Race Reports

Cleveland Steelman - Ellerton Lake 03-Jul-2010 (Owen Weightman)
Great turnout from the club last Saturday at the infamous Cleveland Steelman, last count we had 14 Durham Tri competitors which is fantastic for a distance event and is a sign of how we are expanding and developing. Camping and registration was possible on the Friday evening so when I arrived at just after 8am on the Saturday there was already a buzz about the place with about half a dozen of our club members already registered and setting up. By 9:30, bikes were racked (very close together), and we were all half wetsuited ready for the race briefing.   

 Within a few minutes we had been given our course instructions, a 2000m OW lake swim, followed by a 58 mile, 2 loop, gently undulating bike and a 12 mile, 2 loop run – total distance is Half Ironman give or take so it’s not for the faint hearted and definitely one to pace yourself on.

 The weather was warm and breezy, temperatures throughout the day peaked at 29 Deg C (according to my bike computer) though on average were in the mid twenties. The water was described as “warm bath” by the commentator but that was open for debate, however it’s the first “wetsuit optional” tri I’ve been to for a while so it can have been so bad.

 At 9:50 we were instructed to enter the water and at exactly 10am the hooter sounded and we were off. Not being a strong swimmer, I actually settled in to a rhythm reasonably quickly and did not see any of the normal bashing, ducking, gasping and sinking which is associated with mass swim starts. After 2 super human laps, first from the club out of the water was Trevor (fish boy) Kelly who was 4^th at that point and swam the 2K in an incredible 28:33. About 7 minutes later a group of Owen Mullen, Neil Sleeman and Nigel Roe exited in quick succession of each other followed closely by Graham Bradshaw and Roz Layton (great swim Roz!!). I was next out after 2 comfortable laps, feeling fresh and only 12 (yes 12!!) minutes behind Trevor. Just behind me came Dave King, Dave Lawson and Debs Goddard followed a few minutes later by Hels Stockport, Andy Robson, Ian Tutty and Paul Caine – great effort by everyone. I have to say that the support was great as we exited the water with Allan, Corrina, Mick and many other spectators giving encouraging cheers and shouts.

 After spending a bit of time in T1 (actually putting some socks on for once), I grabbed my bike donned with loads of drink, gells, bars (no feed or drink stations en route) and set off on the first loop heading towards Northallerton. For the first stretch, the 15mph wind was behind / side on so the pace was reasonable but everyone knew they would pay some penance later on for this easy section. Cutting trough the Industrial estate just before Northallerton meant that riders were starting to get into rhythm and though the few mile stretch along the A167 was not so pleasurable due to traffic it was good to see the long line of riders ahead. After that, a turn off to East Cowton and a much more pleasant country lane to ride on, sadly at this point the wind seemed to be head on so pace slowed a little but being on quieter roads encouraged people to push on. After a sharp right hander in East Cowton we headed out towards Great Smeaton which put the breeze behind again until turning right again on the A167 and heading back towards Scorton, that was where the penance was paid as it was for the most part into a strong head wind – 2 miles later and loop 1 completed. The second lap was a repetition of the first so it’s good to get past that half way point. Again, first fastest from the club to complete the 2 loops was Trevor (Lance boy) Kelly doing the 58 Miles in 2:39. It was a full 14 minutes before Graham reached T2 followed at 4 minute intervals by Owen (M), Neil then me. Nigel was just behind but sadly retired as he’d forgotten his running legs! Dave Lawson, Dave King and Roz then came in succession followed by Tutty, Hels, Debs, Andy and finally Paul.

 There was a lot of tired looking people out on the run which is 2 laps each of which incorporates an out and back stretch. This gives everyone the chance to see other competitors on several occasions to gloat, encourage, or ignore depending on what mood you’re in – I have to say that seeing so much new Durham Tri kit was astonishing, it is easily recognisable and very distinctive. Sadly, after looking like he was going to put in a great time, Graham retired after the first loop due to a repetitive Calf Injury. Obviously the sun and wind did not affect everyone too much and throughout the run, as expected, Trevor lead from our club entrants finishing with a fantastic 4:44 and coming in 23^rd overall. Next Neil produced an outstanding run time pulling some minutes back and finishing easily in sub 5 with Owen M hot on his heals coming in at 5:01. From that point on the field was more spread out, results are shown below. Big pats on the backs of all of those who finished…bring on that Ironman!!  

Pos	Name	Time	Category	Swim	T1	Cycle	T2	Run
23	Trevor Kelly	4:44:00	Vet40	0:28:33	0:01:45	2:39:46	0:00:46	1:33:10
40	Neil Sleeman	4:56:49	Snr30	0:35:53	0:02:36	2:55:00	0:00:57	1:22:23
45	Owen Mullen	5:01:19	Vet40	0:35:23	0:01:31	2:52:31	0:01:36	1:30:18
57	Owen Weightman	5:06:15	Vet40	0:40:29	0:02:10	2:56:07	0:01:17	1:26:12
100	Dave King	5:24:12	Vet40	0:42:47	0:02:55	3:06:36	0:01:33	1:30:20
116	David Lawson	5:31:14	Vet40	0:45:49	0:03:07	2:59:06	0:01:05	1:42:06
136	Roz Layton	5:40:23	Vet50	0:38:59	0:01:13	3:17:13	0:01:43	1:41:15
156	Helen Stockport	5:56:52	Snr30	0:57:01	0:03:38	3:14:54	0:01:42	1:39:36
169	Debra Goddard	6:07:17	Vet40	0:44:45	0:01:59	3:36:21	0:01:25	1:42:46
183	Ian Tutty	6:24:20	Vet40	1:04:31	0:03:30	3:04:37	0:02:13	2:09:28
182	Andrew Robson	6:24:20	Snr20	1:00:09	0:02:45	3:17:57	0:02:31	2:00:57
193	Paul Cain	7:44:57	Snr30	1:07:44	0:04:10	3:54:38	0:01:27	2:36:56
	Graham Bradshaw		Vet50	0:38:49	0:02:37	2:43:17	0:01:15
	Nigel Roe		Vet40	0:36:05	0:01:28	3:09:02	0:00:47

Ashington OW sprint [Martin Wilson] 6th June 2010
Before I share my report back on the Ashington o/w sprint triathlon, its probably worth giving a short personal history for those who haven't met  me yet.

Last September i ran the great north run for charity as a favour to a friend. Up til this point I had avoided running or anything similar since school instead opting to spend my days on the golf course, gladly spoiling a good walk!

After the GNR I picked up a few more races (Thirsk 10m & Richmond Hilly 10k) as I was starting to get  the running bug and was definitely enjoying my trimmer waist!

Come January 2010 and although still enjoying training, I was also looking for a way to keep getting fitter but break up the monotony of running 3-4 times a week.

And so I decided that triathlon might be the answer! Looking back I have no idea why I decided that would be a good idea but sometimes you just fall into things!

As soon as i had made a training plan for all 3 disciplines I also signed up for a series of sprint tri's spread throughout the year to have some targets to aim for.

Having entered and completed the pool-based sprint tri at Ashington in April I was looking forward to the open water version in June.

At the start of the swim i cautiously placed myself near the back of the field and to the left. The klaxon sounded and it all got a bit crazy for a while! A few slight knocks and taps and some went past me and I went past others but it all settled down within a couple of minutes. The rest of the swim was uneventful and I made it to T1.

Managed to get wetsuit off easily enough and bike shoes on before an almighty dizzy spell hit me! I had to hold onto the rail for about 30secs until it passed. Once that was gone it was out of transition and off onto the bike section.  
This is easily my weakest bit having only got back on to a bike a few months ago for the first time since i was very young, and wasn't helped by the fact that it takes me forever to clip in to the pedals.

It was 4 laps on a sort-of-out-and-back circuit with 8 dead turns to helpfully slow you down to a crawl!

Off the bike into T2 (with no dizzy spell this time) and off on the run. Run felt good and because it was a 2 lap run it made sense to take first lap easy then push a bit more once you knew your way around.

The finish line came into sight and at last it was all over. Hard work but i absolutely loved it! The time is nothing to shout about but the sense of achievement is huge and makes all that training well worthwhile. Must also say that it was a really well organised event and also inspiring to see kids as young as 8 competing the Tri-stars triathlon events.

The Keswick Mountian Festival (Long Course Triathlon) [Andy Rutland] Sunday 23rd May 2010 Distances: 750m Swim in Derwent Water, 35km Bike and 10km fell run.
 
I entered this as a challenge following some serious knee problems and multilpe operations -- this was my first standard distance triathlon for seven years.  
 
The race was a sell out (all 350 places were taken up in two and a half days) and brought together competitors from all around the country.  The weather could not have been any better sunshine and a temperature of 27oC. 
 
The swim was hectic and it took some effort to get positioned for the turns.  Making fair progress I exited the water in under 13 minutes (a best time!).  T1 was unfortunatley changed at the last minute due to the water levels being low and meant that competitors had a 600 meter run across the shore and up the bank back into crow park (this was just as taxing as the swim itself!) and really added to the time.  Eventually kicking off the wetsuit  and setting off on the bike. 
 
The cycle section was all on road and followed a route through Keswick up Chestnut Hill towards Thirlmere. Left along St John's in the Vale then along some minor roads before joining the A66 for a short and fast downhill section. It left the A66 at Portiscale and followed a fantastically scenic route around the lake and back to transition. The bike was a fairley challenging course with some good steady climbs and fast technical descents along the way.  This was one of the best bike legs I had done in some time - although things could have certianly been hazardous if the weather had been different.  
 
Eventually making it back into the rear of Crow Park and up through T2 - again having to run some way up the hill (exhausting!).  Running shoes on and out onto what had been described as a 'challenging' run.  The run followed the footpath along the lake shore before joining Borrowdale Rd at Great Wood.  It then followed the road to the much photographed Ashness Bridge (a steep climb - legs screaming!).  At the bridge we took the path over Walla Crag (325m) with more fabulous views and then dropped back down to the finish in Crow Park. 
 
On reflection the first three kilometers of the run went well, running under the tree line, however once we hit Ashness Bridge things really did change  - four kilometers of climbing 
(I am not really built for the fells!!) and the heat really did take its toll.
 
Overall I came in 166th with a total time of 2hr 49.31min.  Going from the results Stephen Hesler was the only other Durham Tri competitor and he finished 171st in a total time of 2hr 50.20min..
 
The weather, organisation and race were excellent and I would recommend it to all..


CLEVELAND SPRINT TRIATHLON [Peter Brooks]  9 May 2010
Out of bed at 4:45am on Sunday morning to get down to Stokesley before 7am for registration.

Registered ok and then walked the half mile back to where I had parked to pick up my bike etc. Faffed about a bit setting up my transition area and suddenly realised that it was 7:50 and I was due to start in 13 minutes. I hadn't even got changed so I went to the leisure centre, got changed and just about got to the poolside on time. I was the fifth swimmer to set off and initially had the lane to myself. I jumped into the pool and started to swim, I felt my eyes sting and realised that my goggles were still on top of my head. D'OH!!!!!!! I stopped to put them on proplerly and carried on. I had a plan of swimming two lengths and stopping to catch my breath, I stuck to this and finished the swim in about 12:45, the fastest I have ever swam 400 metres. It was then a 250 metre barefoot run back to transition, the official time includes the run to transition

T1 passed without anything noticeable, Louise and I left T1 at about the same time on the bike, My legs felt heavy and I was struggling to catch my breath at first, but soon got into a rhythm and, even though the roads were wet and slippy, managed the undulating 11 miles quite steadily.

As I went into T2, my feet felt like blocks of ice and I struggled to get my new, fluorescent orange, running shoes on and about 3 other competitors went past me in transition. The 3 mile out and back run was nice and flat and gave me a chance to see other runners on their way back to the finish. My new shoes did the job and I was 3 minutes faster on the run than two weeks ago.

I was all finished in 1:26:25 by 9:30am which left us to have a great day out in North Yorkshire.

The full list of DurhamTri athletes was

.       .      .       .      .        .TOTAL     .     Swim     .       T1        .    Bike    .       T2       .      Run
Andy Swales          Vet 40    00:56:59    00:07:19     00:00:25     00:30:11     00:00:35     00:18:29
Peter Camp      SNR30-40    01:01:09    00:07:19     00:00:30     00:31:49     00:00:54     00:20:37
Jo Short                Vet 40    01:05:10    00:07:55     00:00:48     00:33:47     00:00:50     00:21:50
Adrian Robinson     Vet 50    01:11:27    00:09:30     00:03:21     00:32:06     00:01:16     00:25:14
Louise Billcliffe       Vet 40    01:22:25    00:12:40     00:01:02     00:41:43     00:00:36     00:26:24
Andrea Jones   SNR 30-40    01:25:05    00:10:53     00:01:52     00:39:19     00:01:19     00:31:42
Peter Brooks          Vet 40    01:26:24    00:15:55     00:01:15     00:40:33     00:01:51     00:26:50

Full results HERE

GRENDON SPRINT TRIATHLON, NORTHAMPTON. [Ian]  9 May 2010

As this was the last qualifying event for the European Championships in Ireland in July, along with the World's in Budapest and the 2011 Europeans, there was a huge field of almost 600 starters. They came from as far afield as Shetland and Thurso in the North of Scotland to Cornwall and Guernsey in the South of England. There was a good contingent from the North East with competitors from Alnwick, BlackHawkBikes, Cleveland, OneLife, SunCity and TyneTri along with Stephen Thomas and Ellen Ann Finnighan of Durham Triathlon Club.
Both Stephen and Ellen Ann started in Wave 4 on a cold but dry morning. The tannoy announced the water temperature as better than 12.5°C but the air temperature was certainly cooler. Stephen was struggling with a chest/throat bug and was definitely affected by the cold - his 19.12 for the swim [includes a 300m run to transition] was certainly way below par. He recovered a little on the bike [49.59], but struggled again on the run [25.34]. In the circumstances he was pleased to finish in 1.37.42. Ellen Ann swam comfortably [21.32], then blasted round the bike course. Her 48.39 was 2nd fastest in her age category, and she was comfortably under her 30-minute target for the 5k run [29.03]. This gave her a 4th place finish in 1.42.40 and qualification for the European Championships.
The winning times were James Ratcliffe [Ceepo TFN Rt] in 1.04.28 and Joyce Latham [Leeds Bradford Tri Club] in 1.14.52].

Full results are available HERE

EUROPEAN DUATHLON AGE GROUP CHAMPIONSHIPS - NANCY, FRANCE [Hilary Ross, Gold medallist] 2 May 2010

Coming back down to earth now after an amazing trip to Nancy; a long way to drive  (700 miles) but the town was beautiful, and the GB team made me feel so welcome. The day of the race started cool but dry, with the ladies race starting at 9am. In the team briefing the day before we were told of the strict enforcement of some of the ETU rules which included no compression socks without a medical certificate, and a " sin bin " on the course for instant 2 min off bike penalty for drafting or blocking and 15 secs for dropping litter. So with just tri-suit,gloves and arm-warmers I set off into a beautiful park for the first 4 lap run. On the 4th lap it started to rain and by the time I was on the bike it was pouring. The bike route was 8 laps of a city course with dead turns, hairpins and 90 degree corners. By the 2nd lap the rain was bouncing 2 feet off the ground and visibility was virtually nil, but things improved slowly and by T2 the rain had stopped. Unfortunately it was so cold several competitors had problems removing their helmets,but the officials were helpful. On the second run ,2 laps,I realised I was well ahead of the Italian lady who was 2nd in my age group, so I was able to enjoy the final run in ,and crossed the line waving the Union Jack. That evening I received my gold medal at the closing ceremony, along with 9 other GB gold winners. I would never have experienced anything like this if it wasn't for all the support and encouragement I have received from Durham Tri and I am sure those cold winter duathlons  prepared me for the conditions I faced. So thank you especially to Kay who got me started, Ian who advised me and Liz Lamb who believed in me.
Cheers, Hilary

ASHINGTON SPRINT - Peter Brooks
Last year, when I was injured with a stress fracture on my left shin, I decided to take up cycling and, eventually, swimming to keep fit without impact on my shin. I soon figured that I might as well put that training to some use and go for a triathlon this year. Please bear in mind that in August 2009, I was unable to swim 10 feet without gasping for breath and stopping.

I have spent the last eight months training with Durham Tri Club and working hard on my swimming, but I was still apprehensive about this morning's event, being my first triathlon.

We drove up to Ashington quite early this morning after an evening of packing, repacking and packing again to make sure that I had everything - tri suit, helmet, cycling shoes, running shoes, goggles, swim hat and bike. All the packing did not stop the inevitable "OH DEAR!!!!!!" cry as we got to Chester Le Street and I realised that I hadn't packed a towel: by this time it was too late to turn back.

We got to the leisure centre car park in Ashington and started my pre race faff around - registered, picked up goody bag, put bike together and setup transition. Thankfully Stephen Thomas was kind enough to lend me his spare towel.

After the race briefing, I went to the pool where I had my race number inscribed onto my right arm and left calf. After a few minutes it was my turn to start swimming. I went off far too fast and soon had to stop to catch breath, The length counter and swim marshal offered me loads of encouragement and helped me get through what is my weakest discipline by far. I was the slowest swimmer by a good 2 minutes and finished in 15:59. This was, surprisingly, a lot better than I was expecting and it felt a lot longer than it actually was.

I faffed around in T1 for far too long, taking over 3 minutes before I was on the bike. The bike course was 20km over 2.5 laps with one short, nasty hill in each of the full laps. I managed to get past quite a few of the faster swimmers who were on the bikes before me and took 48 minutes to complete the course.

T2 was much quicker than T1, taking just over a minute and onto the 5k run, this was a flat, 3 lap run on paths around the leisure centre. My legs felt like lead when I started running, but I soon got into a rhythm and settled down to get past quite a few others. I nearly collapsed when I crossed the finish line!

It was good to see other members of Durham tri out today Mick Traynor, also on his first tri had a cracking race as did Ellen-Ann (who had to use the facilities in a local house on the run!). I am happy that I have now been inaugaurated into the mad, bad world of triathlons!

Full Results available at http://www.trifinder.co.uk/ashington-sprint-triathlon

Full DTC results from Ashington and Well Done to you all!

Andrew Rutland    MSenior    Durham Triathlon Club    01.13.59
Lee Pattison        MSenior    Durham Triathlon Club    01:17:45
Stephen Thomas   MSenior    Durham Triathlon Club    01:21:17   
Michael Traynor    MVet       Durham Triathlon Club     01:28:52
Martin Wilson      MSenior    Durham Triathlon Club     01:30:47   
Ellen Finnighan    FSenior     Durham Triathlon Club     01:37:42   
Peter Brooks       MVet        Durham Triathlon Club     01:38:01

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rotterdam Marathon report - Neil Sleeman, 11.4.10

When my passport was finally returned to me some six days before the Rotterdam Marathon 2010 was due to take place, the UK Home Office had successfully managed to shock me just one more time (this was after two months delay for the original advice that had led me to enter the event in the first place, and I had resigned myself that it was all in vain thanks to their incompetence). With less than a week to mentally "prepare" for my first on road marathon (and expecting this to be nothing like the off-road equivalent) we managed to book all transport, hotels and start thinking about the event itself. Thank goodness for the Durham Tri Club Iron Man training as physically I felt ready to "give it a bash", as my countrymen would say.

The pleasant journey to Amsterdam on the overnight ferry and relaxed day before the marathon meant I was in good spirits, even though the weather was a bit more Durham than Dutch, with a windy maximum of 10 degrees the forecast. It was a shame that the 10km race had fully booked out, as I suspect Corrina would have preferred to do this then freeze on the sidelines of the start and finishing straights!

With our hotel a mere 70 metres from the start line (a great booking from my Aussie friend who came over from London to also run her first marathon), we wandered up ten minutes before the race and into the starting pens. The music played, the gun went off and 7500 people started the journey at all different speeds. I knew the start was going to be problematic, and it took a good 4km before the pack had "sorted" itself out, but by this stage my new best buddy "Neil's Garmin" had helped me to finally listen to the advice from Ian Mac, Allan S, Peter B et al. - "don't go out too fast!"

The support around the course was nothing short than exceptional with sponges, water, electrolytes, bananas, music bands and most of all supporters lining the whole course. A real sense of community meant that it was hard to feel isolated which was a big help. Two crossings over the main bridge of Rotterdam, the second at around 25km, were quite picturesque and although these were classed as hills I would beg to differ as a County Durham resident! After managing to keep on 3 hour pace throughout the whole race thanks to my Garmin, I had a lift at the 30m mark as the winning African flew past me in the opposite direction (he was at 40km!). So then it was just grit the teeth for the last section; the crowds were fantastic as the last few kilometres approached, and the last 500m so memorable - I even managed to spot Corrina in the crowd spurring me on. So 3:02:46 was the official time and really pleased with the experience, it's definitely not about the time only but the whole experience. The Rotterdam Marathon organisers even had a special chip which not only timed but automatically signalled a video feed which you can access online, so I now have ten painful reminders of how I looked at different sections of the race and how happy I was to cross the line! It exceeded my expectations and although the soreness after is slightly "annoying" I can safely say I will be racking up more marathons in the future. The scary thing is not knowing how much harder the Iron Man Tri will really be, but at least I have done the 42.1km in a race now!

For anyone unsure about doing a marathon, my advice have a go if you feel you are ready - despite the less than ideal preparations I am glad I took the plunge and it just makes all the training worthwhile. Bring on the next one!

A Short report from Julia Quinonez
I went on holiday in December to Guatemala, my home country, and kept my training as much as possible, it was easier there because the weather was perfect and warm.
I did a 10 k race there, sponsored by the Human Rights Bureau and I was very pleased to come second in my category, females over 40. My time was 40 minutes.

I felt good and see that I have made progress since I joined the club.





Two Reports from Stephen Thomas - sounds like a busy morning!

08:00am Tyne Tri Killingworth Aquathon

Following a night of heavy rain, the usual 5k run of 3 laps around the playing field was cancelled.
Instead, the organisers came up with a last minute run with a 5 lap circuit around the pavements and footpaths close to the Lake side Centre. 
The lake side centre in Killingworth, as the name suggests, is on a road that has a lake either side.  Today however, there was a third lake, this being the road.

The Aquathon comprises a 500m (20 lengths) swim in the Lake Side Leisure centre 25m pool, with the transition, this year at the far end of your swimming lane inside the building.  Normally the transition into running gear is outside, but everywhere was underwater.
Whilst there was strictly no running on poolside, it was also very difficult to run outside as it was still raining heavily with much of the run through puddles and sodden leaves.

From Durham Tri there was me and Debs Goddard.  She also came with a friend who swims with Durham Tri (Today was her first event – Well Done).  There was also someone who saw me in a Durham Tri T-Shirt and said she was also a member but had not seen the T-Shirts before.  I gave a sales pitch but can’t remember her name – sorry.

I cannot offer any tips for the race except for one.  Normally the timing official dips a float in the water on the penultimate turn.  This time they said they were not going to do this.  Added to the fact that due to the flooding everything was running late, I did not get the chance to warm up and get my heart pumping as I normally do before the swim.  As a consequence, I was running out of oxygen & found the swim very hard.  This led me to forget the length count and twice I had to stand up at the end and ask how many lengths I had done!!

The results from Durham Tri were as follows.  Note that the run was more than 5k but no-one knows exactly what it was

Debs Goddard        Swim = 09:50    Run +T1 = 26:10     Overall = 36:00
Stephen Thomas    Swim = 09:31    Run+ T1 = 25:37     Overall = 35:08

The Killingworth Aquathon runs twice per year and is for me the first and last combined event of the year.  It is very well organised and the race referees, marshals and other officials did fantastically well to hold this event today despite extremely adverse conditions.

11:00am Heaton Harriers Town Moor Memorial 10k

On completion of the aquathon, and following a shower, a hot chocolate and fudge brownie, I drove into Newcastle to compete in the 10k run starting at the Exhibition Park Cafe.  Because of the earlier event, I did not arrive until 10:30am and it was a bit of a panic finding parking.  In the end there was plenty in the RVI underground car park, which cost almost as much as the race entry!

I registered online last night so I only needed to pick up my number and get to the start.  With 505 competitors standing bunched up together it was a poignant time which I will not forget with us all standing quietly for the 2 minutes silence at 11am.  There was a huge cheer and clapping at the end followed by the start gun.

Although the rain had stopped, the course was not only waterlogged in places, but there were flowing streams across the track, and any areas quickly turned into mud swamps.

The course comprises two circuits and there is lots of support from the public and families.  Although 505 people running seems a lot, it is only the first 500m that it crowded.  It soon spreads out.

As for my own performance, I found the first circuit quite difficult as it is surprising how cold and stiff your legs become even after a 5k Race.  Once the first circuit was completed my legs had warmed up and the second circuit was substantially better.

I cocked up the end big time.  As the last 2k is slightly downhill, I was able to use my bulk as momentum to pick up my speed and pass many runners.  When I saw the finish flag about 200m away, I began my final sprint home, passing even more.  Then, 20m from the flags, there was a Pac Man type left turn which took you in a 500m detour around the cheering crowds around the Exhibition Cafe, who looked at me with pitiful faces as my legs were gone and all those I had struggled to pass, strode past me with smiles on their faces!!  The extra loop took you to the same flags I saw, but from the opposite direction.  I’ll know next time.

I finished in the end with a time of 48 minutes and 51 seconds.  The best I have done for a 10k, I just would like to do this after a swim and bike.

Two tips each from Ian and Alan that worked for me.  From Alan, a shorter faster stride certainly helped, with overstriding being more tiring.  From Ian it was that every 500m or so, to increase your speed markedly for about 1 minute.  Yes you get tired, but when you settle back to your normal speed, you recover very quickly.  This does increase your overall speed and at the end, I found that you can keep this up for longer.  Thanks to you both for your commitment to the club.

Finally, a number of people came up to me to complement me on my Durham Tri T-Shirt which I ran in (Now soaking in the bath to get all the mud out).  It is great reflection on the club and it certainly raises awareness that the Club is active and moving forward.

If these two events are on together, I would thoroughly recommend it and it would be good to have a bunch of us entering together.

Stephen Thomas

DURHAM TRI-ATHLETES RAISE MONEY FOR CHARITY IN GREAT NORTH RUN.

Neil Sleeman & Graham Bradshaw put their fitness from Triathlon training to good use this autumn, by burning some calories for charity in the 29^th Great North Run.

Neil ran for Butterwick Hospice and Graham (along with some colleagues from work) ran for "A Celebration of Life after Cancer".

Summer returned to the North East of England for the world's biggest half marathon. Warm sunny conditions and temperatures reaching 19 degrees Celsius, brought record crowds out along the route creating a carnival atmosphere from the start at Newcastle's Tyne Bridge, to the finish on the coast at South Shields.

Starting together behind the elite runners, the warm conditions appeared to favour the Aussie and the two runners from Durham Tri were closely matched until 15km. But in an Ashes wining year the Pom used the extra mileage from training for the Loch Ness Marathon on Oct 4^th, to edge ahead crossing the line in a time of 1hr 28m.

Neil slowed in the last 6km to finish in 1hr 35m. But the race was only the start of his day. He then jogged to the Butterwick Hospice tent and massaged tired runners legs for another four hours!

With all the effort put in to competing in races each season, it is great once in a while, to use this effort to benefit others.

Well Done to Neil & Graham