Half Ironman Triathlon, Weymouth

7 local Somerset RC Tri triathletes headed south to Weymouth on Sunday 3rd June. 3 to compete in the inaugural Sprint race and 4 competing in the gruelling Half Ironman distance.

Sprint Race

Nick Mace, Jonathan & Lorraine Ayres set off at 6:45am in perfect conditions. All 3 SRC tri athletes exited the swim in the top 15 with Mace & Jonathan finding their shore legs side by side just over 20 minutes, Lorraine started also exited the water still very much in contention in 21:42. In fact the 750m swim measured closer to 1200m as the canoe marshals moved the bouys further out to sea as the field swam towards them, in a comical moment!

Mace flew by J. Ayres on the bike on his way to the fastest of all the 20km bike legs in 35:02 and rocketed up to 2nd place as he came back into the bike/run Transition and although had some distance to close was chasing hard for a win. Ayres bike was below par and had dropped back to 10th as he too started the run. Lorraine was also having a great race and was lying 2nd in her over 40’s age group.

Nick Pushed hard on the run and closed over a minute on the athlete in front but the winner was out of reach of Mace’s 1st class efforts which gave him a 19:36 5km run split. Ayres got his race back on track despite being ill on the run to post the days fastest split in 18:05 and climbed up the field to cross the line in 7th  overall, and 2nd in the over 40’s. Lorraine maintained her 2nd place on her run, in an excellent result in one of her first open water races.

The club also picked up the team prize in what was a very successful days racing.

Half Ironman Race

Over 400 men & women also hit the water bright & early with the first wave breaking the water at 7am, with the triathletes swimming 1900metres. First off, Juliet Rowe exited the sea in 38:07 – in the men’s over 40 field Stuart Collins & Duncan Richards both impressed with 31:29 & 32:49 swims Collins exiting in 36th and Richards in 52nd place. Matt Price like Rowe using the race as a dress rehearsal for the French full Ironman just 3 weeks later swam to a solid 81st place in 34:27.

With 56 miles to ride, the bike is all about pace judgement and ensuring they start the half marathon run (13.1 miles) in good enough shape to survive in what were going to be very warm conditions. Price impressed most on the bike with the 39th fastest split coming back to transition in 2 hours 24 mins a performance he must have been delighted about with all his hard training taking its toll in recent weeks. Richards was next back with a 2:32:03 bike, Collins in the 45 to 49 age group completed the bike in 2:36:58 and Rowe also impressive in 2:44:07.

The run was set to be a very exciting with all 4 team mates starting within a minute or two of each other with Rowe showing her male counterparts the true art of running off the bike by setting the 2nd fastest run split in her race – 2nd only to the winning women, who is a full-time professional triathlete – of 1 hour 31 minutes for the half marathon distance. Pretty much a personal best for the distance in its own right! This took her to 6th overall and 1st in her age group, with a finishing time of 4 hours 54 minutes – Giving the Mace/Rowe household yet another trophy. A first class effort and one that will set her up fantastically for the Ironman challenge she has in 3 weeks. Price added the finishing touches to his quality bike with a run that out paced his male club rivals with a very brave effort and brought him home in 1:34:12 for the run and a super quick 4:33:33 time for 43rd overall. Richards who normally races at shorter distances held his run together and although struggled in the closing stages still posted a fast 1:35:27 for the run and 4:40:19 overall giving him 14th in his age group. Collins wrapped up the club’s results with 6th for his age, in 4:44:42 and a run of 1:36:15. With the overall race winner a startling 48 it proves how competitive the age group races are.