The Super-Series final took place at Mallory Park for the top Juniors in the country.
Tom Hughes went into this having competed in all of the previous 5 rounds, and currently lying in 28th place.
The format for the final was a Duathlon covering a 1.4 mile run, 15-mile bike and a further 3.1-mile run.
Tom was in heat 2 and was 13th after the first run. He then had the 7th fastest bike split of his heat to move up to 10th place for the start of the second run. Tom put a lot of effort into trying to catch the group in front, which had itself fragmented; working in a small group or on his own. The effort took it's toll and Tom settled for 11th place with a 17:32 minute final 3.1-mile run.
Over the two heats Tom was 25th, to consolidate his position in the series amongst the best juniors in the country.
25. Tom Hughes .... 7:26 .... 33:44 .... 17:32 ..= 58:42.
================
The Inter-Regional Championships also took place at the same Mallory Park venue, for 11-14 year old's. Each region had 4 representatives with Ophelia Goodale taking one of the four slots for the East Midlands Region in the 11-12 year category. The event was run as a Duathlon (run,bike,run).
Ophelia came 2nd overall in her heat to go into the final where she finished 6th overall.
In the heat, Ophelia took a very slim lead on the bike, and a well-matched run saw her come home 2nd by just 2-seconds.
Inspite of an 8-second overall improvement in the final, Ophelia finished 6th in a tightly fought race to cement her place as one of the top 11-12 year old's in the country.
Heat:
2. Ophelia Goodale .... 1:54 .... 6:52 .... 3:09 ..= 11:55.
Final:
6. Ophelia Goodale .... 1:54 .... 6:47 .... 3:06 ..= 11:47.
In the accompanying Junior Duathlon, Phoebe Goodale finished 47th overall and 9th in the Youth B Categary.
47. Phoebe Goodale .... 9:09 .... 42:30 .... 21:10 ..= 72:49 AG 9th.
=================
Jake Siddons won the Bedford Sprint Triathlon outright by over 5-minutes. The GB athlete was in joint first place after the 750 metre river swim, and with some great transitions and both the fastest bike and run sections of the day, he romped home a convincing winner.
1. Jake Siddons .... 12:34 .... 45:40 .... 18:07 ..= 76:21.
(Photo is of Jake Siddons).
------------------
The prestigious Ironman Leeds was affected by unacceptable levels of blue-green algae in the lake at Roundhay, which were significantly above the threshold for safely proceeding with the swim.
With the swim portion having to be cancelled, the event thus became a bike,run but still over the same arduous course covering 112 miles on the bike followed by a full 26.2 mile marathon run.
Of the 2,500 athletes who had entered, many decided not to compete with just under 1,000 finishing. PACTRAC's Jacob Richardson and David Edis were amongst those who completed the new format and both have vowed to be back next year.
This was the second big event to be affected after the Ironman distance Outlaw Triathlon at Nottingham was similarly affected last month.
645. Jacob Richardson .... 7:18:07 .... 4:43:46 ..= 12:01:53 AG 74.
862. David Edis ................ 7:20:41 .... 5:35:51 ..= 12:56:32 AG 69.
-----------------
Ophelia Goodale and Byron Stother again took to the Podium at the Darley Moor Junior Duathlon (run, bike, run).
Ophelia won her event by 8-seconds, having taken a 7-second lead on the first run and holding onto her advantage by never more than 9-seconds.
Byron Stother had the fastest two runs but was caught on the bike and although he was gaining time back, ran out of time on the short 2nd run, to finish in 2nd place.
TriStar 1:
2. Byron Stother .... 4:27 .... 8:54 .... 1:27 ..= 14:48.
TriStar 2:
Ophelia Goodale .... 5:53 .... 9:27 .... 2:12 ..= 17:32.
TriStar 3:
11. Hugo Flikweert .... 7:48 .... 15:11 .... 2:52 ..= 25:51.
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Two PACTRACers took part in a relay swim across the English Channel to France in a team of 4.
Adam Clark and Sophie Robotham joined up with 2 other local swimmers, Heather Watts and Darren Thoirs to form Team DASH
Following two years of training they set off from Dover at midnight in the pitch black, and landed on the shore by Cap Gris-Nez 12 hours and 5 minutes later. Good weather followed them, although "an incredibly high and strong tide" made the going tough at times.
====================
The PACTRAC Juniors were out in force at the Oundle Triathlon at the weekend, with Ophelia Goodale and Byron Stother both appearing on the podium. 329 Juniors finished over the 5 races, all aged between 8 and 15.
TS1
Byron Stother was 30-seconds behind after the initial swim section, but made inroads on both the bike and run and moved into 2nd place in a sprint finish for the line, that left him just 11-seconds behind his Age Group winner.
James Lloyd came in just 3 places behind in 5th, in his first ever triathlon; having recorded the fastest run section of the race.
TS2
Ophelia Goodale won her TriStar2 category, with her main adversary never more than 3-seconds away, in a neck-and-neck battle, until Ophelia's superb bike-to-run transition put her on the way to victory, which she achieved by a 12-second margin.
TriStart:
17. Erica Fordham .... 2:24 .... 7:11 .... 3:55 ..= 13:30
TriStar1.
2. Byron Stother ..... 3:26 .... 7:07 .... 4:50 ..= 15:23
5. James Lloyd ....... 3:51 .... 7:28 .... 4:49 ..= 16:08
43. Joe Wild ............ 4:02 ... 10:20 .... 6:41 ..= 21:03
TriStart2.
1. Ophelia Goodale .... 3:22 .... 10:12 .... 7:05 ..= 20:39
13. Max Beckett .......... 4:31 .... 12:07 .... 6:55 ..= 23:33
41. Finlay Wild ............ 4:12 .... 14:23 .... 9:06 ..= 27:41
TriStart3.
24. Hugo Flikweert .......... 5:20 .... 15:50 .... 10:21 ..= 31:31
50. Ruby-May Cranfield .. 5:21 .... 17:39 .... 14:54 ..= 37:54
Youth.
6. Monty Wood-Davis .... 6:31 .... 17:36 .... 11:22 ..= 35:29
7 more PACTRACers competed in the senior races in the afternoon, with 5 winning their respective Age Groups. Jack Shipton won the Super-Sprint outright, whilst Verity Miles was 2nd overall in the Aquabike. Phoebe Goodale continued her progression in the senior ranks with a great 8th place overall in the Sprint Triathlon.
Phoebe was 5th out of the water, lost a few places on the bike, and with the 5th fastest run moved back up to 8th overall in her first season competing amongst the seniors; having previously had a successful time in the juniors.
Others to win their Age Group were Alex Moran in his 2nd ever triathlon, and Steph Fordham.
Verity Miles won her Age Group whilst coming 2nd overall in the Aquabike, whilst star of the show went to Jack Shipton who won the accompanying Super-Sprint Triathlon outright.
Jack was 5th out of the water, with a clear lead over his main rival. He lost a few seconds in transition but still set off on the bike 40-seconds ahead of his rival; in hot pursuit of the 4 bikers ahead. Jack took the lead on the bike, but now only had a 2-second advantage overall; which quickly evaporated in transition and he set off once again in pursuit, now 9-seconds down. However, Jack's superior running soon came to the fore and he regained the lead; extending it to 71-seconds at the tape, to add to his growing collection of medals.
Sprint Triathlon:
8. Phoebe Goodale ... 10:05 .... 50:10 .... 18:41 ..= 78:56 AG 1
20. Harriet Lomas ........ 11:52 .... 50:48 .... 23:17 ..= 85:57 AG 3
40. Steve Hope ............ 14:30 .... 54:56 .... 22:45 ..= 92:11 AG 2.
51. Steph Fordham ...... 11:36 .... 59:28 .... 23:14 ..= 94:18 AG 1
Super-Sprint Triathlon:
1. Jack Shipton ..... 7:51 .... 25:44 .... 9:24 ..= 42:59 AG 1
11. Alex Moran .... .. 8:06 .... 32:10 .. 11:13 ..= 51:29 AG 1
Aquabike:
2. Verity Miles .... 12:37 .... 50:56 ..= 63:33 AG 1.
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Chris Northern finished 24th in the Brecon Trail 15 mile running event. Chris said: "I ran my own race, as this one was always going to be a tough slog. I pushed where I could to finish 24th from 410 runners".
Next on Chris's Ultra-running agenda is the 31-mile mountain ultra in Austria in October.
24. Chris Northern .... 2:16:04.
=================
5 PACTRACers took part in the various events at St.Neots with Rachel Baker, Harriet Lomas and Verity Miles all winning their respective Age Groups.
Half Ironman Distance:
71. Mike King .... 37:59 .... 2:57:27 .... 2:15:13 ..= 5:50:39 AG 11.
Half Ironman Aquabike (swim, bike):
24. Verity Miles .... 41:08 .... 3:40:58 ..= 4:22:06 AG 1.
Standard Distance:
11. Rachel Baker .... 25:16 .... 1:22:25 .... 43:14 ..= 2:30:55 AG 1.
Sprint:
25. Harriet Lomas .... 15:13 .... 51:49 .... 25:47 ...= 1:32:49 AG 1
44. Stuart Neal ......... 15:58 .... 51:40 .... 32:00 ..= 1:39:38 AG 5.
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Ex-PACTRACer, Jonathan Oakey, now racing on the Elite circuit, won a Bronze medal in the Irish National Sprint Triathlon Championships in 57:32.
Jonathan led out of the 750-metre swim with a clear 9-second gap to the next competitor, with only 3 athletes within 30-seconds of him. Jonathan then worked with the second placed athlete on the bike and they came in together just over 20-seconds ahead of the next athlete. By now, these were the only 3-athletes in contention and Jonathan had a good 17:08 minute 3.1 mile run but had to settle for third spot and a BRONZE MEDAL.
3. Jonathan Oakey .... 9:40 .... 30:43 .... 17:08 ..= 57:31.
-------------------
Katie Tasker finished 56th and 2nd lady overall in the Standard Distance London Triathlon. With over 1,500 athletes competing, including 455 ladies, Katie won her Age Group convincingly.
56. Katie Tasker .... 23:58 .... 69:36 .... 46:48 ..= 2:25:17 AG 1st.
===========================
3 PACTRACers competed at Mallory Park on Saturday with all 3 qualifying for next year's European Championships in Kitzbuhel, Austria. They join Jake Siddons who had previously qualified at Ripon in July.
The Motor Racing Track has a large lake in the middle, big enough for the 750-metre swim. With the European Sprint Championships being draft-legal on the bike, the 3 qualifying races tend to be the same. As such Mallory Park is a perfect venue, which saw cyclists racing directly against one another and forming groups over the 10-lap bike section.
The run again used the tarmac on the circuit with runners running out-and-back 4 times, and seeing their competitor's each time.
This was the 3rd and final qualifying race and all 3 PACTRACers were relying on this as their only chance. Sophie Robotham had her usual fast swim and came out of the lake 2nd in her Age Group - a position that she held throughout the race. Sophie will be looking to improve on her 4th place at this year's European Championships (held in Tarragona, Spain, in June).
Simon Hoppe took the 4th of 4 places on offer and after another good swim, he moved up on the bike and finished with a 3.1 mile run in 21:50 minutes. Simon has represented Team GB over 30-times and will be looking to at least match his 3x 3rd places to date.
Steve Hope finished 5th at Mallory Park, 39-seconds behind 4th place and an automatic qualification. After a good swim and bike, Steve started the run in 3rd but was caught and overtaken by 2 athletes in his Age Group. With the next athlete closing the gap but still 36-seconds behind, Steve took one of the 4 Rolldown places based on times over the 3-event series.
62. Simon Hoppe ............ 12:16 .... 33:56 .... 21:50 ..= 68:02
114. Sophie Robotham .... 12:39 .... 38:16 .... 22:11 ..= 73:06
147. Steve Hope .............. 15:07 .... 37:56 .... 23:59 ..= 77:02
-----------------------
11 PACTRAC swimmers took part in the various swims at Rutland Water; 8 of them in the 2.5-mile event, where Julia Kingsley led the team in 20th place overall, winning her Age Group in a time of 1:11:33.
===========================
38 athletes were on the start line for the 8th and final PACTRAC Mini-Series Triathlon of this season.
New member, Freddie Harrow, led Julia Kingsley out of the pool by 6-seconds, with Jake Siddons a further 6-seconds back, closely followed by Sophie Robotham.
Jake soon established a lead on the bike with Simon Hoppe moving up to 2nd, 77-seconds behind. Rachel Baker, 7th out of the swim, moved up to 3rd, just 12-seconds further back; but with Chris Elder right on her wheel. Graeme Kane and Chris Brennan were soon to come in, off the bike, with 2nd lady, Sophie Robotham keen to give Rachel a run for her money, not far behind.
Jake moved ahead with the fastest run of the night to finally win his first ever Mini-Series race; whilst Rachel had too big a lead over Chris, who was closing the gap, but had to settle for 3rd, still 46-seconds adrift; whilst Graeme just caught Simon on the line, in a sprint for 4th place.
Sophie came home as 2nd lady to clinch the Ladies Mini-Series Trophy ahead of Harriet Lomas in 3rd.
Jake Daniels had already been confirmed as the Men's Mini-Series winner, whilst Chris Brennan moved up one place on the night to 2nd; and Jake Siddons added to his points tally to join Max Daniels on 3rd equal.
From the 8 events in the series, 6 different winners emerged with both Richard Moys and Paul Lunn winning two apiece. The top-3 places in each of the 8-events were taken by just 11 athletes; with 5 athletes breaking the 50-minute barrier, including Paul Lunn with 46:41 and Henry Jarvis with 47:11. The smallest winning margin was 32-seconds by Phil Groves over Jake Siddons in race number 6. The Jake's, Daniels and Siddons, both appeared in the top-3 on 4 occasions, with the Mini-Series Trophy going to Jake Daniels.
Jake Siddons ...... 5:51 .... 23:17 .... 18:33 ..= 47:41
Rachel Baker ...... 6:24 .... 24:13 .... 20:54 ..= 51:31
Chris Brennan .... 7:18 .... 24:33 .... 20:26 ..= 52:17
Graeme Kane ..... 6:29 .... 25:21 .... 20:58 ..= 52:48
Simon Hoppe ...... 6:31 .... 23:54 .... 22:31 ..= 52:56
Chris Elder .......... 6:41 .... 23:58 .... 23:03 ..= 53:42
---------------------
Simon Hoppe finished 6th in his Age Group at the Eton Sprint Triathlon.
With the first 4 automatically qualifying for the GB team for next year's World Championships in Hamburg, Simon was just 14-seconds behind in a closely fought contest. Having already beaten the 5th competitor at a previous race in Nottingham, Simon is first in line for one of the remaining 8-places to be allocated at the end of the season.
David Blackett in his first race for the club, finished 3rd in his Age Group in the accompanying Standard Distance Triathlon.
Sprint:
123. Simon Hoppe .... 13:14 .... 33:01 .... 21:54 ..= 68:09 AG 6.
Standard Distance:
148. David Blackett .... 41:22 .... 80:09 .... 58:56 ..= 3:00:27 AG 3.
----------------
Due to problems with blue-green algae, the Outlaw Triathlon at Holme Pierrepoint in Nottingham replaced the initial swim with a 3.8 mile run. This spread the athletes out before the 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run.
Paul Lunn finished 18th overall from nearly 600 competitors and took a commanding lead on the bike in his Age Group; only to be nearly brought back on the final 26.2 mile marathon run. Paul held on to take the Age Group win by 75-seconds with third place 30-minutes behind.
18. Paul Lunn ..... 26:26 .... 4:53:01 .... 3:52:27 ...= 9:11:54 AG 1.
245 Jack Shipton .. 32:07 .... 6:35:59 .... 5:06:44 ..= 12:14:50 AG 11.
=========
7 PACTRACers were in action at the local Belvoir Castle Multi-Sport festival; with the Goodale sisters again winning their respective races outright.
Phoebe competed in the Super-Sprint Triathlon and took an early lead in the swim, held her own on the bike and helped with some fast transitions, pulled further ahead on the run to win by 3:40 minutes.
Ophelia was 2nd out of the water, but with a fast transition she was first out on the bike and took a good lead going into the run to take the win in the TriStar2 event.
Byron Stother came 3rd in the TriStar1 event, missing out on 2nd place due to a technical difficulty with his wetsuit.
In the senior events, Phil Groves (Middle-Distance) and Darren Coley (SprintPlus) both finished 11th overall and 4th in their respective Age Groups.
Amy Mellor came 4th overall in the 5km swim, choosing not to wear a wetsuit for the event which covered 10-laps of the lake.
Super-Sprint:
Phoebe Goodale .... 6:53 .... 45:03 .... 17:02 ..= 68:58 AG 1
TriStar 1:
3. Byron Stother .... 5:07 .... 18:41 .... 4:43 ..= 28:31 AG 3.
TriStar 2:
Ophelia Goodale .... 5:13 .... 15:13 .... 8:17 ..= 28:43 AG 1.
TriStar 3:
6. Hugo Flikweert .... 7:36 .... 27:44 .... 12:36 ..= 47:56 AG 6.
Sprint Plus:
11. Darren Coley .... 16:02 .... 94:42 .... 47:51 ..= 2:38:35 AG 4.
Middle-Distance:
11. Phil Groves .... 44:37 .... 2:53:02 .... 1:37:24 ..= 5:15:03 AG 4.
5km swim:
4. Amy Mellor .... 86:42
In only his second ever triathlon, Max Beckett competed in the nearby Belvoir Tri Club Triathlon at Grantham, in the TriStar2 category, and won this Age Group by 25 seconds.
1. Max Beckett .... 14:02.
---------------------
No Mini-Series took place last week with the final (8th) event being postponed by one week until this Wednesday 22nd July due to the football.
============================
Jake Siddons cemented his qualification for next year's European Championships with a great 12th place overall and 2nd in his Age Group in the Ripon Sprint Triathlon.
The Ripon Triathlon Festival is organised by The Brownlee Foundation in support of providing opportunities to youngsters in sport; and the overall sprint triathlon was won by no other than ... Alistair Brownlee.
Jake's first transition time was actually faster than Alistair's (54 seconds against 60), although Alistair had the faster swim and had left Transition before Jake arrived! Jake had a solid bike section before a phenominal 3.1 mile run which was only 23-seconds slower than Alistair's, saw Jake move up to 12th overall and a qualification place for Kitzbuhel next summer.
12. Jake Siddons .... 11:15 .... 40:47 .... 16:15 ..= 68:17 AG 2nd.
---------------------
Paul Lunn won his Age Group finishing 6th overall, with Sam Chapman 7th, against a big national field at the Outlaw Half in Holkham. Paul, the reigning Half-Ironman World Champion, was first away on the bike and stormed into an unassailable lead, eventually winning his Age Group by over 33-minutes.
6. Paul Lunn ............ 33:26 .... 2:19:29 .... 1:25:40 ..= 4:18:35 AG 1
7. Sam Chapman .... 34:19 .... 2:19:41 .... 1:27:22 ..= 4:21:22 AG 2
186. Chris Pithey ....... 31:18 .... 2:49:55 .... 2:08:00 ..= 5:29:13 AG 36.
672. Andrew Taylor .... 49:46 .... 3:11:47 .... 2:45:13 ..= 6:46:46 AG 43.
Aquabike:
22. Louise Hathaway .... 38:17 .... 2:59:57 ..= 3:38:14 AG 2.
-------
Yvonne Lee won her Age Group in the Box End Sprint Triathlon:
48. Yvonne Lee .... 26:47 .... 63:13 .... 40:20 ..= 2:10:20 AG 1.
---------------
Tom Hughes took part in the latest round of the National Junior Super-Series in Bristol. Tom was in the slower of the two waves, which put him at a disadvantage in the draft-legal format.
Tom was in a group of 6 Juniors who worked well together in the lead group on the bike; and he went on to finish 5th. However, the previous wave had formed a bigger bike group and Tom had to contend with 24th overall.
24. Tom Hughes .... 10:45 .... 29:35 .... 18:26 ..= 58:46.
--------
Roy Mayhew competed in the annual Octogenarian Park Run at Bushy, finishing well up amoungst the 194 octogenarians (over 80's) and just over 2/3 of the way down the entire field of 1,925.
1343. Roy Mayhew .... 35:10.
-----------
Chris Northern completed the Spine Challenger South, a 112 mile Ultra Run along the Pennine way from Edale in the Peak District to Hawdraw in Yorkshire. Chris had to carry a 6kg rucksack and described it as "the hardest challenge so far and glad to get it done".
Chris started well & moved into 3rd spot before knee trouble and a fall slowed his pace and he eventually finished after 40hours in 37th place overall. His next Ultra is a 27.5 mile run in the Berchtesgaden mountains of Austria in October.
----------------------
Paul Lunn won his 2nd Mini-Series of this year in imperious style.
Julia Kingsley established a big lead in the swim, before Paul came out 27 seconds later, just ahead of Monty Wood and Rachel Baker. Steve Skelhon led the chasers 43-seconds later.
Paul soon established the lead on the bike; and with the fastest bike and fastest run of the night, he flew home for the 8th fastest time ever on the revised post-covid course. (Paul holds 7 of the fastest 8 times !).
New member, Rachel Baker, showed true potential, moving into 2nd place very early on the bike coming into T2 20-seconds ahead of Steve, with Chris a further 18-seconds back and closing in. Rachel finished with a 21:14 minute run to extend the gap and take a comfortable 2nd place, over a minute ahead of Chris in 3rd; whilst a superb run from new member, Monty Wood, saw him move up to 4th with a new PB time.
Results:
Paul Lunn ........ 5:57 .... 21:34 .... 19:10 ..= 46:41
Rachel Baker ... 6:02 .... 24:35 .... 21:14 ..= 51:51
Chris Brennan .. 6:58 .... 24:17 .... 21:44 ..= 52:59
Monty Wood ..... 5:59 .... 29:03 .... 20:01 ..= 55:03
----------------------------
With one race to go, Jake Daniels has an unassailable lead and wins this year's Mini-Series Trophy.
2nd and 3rd places are still up for grabs as Max Daniels tries to hold on to 2nd ahead of Chris Brennan in 3rd, but Jake Siddons, Phil Groves and Paul Lunn are all in contention and with a good race in the final event on 22nd July could move ahead.
The final Mini-Series triathlon has been postponed by one week and will now take place on Wednesday 22nd July. (England v Argentina kind of gets in the way!).
For the Ladies, the top 3 places are still all up-for-grabs with Sophie Robotham currently leading ahead of Steph Fordham, Julia Kingsley and Harriet Lomas, but all have a chance of finishing in any of the top positions. All to play for.
=============================
32 athletes took to the start line for the 6th PACTRAC Mini-Series of the summer; with Phil Groves gaining 2 places on the run to take his first win of the season.
Julia Kingsley again led the swimmers out, just ahead of Max Daniels, with Jake Siddons a further 14 seconds back, bringing Adam Clark and Sophie Robotham in his wake. Ellie Piccaver was just 19-seconds behind Sophie with Jake Daniels just behind.
Max soon took the lead on the bike, only to see the two Jakes, first Siddons and then Daniels go by, followed by Phil Groves who exited the pool in 12th place but moved up to 3rd with the fastest bike split of the night. At this point Siddons had a 30-second lead over Daniels with Groves only 8-seconds further back.
Phil Groves also had the fastest run in 19:16, catching Jake Daniels early on the run and moving into the lead ahead of Jake Siddons at the half-way point. This was Phil's 3rd Mini-Series win having taken victories in both 2022 and 2023. He has never been outside of the top-4.
Sophie extended her lead over Ellie on the bike, but Ellie pulled the 42-second deficit back with a rapid 21-minute run to take first place amongst the ladies by a minute. Sophie was consoled with having recorded a Personal Best time, as did both of the Daniels brothers. Jack Shipton recorded his 5th PB from 6 starts, with all 4 having made big strides this season.
Phil Groves became the 5th different winner from the 6 events so far. With just two more Mini-Series to go now, with the last one on Wednesday 15th July: Jake Daniels currently leads Max Daniels in the battle for the overall Trophy, whilst Sophie Robotham takes the lead from Julia Kingsley in the Ladies Competition.
Results:
Phil Groves .......... 6:56 .... 23:33 .... 19:16 ..= 49:45
Jake Siddons ....... 6:01 .... 23:51 .... 20:25 ..= 50:17
Jake Daniels ........ 6:26 .... 23:55 .... 20:28 ..= 50:49
Max Daniels ......... 5:47 .... 25:08 .... 21:28 ..= 52:23
Adam Clark .......... 6:04 .... 25:16 .... 21:04 ..= 52:24
Graeme Kane ...... 6:30 .... 25:25 .... 20:38 ..= 52:33
Chris Brennan ...... 7:01 .... 24:48 .... 20:48 ..= 52:37
Ellie Piccaver ....... 6:23 .... 26:50 .... 21:01 ..= 54:14
Jack Shipton ........ 7:18 .... 26:16 .... 21:08 ..= 54:42
Sophie Robotham .. 6:04 .... 26:27 .... 22:42 ..= 55:13
----------
Steve Hope completed his 15th Ironman-distance triathlon at Challenge Roth in Germany. The 2.4 mile swim took place in the Danube Canal which was a bit choppy and led to Steve nearly pulling out, before recovering ahead of the 112-mile bike leg and full 26.2 mile marathon for a 15th place in his Age Group.
2390. Steve Hope .... 2:07:57 .... 6:55:25 .... 4:27:10 ..= 13:30:32 AG 15.
==============
Tom Hughes continued his exploits in the National Super-Series with a 20th place at Mallory Park. Competing against the best up-and-coming Juniors in the country, Tom finished 12th in his heat. He was 9th out of the lake swim, but just missed out on joining the lead bunch of 7 cyclists in this draft-legal format. Tom joined the second group, (where two cyclists broke away to join the lead group), and with the 8th fastest run, Tom finished 12th in his heat.
The final took place, over a slightly longer distance, on the following day; where Tom was unlucky in the melee in the swim and came out in 21st place, but joined a good group on the bike and finished with a solid run to come home just over a minute down.
12. Tom Hughes .... 5:17 .... 12:12 .... 7:10 ..= 24:39.
20. ..." ........"........... 6:24 .... 15:03 .... 8:29 ..= 29:56.
In the Childrens Triathlon's, Ophelia Goodale again won the TriStart2 event, whilst Byron Stother came 6th in the TriStart1 race.
Ophelia led the swimmers out and already had a 17-second advantage heading onto the bike. She had the fastest bike split and the 3rd fastest run to take the win by 13-seconds having led from the start.
----
Steve Small won the senior Aquabike Sprint over a 750 metre lake swim and 12.5 mile bike on the motor-circuit. Steve took the lead towards the end of the bike to take the win.
Steve Small .... 17:35 .... 44:31 ..= 62:06 AG 1.
----
TriStart1:
6. Byron Stother .... 4:27 .... 10:24 .... 5:16 ..= 20:07
TriStart2:
Ophelia Goodale .... 5:21 .... 11:37 .... 7:30 ..= 24:28
Tristart3:
24. Hugo Flikweert .... 8:11 .... 18:01 .... 10:43 ..= 36:55.
--------------
Paul Jephcott was 2nd in his Age Group at The Saxon Triathlon at Brixworth Country Park, Northampton over the distances of swim 1600 metres, bike 26-miles and run 6.5 miles.
35. Paul Jephcott .... 40:10 .... 96:10 .... 61:57 ..= 3:18:17 AG 2.
-------------
The AsKeenAsMustard swim,run held at Grafham Water involved constantly changing disciplines between swimming in training shoes and running in a wetsuit. Choppy waters meant challenging conditions for the competitors and canoeists alike; with the wind making it a tough and tiring morning, although the water was warm on a hot day.
PACTRAC's Harriet Lomas and Julia Kingsley both competed in a swim,run event for the first time; with Julia the first female in the 3-mile event and Harriet second female in the 6.25-mile event.
---------------
Eleanor Pike competed in the Long Course weekend, at Tenby in Wales, where the Ironman distances are split over 3-days. Eleanor finished 3rd, competing in the youngest Age Group.
The challenge began on Friday evening with The Wales Swim, a 2.4-mile open-water swim at Tenby’s North Beach. On Saturday, competitors took to the roads for The Wales Sportive, a 112-mile ride through Pembrokeshire’s unforgiving countryside. The Long-Course Weekend finished on Sunday, with The Wales Marathon — 26.2 miles of grit and determination.
Eleanor is now looking to put all 3 events together at Ironman Wales in September.
118. Eleanor Pike .... 1:11:52 .... 7:35:53 .... 4:27:50 ..= 13.15.35 AG 3.
-------------------
Steve Hope came 48th in the Aquabike at Challenge Kaiserwinkl Walchsee in Austria (1.2 miles, 50 miles).
48. Steve Hope .... 50:30 .... 3:01:41 ..= 3:52:11 AG 14.
------------
It was a Daniels 1,2 in the fifth PACTRAC Mini-Series at Oundle, with elder-brother Jake taking the honours ahead of Max.
Chris Pithey led Max and Julia Kingsley out with Sophie Robotham another 24 seconds later; 17-seconds ahead of Jake.
Chris was still in the lead at the end of the 9-mile bike section, having extended his lead over Max to 42 seconds, with Jake a further 51 seconds in arrears. Sophie moved ahead of Julia to lead amongs the ladies and came in 4th off the bike with Harriet Lomas now 5th.
However, Jake had the fastest 3.1 mile run in 20:36, catching first Max and then Chris before the Glapthorn turn, whilst Max caught Chris at the turn; with Sophie holding on to 4th place as the leading lady.
8 athletes beat the hour including Martin Thorpe (who plays for the England over 55's football team) for the first time in over two years.
Results:
Jake Daniels .......... 6:12 .... 24:52 .... 20:36 ..= 51:40
Max Daniels ........... 5:29 .... 24:44 .... 23:21 ..= 53:34
Chris Pithey ............ 5:27 .... 24:04 .... 24:44 ..= 54:15
Sophie Robotham ... 5:55 .... 26:42 .... 23:48 ..= 56:25
Claire Lewis ............ 7:43 .... 27:59 .... 23:13 ..= 58:55
David Edis ............. 9:25 .... 26:22 .... 23:30 ..= 59:17
Daren Coley ........... 6:26 .... 28:17 .... 25:03 ..= 59:46
Martin Thorpe ......... 7:26 .... 27:18 .... 25:12 ..= 59:56
After 5 Mini-Series triathlon's from the 8 to be held this year, Jake Daniels is currently in the lead ahead of Max Daniels, Richard Moys and Chris Brennan. Julia Kingsley currently leads for the ladies ahead of Sophie Robotham and Steph Fordham.
====================
11 PACTRAC athletes competed in the local Dambuster Triathlon's at Rutland Water; where the Standard Distance of swim 1500 meters, bike 25-miles and run 6.25 miles doubled up as a qualifying race for next years World Championships in Hamburg.
Both Jake Siddons and Richard Moys qualified in their respective Age Groups, with both athletes having solid races and moving up the field in the closed-road bike section.
18. Jake Siddons .................... 25:11 .... 66:59 .... 37:49 ..= 2:09:59 AG 4.
36. Richard Moys ................... 28:09 .... 66:32 .... 41:00 ..= 2:15:41 AG 6.
279. Steve Skelhon .................. 29:57 .... 81:07 .... 53:35 ..= 2:44:39 AG 14
288. Oliver Hollyoak ................. 28:52 .... 90:01 .... 47:00 ..= 2:45:53 AG 34
324. Darren Coley .................... 31:26 .... 84:45 .... 52:25 ..= 2:48:36 AG 36
441. Andrew Osborne-Smith .... 41:06 .... 88:21 .... 51:52 ..= 3:01:19 AG 23
492. Tim Abbott ......................... 36:03 .... 92:03 .... 62:35 ..= 3:10:41 AG 39.
527. Hannah Rushton ............... 40:16 .... 99:01 .... 61:36 ..= 3:20:53 AG 22
532. Rod Hall ............................ 44:16 .. 1:44:11 ... 52:59 ..= 3:21:26 AG 26.
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Sophie Robotham came 12th overall in the Sprint triathlon, just 24-seconds behind the first lady; having been caught on the bike and running out of time on the run as she made inroads into gaining the time back.
Stuart Neal came 2nd in his Age Group having lead from the gun and being finally caught in a sprint finish for the line and losing out by 3-seconds.
Sprint:
12. Sophie Robotham .... 13:46 .... 41:06 .... 22:06 ..= 76:58 AG 1.
39. Stuart Neal ............... 16:37 .... 43:51 .... 28:32 ..= 89:00 AG 2.
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2 Juniors won their Age Group at the Derby Triathlon, on a very hard bike course.
Byron Stother won the TriStar 1 category from a field of 45, 9-10 year olds: winning by 43 seconds with only 2 youngsters within a minute of him. Byron took the lead on the bike and never looked back.
1. Byron Stother .... 2:26 .... 5:44 .... 5:15 ..= 13:25.
Ophelia Goodale won her TriStar2 Age Group by 24 seconds in 21:06. With both the fastest swim and bike, Ophelia led from the gun.
Ophelia Goodale .... 2:53 .... 11:01 .... 7:12 ..= 21:06.
Hugo Flikweert finished 12th in the TriStar3 Category.
12. Hugo Flikweert ...... 4:49 .... 17:42 ....10:04 ..= 32:35.
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Mark Bedford competed in The Lakesman at Derwent Water for the 7th time, finishing in 5:32:41 on a warm day to record a Personal Best time on the course by 1-minute.
174. Mark Bedford .... 44:52 .... 2:59:58 .... 1:47:51 ..= 5:32:41 AG 19.
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Chillswim Coniston
Adam Clark led a quartet of PACTRAC swimmers home in the 5.25 mile Coniston End-to-End Chillswim at the weekend, with a 5th place in his Age Group. Julia Kingsley followed 2 1/2 minutes behind with 2nd in her Age Group. Harriet Lomas has made some huge improvements this year and finished just 17-minutes behind, whilst Steph Fordham improved on last years time by 14-minutes.
Julia said "We made it! Very lucky with conditions ... calm, sunny, 16 degrees."
82. Adam Clark ........... 2:35:10 AG 5.
92. Julia Kingsley ...... ..2:37:45 AG 2.
204. Harriet Lomas ...... 2:54:55 AG 7.
377. Steph Fordham .... 3:17:03 AG 16.
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Simon Guerin chose The Great North swim 10km event in Windermere, finishing in just under 4-hours.
93. Simon Guerin .... 3:59:14 AG6.
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Amy Mellor competed in the East Midlands Regional open water swimming championships; winning her Age Group over the 5km swim in 1:27 hours.
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Henry Jarvis recorded his second Mini-Series win from just two starts. The Werrington Jogger made his second guest appearance, having previously been part of the GB set up in his youth.
Max Daniels led Julia Kingsley out with Henry just 7 seconds adrift. It was a further 30-seconds before Tony Daniels led the bunch out, but the damage had been done. Henry had both the fastest bike and run of the night; and had an 80-second lead over Jake Daniels at the end of the 9-mile bike section, with Max coming in a further 18-seconds later. and Tony 13-seconds beyond that.
Henry ran away from the field with a 17:57 5km run - a new Course running record, beating Paul Lunn's previous record by 21-seconds. He also recorded the 12th fastest time ever on the course in a time of 47:11 and is now the 5th fastest individual since the new course was established in 2021. Henry beat his winning time from his Mini-Series in 2025 by over 3-minutes.
Jake Daniels followed home 3:51 behind followed by Max 1.44 later. Both recorded Personal Best times on the night, which undoubtedly belonged to Henry.
Chris Brennan and Jacob Richardson came home 4th and 5th with all of the top 5 being the only athletes to record Personal Best times.
Harriet Lomas came home as first lady, having taken the lead on the bike.
Henry Jarvis ........... 5:47 .... 23:27 .... 17:57 ..= 47:11
Jake Daniels ........... 6:20 .... 24:14 .... 20:28 ..= 51:02
Max Daniels ............ 5:40 .... 25:12 .... 21:54 ..= 52:46
Chris Brennan ......... 7:29 .... 24:42 .... 21:13 ..= 53:24
Jacob Richardson .... 6:23 .... 26:14 ....21:27 ..= 54:04
Andy Corner ........... 7:35 .... 24:28 .... 22:07 ..= 54:10
Jaap Flikweert ......... 7:33 .... 25:08 .... 22:33 ..= 55:14
Monty Wood ............ 6:24 .... 28:53 .... 22:26 ..= 57:43
David Edis ............. 10:06 .... 26:31 .... 23:32 ..= 60:09
Darren Coley .......... 6:43 .... 28:23 .... 25:34 ..= 60:40
Harriet Lomas ......... 6:57 .... 27:41 .... 27:00 ..= 61:38
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3 PACTRACers represented Team GB at the European Championships in Tarragona, Spain, on Saturday, and in the searing heat, all 3 recorded their best ever places in a GB Trisuit.
Sophie Robotham made her GB debut and came home in an impressive 4th place in her Age Group. Sophie was 6th out of the salty but calm dockside swim and moved into 4th place on the draft-legal bike leg. She made small inroads on the run, to consolidate her position just outside of the medal places.
Jake Siddons represented GB for the 3rd time, improving each time to record a 7th place in his Age Group; with an 18 minute 5k run to finish. In a really tough Age Group, those around him recorded similarly fast runs; and like Sophie, Jake was just over 2-minutes from a medal.
Steve Hope represented GB for the 7th time and finished in his highest position to date, in 12th place.
4. Sophie Robotham .... 12:47 .... 37:38 .... 22:07 ..= 1:12:32
7. Jake Siddons ............ 12:03 .... 33:28 .... 18:43 ..= 1:04:14
12. Steve Hope .............. 15:07 .... 38:48 .... 24:04 ..= 1:17:59
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Richard Moys recorded his 2nd PACTRAC Mini-Series win of the year.
On a wet evening, Max Daniels led the swimmers out, with Julia Kingsley right on his toes. Richard Moys followed 25 seconds behind followed closely by Tony and Jake Daniels.
Richard had a rapid bike leg to take the lead into the bike/run Transition by 1:43 minutes; with Phil Groves moving up from 9th to 2nd and forging a 30 second lead over Jake who had 12-seconds on Max, with Chris Elder now in 5th a further 14-seconds back.
With both Richard and Phil having similar sub 20-minute runs to fill the top 2 positions, Jake extended his lead over Max to hold onto 3rd, whilst Chris Brennan moved up to 5th.
Claire Widdowson was the first lady home, catching first Steph Fordham on the bike; and then Julia Kingsley on the run.
Just 5 PB's were established on the night with 10 athletes coming in under the hour.
1st Richard Moys 0:06:03 0:22:41 0:19:39 0:48:23 PB
2nd Phil Groves 0:06:52 0:23:35 0:19:33 0:50:00
3rd Jake Daniels 0:06:10 0:24:48 0:20:30 0:51:28
4th Max Daniels 0:05:37 0:25:33 0:22:23 0:53:33
5th Chris Brennan 0:07:16 0:25:22 0:21:00 0:53:38 PB
6th Chris Elder 0:06:44 0:24:40 0:22:28 0:53:52
7th Jacob Richardson :06:16 0:26:40 0:22:23 0:55:19 PB
8th Mike King 0:06:43 0:27:57 0:23:11 0:57:51 PB
9th Tony Daniels 0:06:09 0:26:06 0:27:05 0:59:20
10th David Edis 0:08:46 0:26:45 0:24:12 0:59:43 PB
==========================
32 athletes competed in the 2nd PACTRAC Mini-Series Triathlon at Oundle; with Paul Lunn, now back to his running best, taking the tape in 47:55 minutes.
On a very windy evening with most athletes down 1-2 minutes on last week's performances on the bike, Paul had a consistent race coming out of the swim in 5th place, just 34 seconds behind the leader Oskar Rajski. Max Daniels, Julia Kingsbury and Jake Siddons separated them. Max soon took a brief lead on the bike before Paul took over and never looked back; with the fastest bike and run sections of the night.
Paul came in off the bike 3-minutes ahead of Jake Daniels who was the first of 5-chasers separated by just 34-seconds.
Jake Siddons had a rapid run to move ahead of the chasing pack and came home 3:48 behind Paul, with Graeme Kane moving up to 3rd and Jake Daniels 4th.
Jacob Richardson was the only athlete to record a Personal Best time in the windy conditions, whilst first lady, Sophie Robotham improved in both the swim and run to take 10th place overall. Jack Shipton narrowly missed out by just 4-seconds in the windy conditions from a 5th successive PB.
Results:
Paul Lunn ............... 5.:52 .... 22:40 .... 19:23 ..= 47:55
Jake Siddons .......... 5:50 .... 26:07 ..... 19:46 ..= 51:43
Graeme Kane .......... 6:26 .... 25:36 .... 20:17 ..= 52:19
Jake Daniels ............ 6:34 .... 24:57 .... 21:01 ..= 52:32
Chris Brennan .......... 7:13 .... 25:59 .... 21:14 ..= 54:26
Max Daniels ............. 5:37 .... 26:28 .... 22:41 ..= 54:46
Chris Elder ............... 6:38 .... 25:13 .... 23:16 ..= 55:07
Jack Shipton ............ 7:29 .... 26:12 .... 22:06 ..= 55:47
Jacob Richardson .... 6:36 .... 27:34 .... 21:38 ..= 55:48
Sophie Robotham .... 5:55 .... 27:32 .... 22:53 ..= 56:20
Sophie, Jake Siddons and Steve Hope all compete for GB in the European Championships in Tarragona, Spain next weekend.
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Steve Hope competed in the Half-Ironman distance Grafman at Grafham Water on Sunday taking a first in his Age Group ahead of some big races in Europe.
139 Steve Hope .... 45:22 .... 3:27:57 .... 2:04:38 ..= 6:17:57 AG 1.
==============
Last week, 2 PACTRAC Juniors competed in the Darley Moor Junior Duathlon (run,bike,run) coming away with a 1st and 2nd in their respective Age Groups. Ophelia Goodale dominated on the bike section and went on to win her Age Group by 29-seconds; whilst Byron Stother was in joint first place heading into the run and missed an Age Group win by just 11-seconds.
TriStar 1
2. Byron Stother ........ 4:21 .... 9:13 .... 1:32 ..= 15:06.
TriStar 2
Ophelia Goodale .... 5:39 .... 9:07 .... 2:19 ..= 17:05.
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This week in the Uppingham Triathlon, Phoebe Goodale was the first female finishing in 4th place overall, whilst Mike Farrow was also an Age Group winner.
Ophelia Goodale won her Age Group in the accompanying Junior Aquathlon (swim,run) by just 1-second, following a close battle throughout.
Triathlon:
4. Phoebe Goodale .... 6:25 .... 44:16 .... 19:29 ..= 70:10 AG 1.
39. Mike Farrow ......... 11:16 .... 51:11 .... 28:26 ..= 90:53 AG 1.
TriStar 2:
1. Ophelia Goodale .... 3:47 .... 8:50 ..= 12:37 AG 1.
TriStar 3:
10. Hugo Flikweert .... 6:58 .... 13:56 ..= 20:54 AG 10.
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At the Box End Sprint Triathlon near Bedford, Harriet Lomas and Julia Kingsley both recorded 2nd places in their respetive Age Groups.
Box End Sprint (swim 750m, bike 16.25 miles, run 3.1 miles)
27. Harriet Lomas ...... 16:24 .... 56:23 .... 33:17 ..= 1:46:04 AG 2.
51. Julia Kingsley ....... 12:25 .... 70:12 .... 34:45 ..= 1:57:22 AG 2.
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Steve Hope ventured up to Northumbria finishing 6th in his Age Group in a European Championship Qualifying Race. With the top 4 qualifying automatically, Steve now heads to Bala in September before the final GB squad is announced.
139. Steve Hope .... 31:33 .... 73:59 .... 55:14 ..= 2:40:46 AG 6.
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The 8-event midweek PACTRAC Mini-Series started in earnest on Wednesday with 41 athletes lining up in 2 waves at Oundle Pool for the 400 meter swim, which was followed by a 9-mile bike and 3.1 mile run.
Some fast times were recorded, as athletes changed positions amongst the many mini-battles taking place throughout the field; with Richard Moys taking the win in his first Mini-Series since 2015.
First out of the water with a clear lead was Daniel Vincent-Brady in 5:03 with Oscar Rajski emerging 23-seconds later. Gaps appeared as Max Daniels, Jake Siddons, Paul Lunn and Simon Guerin were the only others within 1-minute of the leader. Richard Moys was next out with a deficit of 69-seconds. However, after some furious cycling Daniel was soon reeled in, with Paul taking the lead before the cyclists entered Glapthorn.
Paul led Richard in off the bike with a 15-second advantage, with Simon another 16-seconds back. It was a further 87-seconds before Simon Hoppe came in off the bike just ahead of Jake and Max. Phil Groves moved up from 20th in the swim to 7th off the bike.
Both Paul Lunn and Simon Hoppe then had issues on the run, whilst Richard was able to show a clean pair of heels and moved ahead to take the win by 58-seconds from Jake Siddons who had the fastest run of the night, just ahead of Phil Groves who moved up to 3rd.
Paul Lunn held on to 4th place, managing to hold off the advancing pair of Graeme Kane and Jake Daniels, who finished in 5th and 6th having raced neck-and-neck throughout.
Ellie Piccaver and Sophie Robotham led the ladies out of the water, with Ellie pulling ahead on the bike before recording the 4th fastest run of the night to finish in 7th place overall.
8 athletes recorded times under 53-minutes, and 17 went "under the hour" whilst 16 recorded Personal Best times on the night.
Results: (top 11)
Richard Moys ........ 6:12 .... 22:04 .... 20:12 ..= 48:28
Jake Siddons ........ 5:48 .... 24:15 .... 19:23 ..= 49:26
Phil Groves ........... 7:23 .... 23:01 .... 19:29 ..= 49:53
Paul Lunn .............. 5:53 .... 22:08 .... 22:50 ..= 50:51
Graeme Kane ........ 6:20 .... 24:08 .... 20:31 ..= 50:59
Jake Daniels .......... 6:37 .... 23:55 .... 20:34 ..= 51:06
Ellie Piccaver ......... 6:16 .... 25:33 .... 20:25 ..= 52:14
Simon Guerin ........ 5:57 .... 22:34 .... 24:27 ..= 52:58
Max Daniels .......... 5:34 .... 24:33 .... 23:17 ..= 53:24
Jack Shipton ......... 7:35 .... 24:41 .... 23:29 ..= 55:45
Sophie Robotham . 6:14 .... 26:34 .... 23:14 ..= 56:02
The event continues every Wednesday night at Oundle pool until 15th July. Entries are via pactrac.clubpal.app and non-members can take part in two events before joining.
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14 members competed in the various events at the Burghley Multi-Sports weekend in Stamford, taking 6 firsts, 3 seconds and 2 thirds in their respective Age Groups.
The Duathlon incorporated the British National Championships and saw Paul Lunn come away with the GOLD Medal as Age Group Champion, whilst Jack Shipton won a SILVER Medal.
Paul got himself into a close group of 6 in the initial 6.25-mile run and started the 25-mile bike section in 4th place. However, he "smashed" the 25-miles, pulling minutes out of his competition. He then had the fastest 3.1-mile run in his Age Group to win the GOLD MEDAL by nearly 4-minutes in a field that included some top athletes.
Jack was soon into second place on the initial run and held this position throughout, to win his first Championship medal, a well deserved SILVER.
Jake Daniels came 5th in the Sprint Triathlon, beating his younger brother, Max, by 2-minutes.
Burghley
100k (2k, 80k, 18k).
13. Eleanor Pike …. 35:36 …. 2:57:20 …. 1:24:35 ..= 4:57:31 AG 1
19. Becs Burge …… 41:36 …. 2:43:44 …. 1:37:46 ..= 5:03:06 AG 2
Standard Distance Triathlon ( swim 1-mile, bike 25-miles, run 6.25 miles).
4. Richard Moys ………. 26:46 …. 1:11:51 …. 41:39 ..= 2:20:16 AG 1.
7. Ellie Piccaver ……..… 25:27 …. 1:17:57 …. 41:46 ..= 2:25:10 AG 1.
26. Oskar Rajski ……….. 25:57 …. 1:25:30 …. 52:32 ..= 2:43:59 AG 4.
75. Rod Hall …………..…. 40:26 …. 1:47:30 …. 53:25 ..= 3:21:21 AG 5.
96. Daniel Richardson .. 56:53 …. 2:05:54 …. 62:17 ..= 4:05:04 AG 10.
Sprint Triathlon (swim 0.5 mile, bike 12.5 miles, run 3.1 miles)
5. Jake Daniels ………. 12:49 …. 46:18 …. 21:26 ..= 80:33 AG 3.
8. Max Daniels ………. 12:08 …. 47:06 …. 23:24 ..= 82:38 AG 1
9. Simon Hoppe …….. 12:46 …. 45:50 …. 24:54 ..= 83:30 AG 2.
14. Susie Freeman ….. 12:42 …. 50:59 …. 24:28 ..= 88:09 AG 1.
Aquabike (swim 1-mile, bike 25-miles)
7. Steve Small …….. 32:09 …. 1:43:09 ..= 2:15:18 AG 1
Duathlon (run 6.25 miles, bike 25-miles, run 3-miles).
5. Paul Lunn …….. 36:45 …. 65:35 …. 19:45 ..= 2:02:05 AG 1 GOLD MEDAL.
67. Jack Shipton .. 41:20 …. 1:21:32 …. 21:58 ..= 2:24:50 AG 2 SILVER MEDAL
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Tom Hughes competed in the second round of the National Junior Super-Series at Llanelli.
The event was held over 2 heats and Tom was unfortunate to be in the slower bike heat where competitors were allowed to draft off one another. Nevertheless, Tom finished 23rd overall and improved on his previous 31st to move up to 28th place after two events.
23. Tom Hughes …. 10:21 …. 31:59 …. 16:40 ..= 59:00.
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3 members competed in the Nottingham Junior Aquathlon, with Byron Stother and Ophelia Goodale both winning their respective Age Groups, in a great start to the East Midlands Series.
TriStar 1
1. Byron Stother ……. 3:21 …. 5:25 ..= 8:47.
TriStar 2
1. Othelia Goodale …. 3:46 …. 6:44 ..= 10:30.
TriStar 3
9. Hugo Flikweert …. 6:51 …. 10:53 ..= 17:44
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Outlaw Half (swim 1.2 miles, bike 56-miles, run 13.1 miles).
1169. Daniel O’Sullivan …. 31:16 …. 3:14:06 …. 2:40:15 ..= 6:25:37 AG 146.
1319 Andrew Taylor …….. 50:57 …. 3:23:45 …. 2:37:02 ..= 6:51:44 AG 57.
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Outlaw Nottingham Sprint (swim 750m, bike 12.5-miles, run 3.1 miles).
Two members competed in the Sprint Triathlon at Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham which acted as a qualifying race for the World Championships to be held in Hamburg next year. Competing against some of the top athletes in the country, Sophie Robotham won her Age Group by nearly 3-minutes; whilst Simon Hoppe came home in an agonising 5th place, with only the top 4 to qualify automatically. Simon still has two more races in Eton and Barry Island to try to clinch his place.
Sophie came 2nd out of the water but soon pulled ahead on the bike in convincing fashion to start the run with 1:44 minutes to spare. She had the 3rd fastest run and increased her lead to 2:52 by the finish; and qualified for the GB Team for next year's World Championships.
59. Simon Hoppe ………… 12:50 …. 33:37 …. 21:48 ..= 68:15 AG 5.
88. Sophie Robotham ….... 13:15 …. 36:19 …. 21:24 ..= 70:58 AG 1st
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3 PACTRACers competed in the Sprint Triathlon at St.Neots, with Sophie Robotham and Steve Hope both winning their respective Age Groups. Both are due to represent Team GB at the Age Group European Championships in Tarragona, Spain, later in June. Sophie finished 17th overall and 3rd female with a solid all-round performance. The River Great Ouse had been at 14C during the week but picked up to 16.8 following Saturday's sunshine.
Results:
St.Neots Sprint Triathlon (750m swim, 15-mile bike, 3.1 mile run)
17. Sophie Robotham .... 14:21 .... 48:26 .... 22:21 ..= 1:25:08 AG 1. 3rd lady overall.
23. Steve Hope .............. 17:18 .... 50:22 .... 22:58 ..= 1:30:38 AG 1.
79. Daniel Rihardson ..... 33:00 .... 65:54 .... 27:26 ..= 2:06:20 AG 7.
===========================
The British Triathlon Youth and Junior Super-Series got underway with the Performance Assessment weekend held across two venues. The 400m swim time-trial was held on Saturday at the University of Nottingham followed by a combined, timed bike-run on Sunday at Kendrew Barracks, Cottesmore over the distances of 6.25 miles and 2-miles.
Having finished 16th overall in last year's National Youth Super-Series, Tom Hughes has moved up an Age Group and this year competes against the best Juniors (aged 17-18) in the country.
Tom opened his account at the Performance Weekend in 31st position.
Having exited the swim in 44th place, he held his own on the bike before moving through the field with the 17th fastest run. A great result for Tom in a very competitive environment. The next Super-Series event is in Llanelli on 9th May.
31. Tom Hughes .... 4:44 .... 16:27 .... 9:46 ..= 30:57.
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Elsewhere Verity Miles came 3rd overall and won her Age Group in the Roade Aquabike near Northampton; whilst Steve Hope raced to second in his Age Group at the Grantham Triathlon.
Roade Aquabike
3. Verity Miles .... 11:51 .... 42:08 ..= 53:59 AG 1.
Grantham Triathlon
19. Steve Hope .... 8:43 .... 54:32 .... 23:56 ..= 87:11 AG 2.
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The 8-event PACTRAC Wednesday night Mini-Series starts from 27th May and continues through to 15th July. The events cover a 400m swim in Oundle's pool followed by a 9-mile, 1-lap bike course and a 3.1 mile out-and-back run. Non-members can compete in two events by signing up at pactrac.clubpal.app
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3 PACTRACers competed in the Basildon Aquathlon, with Ophelia Goodale winning her Tristar2 Category. Othelia led from the gun and had a lead of 6 and 10 seconds respectively over her chasers after the swim. She also had the fastest run of the day to take the tape by a margin of 12-seconds.
Phoebe Goodale came 12th overall and 3rd female in the Senior category; whilst Orla Caskey was also 12th in her Tristar1 category.
Senior:
12. Phoebe Goodale .... 6:23 .... 21:59 ..= 28:22 3rd female overall.
Tristar2:
1. Ophelia Goodale .... 3:47 .... 7:15 ..= 11:02
Tristar1:
12. Orla Caskey ......... 3:41 .... 7:45 ..= 11:26
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The season opener, the Ely 115 Squadron Duathlon, took place on a flat but windy course with 2x 2.5 mile runs either side of a 16-mile bike segment.
Marcus Widdess lead from the gun and took an 18-second lead into the bike section. He was caught on the bike and held onto second place with the 2nd fastest bike of the day. He then made inroads on the final run, but had to settle for a great 2nd place overall to get the season rolling.
2. Marcus Widdess ........ 14:42 .... 45:45 .... 13:55 ..= 1:14:22
36. Daniel O'Sullivan ..... 21:16 .... 52:39 .... 21:44 ..= 1:35:39
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Meanwhile 2 PACTRACers headed over to the Movistar Madrid Media Half-Marathon on a gloriously sunny day.
Chris Northern ran within himself after returning from a recent calf injury and ran a relaxed, comfortable race.
2001. Chris Northern .... 1:32:54.
5714. Nathan Keir ......... 1:43:31.
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Laura Hardy competed in the International Ice Swimming Association European Championships in Molveno, Italy and came away with a SILVER MEDAL in the 500m freestyle and a BRONZE MEDAL in the 250m freestyle events in her Age Group.
Swimmers from 35 different countries took part in various disciplines in the 50-metre pool at a temperature of just 2.8 degrees.
In the 500m Freestyle, Laura was 5-seconds down after the first 100metres, but then held on to finish just 9-seconds adrift and take the SILVER MEDAL.
Laura was within 2-seconds of taking a 2nd Silver, but had to settle for Bronze in the 250 metre event in a closely fought contest. With 150 metres swam, Laura was 0.2 seconds behind the Silver medalist, but saw this extend to 1.8 seconds by the finish.
Laura won two Silver Medals in the same events in the GB Championships back in December.
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Amy Mellor went to The International Winter Swimming Association World Championships in Oulu, Finland. Amy swam in 4 events plus a Relay over 4-days in water around -0.2 degrees - her coldest ever swims by a long way.
The organisers had to break the ice to create a special 25 metre swimming pool for the nearly 1,800 swimmers from 50-countries.
Amy was the first British Swimmer in her Age Group in all 4 of her events, which she described as being "a shock to the system".
25 meters butterfly. 19.5 seconds. Age Group 8th.
200m front crawl. 2:59. AG 6th. "I felt the cold more."
25m front crawl. 17.9 seconds. "The cold is exhilarating when you know you just have a short distance to do as quickly as possible".
100m front crawl. 1 minute 22. AG 7th.
The post-race celebrations were interupted with a display from the Northern Lights.
Photo of Amy in the middle (black swimsuit).