Bala Middle Distance 2009

Bala played host to the British & Welsh Middle Distance Championships this Sunday.
Over 500 competitors from all over the UK competed in the event where athletes swim 2000m, cycle 81km and run 20km, looking to complete a race listed in the top 10 toughest races in the UK.
The day was hot and sunny with a strong breeze whipping up the surface of Llyn Tegid, and causing a significant headwind on the outward leg of the bike course.
In the women’s race Rhian was first out of the water, immediately opening a 2 minute lead on the other leading women, including Louise Collins the winner of the 2008 race. Following a strong bike leg, a run injury she has been carrying this season started causing major problems 2 miles into the run, forcing her to near standstill. Deciding not to pull out, Rhian managed 5th place, collapsing at the finish prompting medical attention. Although disappointed with the result, it was enough to take Gold in the Welsh Championship’s, and Silver in the 30-39 age group in the National Championship. Louise Collins of TFN won the women’s race in 4:26:51.
Simon Roxburgh won Bronze in the Welsh Championship’s taking 41st place overall in a time of 4:33:36 slipping back from 12th place during a hard run, Vince Edwards nailed a storming run coming 55th in 4:38:29, Adrian Leonard 74th in 4:44:07 and Gerwyn Jones 173rd in 5:05:43. The overall winner was Mark Stenning of Wildside Zoot in 3:58:17.

Famous Five Travel to Zurich......

Five Carneddau Tri’ members travelled to Lake Zurich, Switzerland to compete in the Ironman 70.3, hoping that months of hard training would come to fruition. The format, known previously as Half Ironman, saw over 3000 competitors compete over a 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run and was won by Ronnie Schildknecht in 3:54:30 and the first woman was Sarah Schütz in 4:28:26. The Carneddau times were; Paul O’Sullivan 5:28:53, Christina McKay 5:48:50, Geraint Rowlands 5:51:29, Al Read 6:09:47 and Rachel James-Owen 7:25:35.

Blenheim Triathlon

Rhian Roxburgh missed out on a podium spot in the womens Elite race at the Blenheim Sprint Triathlon, finishing 4th. her best Elite placing to date. Exiting the 750m lake swim in 5th place , she lost ground with a poor transition, going out onto the bike back in 17th. Coming in off the 15km circuit at the head of the chase pack, 30seconds behind eventual winner, GB athlete Jodie Stimpson and 2nd placed Non Stanford, Rhian was overtaken on the 5km run by Sophie Coleman before opening a gap to secure 4th.

Northants Ultra Marathon - a winner!

New club member and Endurance triathlete Sara Nason won the women’s race at the Northants Ultra Marathon on Sunday, as part of her preparations for the Ultraman Triathlon Championships to be held in Canada at the start of August. She completed the 34mile race in a time of 6:34:51. By competing in Canada, racing over a 10km swim, 418.3km bike and 84.3km run, Sarah, sponsored by Bangor University, will be raising money for Dolen Cymru, a charity that fosters links between Wales and Lesotho. Anyone wishing to sponsor can do so by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/sarahultra4lesotho

Coniston Triathlon

James Atherton and Tim Harding competed in the very hilly and tough Olympic Distance Coniston Triathlon on Sunday. The winner, Roger Wilkins of Tri Clan completed the 1500m swim, 40km cycle and 10km run in 2:17:49. James finished in 13th position in 2:34:43 and Tim in 29th place in a time of 2:45:39

Northwich Sprint Triathlon

Ian Ganderton competed in the Northwich Sprint Triathlon, covering a 400m swim, 18km bike and 5km run in 1:04:17, achieving a top twenty placing, despie a set of temporary traffic lights on the course causing havoc! The race, organised by the hosts of the Llandudno Triathlon, Xtra Mile Events, was won by Martin Cain in 52:30.

Cheshire Sprint Triathlon

Graham Jones, Peter Selley, Ruth Evans and Cerys Alonso competed in the Cheshire Sprint Triathlon which attracted nearly one thousand competitors. Their times for the 500m open water swim, 20km bike and 5.4km run were 1:13:19, 1:17:38, 1:34:36 and 1:40:35 respectively. A good time for Graham particularly as his bike shoes went missing in transition (was it a ferret?)! Read more with Graham's race report on the forum.......