Christina Cork and Susie came in close together, but both Tony and Christina pulled out on the run with calf problems. Aaron overtook Jaap to take his first ever Mini-Series win, holding off the fast-approaching Scott by just 21-seconds at the finish, with Jaap in 3rd position; and Susie holding on to take 1st lady.
Aaron needed to beat his previous best time of 56:08 to secure the victory, with Scott having the fastest run on the night. Scott had his best run to date, but just ran out of road in the end; leaving Aaron very pleased with his 2nd triathlon in 4 days.
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The 2nd Mini-Series Triathlon took place at Oundle last Wednesday.
The course and distances were as usual:
swim 400 yards in Oundle Pool.
bike 10 miles around Glapthorn and the Benefields. A sporting course, with 2 good accents and 2 good descents.
run 3.5 miles, out to Glapthorn and back.
Paul Lunn competed in his first mini-series triathlon for 5-years and knocked 11-seconds off of his previous best time. It was a very wet evening, and with this being his last event before flying out to Cairns to compete in the Ironman Triathlon 11 days later, he took no chances on the tricky, winding course.
He came out of the water with Susie Freeman, but soon powered his way around the bike course to take a commanding lead into the run. He eventually finished over 6 1/2 minutes ahead of Aaron Godden who had a very consistent race. Their were only 14 competitors on a very wet night, and only 2 went under the hour. Steve Cook came home in 3rd, whilst Susie finished first lady.
Results are on https://pactrac.co.uk/events/4219/
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Roger Canham won the World Challenge Championship in Samorin at the weekend. Challenge are a rival company to Ironman, but use the same distances of either full or half-ironman. Their world championships are held each year in Samorin, Slovakia in June over the half-ironman distance.
What's better than one Championship win? Two Championship wins! Fresh from winning the World Long Course Championships in Spain last month, PACTRAC's Roger Canham took the Age Group win at the Challenge Championships at Samorin, Slovakia.
Once again Roger dominated the field, using his strength on the bike to stamp his authority, demonstrating what happens when you combine focused work with attention to detail.
The distances were:
swim 1900 metres.
bike 56 miles.
run 13.1 miles.
Temperature 26oF
Roger finished 71st overall and came first in the 55-59 year Age Group. He won the GOLD MEDAL and is the CHALLENGE WORLD CHAMPION.
Roger reported:
"The second stop in my championship campaign was Samorin, Slovakia. Back in December I had shoe-horned the race in Daytona into my calendar in order to win my slot to compete in the Challenge Championship, the world champs for that race series. My back has been pretty sore since October and the right thing to do was rest up and let it heal but with the packed diary of exciting events, I had pushed through to Pontevedra. Since then I hadn’t run in order to help the back ease a little but there was no real improvement. Right through to the morning of the race I was deeply conflicted as to whether to race or just stand on the side lines and watch. In the end I resolved to swim/bike and pull the pin on the run if it got too painful.
Up until an hour before the race start the organisers were still uncertain if the swim would be cancelled due to unseasonably strong currents and cold temperatures in the Danube. The day prior to the race the water was between 12 and 14oC and it needed to be over 14oC to be safe for the full distance swim. Race morning it was 14.4oC so it was game on. The first wave of age group athletes launched themselves forwards as the gun went but about a third found themselves making no forward progress as they wrestled with the current, it was going to be a long swim! I decided to take a very conservative position on the start line and sit behind the front group in order to mitigate the effects of the current. After 500m the river bank gave us some protection from the current and I moved past a few athletes and much to my surprise found myself pretty much at the front. I didn’t know at the time, but I exited the water at the front of the age group, the first time ever I have led out the water.
It was a long run from the river to T1 and onto the bike then 1 1/4 miles through the village and onto the main part of the course. It was a very straightforward flat 56-mile loop alongside the Danube and offered the possibility of a very fast bike split. I was excited to try and lay down a really fast time and build on the gains I had made on the bike this year with a goal of exceeding 25mph and going under 2:15hours. The winds were stronger than predicted and the temperature steadily climbed, but I stuck to the task and just kept pushing right through to the dismount line, just scraping under my target. I was thrilled to have hit my goal but then entered T2 with some trepidation as the run was looming and with an evaporating run fitness and unhappy back it could all come to a grinding halt very quickly. I racked my bike and saw a bike in my age group already there, it must have been someone who had pulled out, but you never know. It later transpired he had been fished out the water after 15 minutes, not strong enough to cope with the conditions. I set off on the run and decided to run until my back became too sore but keeping a very conservative pace so I had a chance of completing the event if it held up.
I targeted 4:30 min/km for the first lap and that seemed ok although it was getting hotter and my heart rate was soaring. With two laps to go, my support confirmed I had a lead of 9 minutes off the bike, enough of a buffer to run 5:00 min/km and still make it across the line in first place. What I deliberately wasn't told was that the guy in second was running 4:15s and closing in on me. I kept my cadence high to help stave off the potential cramping and eating and drinking to ensure I had the fuel to keep going. I continued to propel myself to the line and the prospect of a second championship win. What a feeling to cross the line in first place and get the double, beyond words. The next guy had come in just 3 minutes behind me and had run a blistering pace, something I would be envious of even at my best, he just ran out of real estate!
I have still not really taken it in but I do have to now take some time off training and racing to get the back properly fixed so I can race again either this year or next. I am seeing an army of specialists this month and I have promised a few people I will do what I am told, even if that means an extended period of time off. I love the sport too much to jeopardise all the great years of training and racing ahead and I have had an incredible year. I’m a lucky guy."
71. Roger Canham 33:19 2:22:04 1:34:30 = 4:29:53 AG 1st GOLD MEDAL.
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Jonathan Oakey came 2nd in the Elite Junior Triathlon at Blenheim Palace. This is part of the national Junior Super-Series and gives Jonathan some valuable points. He is in his 3rd year of training and competing with the National Junior Squad at the Leeds Triathlon Academy.
Jonathan was in the lead group of two for the whole of the bike section; they came into T2 over a minute ahead of the chasing pack; and Jonathan still had the third fastest run of the day.
Jemmima Gee made a comeback in her first triathlon for 5-years.
Distances were:
swim 750 metres in the lake.
bike 12.5 miles on closed roads.
run 3.5 miles.
2. Jonathan Oakey 9:12 32:41 19:15 = 1:01:08
2904. Jemima Gee 20:58 56:25 36:27 = 1:53:50 AG 79.
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The European Standard Distance Triathlon Championships took place in Weert, Netherlands at the weekend; with 5 PACTRACers having qualified to compete for GB.
The distances were
Swim 1500m (1 lap).
Bike 25-miles - 2 laps.
Run 6.25-miles - 4 laps.
Water temperature: 18ºC. Air temperature 18ºC.
Athletes compete in 5-year Age Groups and PACTRAC's Tim Fletcher had the best Age Group result, finishing in 5th place. Tim won the Silver medal last year, but had to settle for 5th place in Weert, although just 2:12 minutes behind the winner. Tim was a couple of minutes down after the 1500 metre swim, but he had the fastest bike leg of all to pull himself up to 4th place. Even with the 4th fastest run of the day, he moved down 1 place to 5th overall, just 17 seconds behind 3rd. He started the run 15-seconds behind 4th place, and gained 11 seconds back, but ran out of road.
5. Tim Fletcher 40-44............24:40 59:49 37:32 = 2:02:01
16. Mark Weathersby 35-39....27:05 64:06 40:37 = 2:11:48
24. Angela Wallis 55-59........37:06 80:14 54:36 = 2:51:56
35. Simon Guerin 40-44........25:58 68:42 51:35 = 2:26:15
45. John Crowley 50-54.........27:44 67:07 48:09 = 2:23:00
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Nathan Haydn represented PACTRAC at the Tri Henley Open Water Triathlon - opting for trying a no wetsuit event as the Thames was a balmy 18oC.
TriStar 2 (11-12 year olds).
38. Nathan Haydn 6:17 16:56 11:35 = 34:48.