First established in 2002 the Dambuster Triathlon is a well recognised feature of the triathlon calendar in the UK. All triathletes from novice to elite are welcome as Dambuster has been selected by the BTF as a qualification event for the World Championships – London, 2013 and European Championships… and this was the race that Alex Rothwell chose as his first of the season.

So, how did it go Alex? ‘Bit rusty, but I knew I would be, so generally pleased with how I did.The swim was shortened to 1400m as it was so windy  – the turn buoy couldn’t be placed in its proper location, and the bike was also a bit suspect in areas due to strong cross winds. But by the time I made it to the run the sun was out and the wind had dropped a little, and despite feeling as though my legs were only 50% under my control I was able to run under 37 which I pretty surprised with as I felt empty for most of it. Picture of me about to high five one of my daughters as I came out of transition onto the run.’

Karen (pronounced CAR-un)  claims an early midlife crisis at 34 set her on the path to triathlon. After a Triathlon training day at David Lloyd, she got ‘roped into’ her first triathlon whilst on holiday in Florida – doesn’t sound too stressful so far!  A triathlon in Florida and she was hooked (wouldn’t we all be), although  she does admit that halfway through most races she curses herself for doing it and swears never again, but that is all soon forgotten:

‘ Finishing a triathlon is, for me, one of the best most exciting feelings – it’s up there with graduating and getting married!!’

Karen’s done London Triathlon 5 times, Blenheim once, Windsor once, Woman’s Only at Dorney a few times, Hever Castle, the swim leg of a half iron man, a half marathon, and a few other random events. Long may your mid-lige crisis continue Karen, welcome to Viceroys.

Another week, another new(ish) Viceroy – Simon Tack. Congratulations Simon on completing your first ever tri last weekend (Eton Supersprint: 400m Swim, 20km Bike and 5km Run)… particularly impressive as he had never even worn his wetsuit before, let alone swum in it. He loved the swim though: ‘ one of the best swimming experiences of my life! A total eye opener. I felt like I was turbo charged – incredible!!’

If you’re still struggling to work out which Simon is which, he’s the one with the dog. Loki first came swimming at the lake on  a recent Monday, and then clocked a very reasonable time with Simon on the handicapped Thursday night run. But this isn’t just about his dog…

Simon’s first tri success (1:24) has spurred him on to enter: Marketing MAA Olympic Tri; Hampton Court Swim; Gatorade Evening Sprint Tri; Eton 70.3. GO SIMON!!

Alan Harris’ ETU experience:

‘I felt great on the start line of the Sprint 40-44 and had a good swim. I was 7^th out of the water in my AG and I was well-up for picking-up some more places on the bike and run as usual. Within 200m of the bike though I just couldn’t get any power out. It was crazy. I just had nothing there and had to battle round for little return. I then got into T2 to find that A.N.Other GB athlete in my AG had racked in my slot and run-off in my trainers (insert swear word of choice)! They were the same make, same size, same colour. I took a while to work it out; worried that I’d be DQ’d for taking someone else’s trainers or that I’d ruin someone else’s race if I had got it all wrong; then spoke to a Marshall and he gave me the all-clear to run. By that time I had a mild head-f*ck and I still had nothing in the legs and struggled to get going until the second lap. I finished 12^th and came away thinking that it really was a missed opportunity given my current form and the people who beat me this time round. A tad frustrating!

But, you had to feel sorry for the GB athlete who was 4^th in my AG by 1/100^th of a second. Having been 4^th in Budapest in 2010 by 9 seconds I now don’t feel quite so bad!’

Mark Edmunds’ ETU Experience:

‘I was in the first wave of the championships at 7AM doing male 25-29 Olympic Distance. We started from the pontoon which was a massive surprise as age group athletes are supposed to do water starts! so we all dived in and I lost my goggles straight away, so had to find them and re attach them, but once re attached I struggled to sight as they became fogged up. I struggled round and was disappointed in my time of 24.35 minutes, but a quick transition and strong first bike lap had my spirits up as I caught and passed Nururas other athletes and came in after lap 4 in 59.59, a PB for 40km. A solid T2 saw me in 8th position in my AG so I had high hope of moving up but my legs just gave up once I hit the first hill and knowing I had another 3 laps to survive I hung in and finished in 2 hrs 8 minutes 55 seconds which was a massive PB and got me 14th in AG and 71st overall, which was a massive achievement and my season goal done.’

Alan Clark’s ETU experience:

‘Not an  ideal start to a good week racing in Turkey, as those lovely French air traffic controllers chucked their toys out of their pram to bring chaos to anyone wishing to travel through their airspace. We were delayed 3 hrs and then a 1 1/2 hour queue outside the hotel and I got to my bed at 3.30 am.

The following day we built bikes, swam rekkie, bike rekkie, race briefed, racked bikes and sat in our hotel removing heads from our backsides. Before I knew it,  I was hanging on a rope on the start pontoon .The race went well for me, 8th in the swim in balmy warm sea water and I made up 1 place on the bike and the 2 places on the run to finish 5th in agegroup and 3rd Brit. Worst bit was Thursday all day on feet for 1 day prep, best bit was running up the blue carpeted finish chute while you felt everyone there was cheering come on GB. ‘

Viceroy Colin Hinsley tells us:

‘The day started well with an early call from a Czechoslovakian honey from the apartment next door, I was rather hoping my luck was in but sadly she’d just got confused around room numbers.  Somewhat distracted I failed to fall asleep again.  Back to Triathlon…..  I had my normal steady start on the swim (so as to avoid the panic attacks) and I soon started to rev up.  The sea was crystal clear and warm.  I exited the water feeling very fresh and thought, in the moment, I’d had a swift dolphin like swim.  Onto the bike after a customary rapid transition I sped away, on the out and back bumpy road.  Wasn’t sure how to pace the bike (as only my 2nd Olympic distance race) so kept it steady for the 4 loops.  Then another rapid transition (my best discipline) and I found the run pretty good despite the blistering heat and savage hill – I over took a few people and likewise got taken by a few.  Absolutely delighted with my result at the end of the race.  But the the euphoria was short lived……….  I saw my swim time 28min+ for 1500m – clearly I’d fallen asleep and must have been dreaming that I was slipping through the water like a dolphin – clearly distracted by my early morning call.   Note to self:   More sessions at the lake required – the colder the better.’

Just in case you get confused, Alan is a cyclist, not a triathlete. He got started by cycling to work on a mountain bike and couldn’t understand how people on road bikes were going so fast, so he up graded to one then noticed the difference. Then upgraded again and again and again…  He had never done any sport until he was 28 years of age, although with his passion for being on a bike now you would have thought he’d been cycling for ever!

Picture of him in France last Sunday ( red/white) doing a seventy five mile sportive… welcome to Viceroys Alan, and congratulations on your new daughter Caris.

Early alarms, anxiety and panic were the overwhelming feelings as Viceroys Carl Fisher, Dan Spalding, Mark Yeoman, Charlotte Hargreaves, Gary Brine, Phil Goss and Karen Clarke-Hoffman prepared to get to the Windsor triathlon on time – and little did they know, there was a champion in their midst. 

Carl laid all his kit out in nice neat rows checked the bike for storm damage and satisfied himself that he was truly ready to nail this one… and then he lost his timing chip. His transition space looked like it had been hit by a hurricane and panic had set in with only 20 minutes to go – not recommend as a pre race warm up. 

Swims  went really well, perhaps except for Charlotte who came away with a bloodied nose! Others stayed calm, although Dan compared the swim exit to ‘wildebeest scrambling out of the Mara river ‘ – but he still managed a pleasing 28:58 swim. As our triathletes moved through the blur of transition, Dan managed a quick hello to a rather spent-looking Mark Yeoman, little knowing at the time that he was viewing a spent future race champion.  Carl set off with an aim of 30+ km/h on the bike knowing it was a hilly course, but actually clocked a 32km/h so was very happy with his 1:18:39 bike split.  With the move to run, Dan pushed to maintain a 45-min pace, Carl was reunited with his previously lost timing chip.

 Dan: ‘Happy with my finish time of 2.32, although having done Windsor in 2.34 and 2.30, getting under 2.30 continues to be elusive!’ 

Carl: ‘I crossed the line with a 49:27 run split and a total time of 2:41:32.  Best of all a story to tell of another great day out surrounded by Family and Friends.  I was also incredibly proud to learn that Mark Yeoman, our coach; chairman and mentor was the fastest man out there and topped the table in first place.  Congratulations!’ 

Viceroys is literally the best triathlon club around.

Peter Bell and Colette Kitterhing headed down to Ashford in Kent – for Colette her second race ever and for Pete just his forth.

Based on the open water coaching sessions at Shepperton, Pete decided to “get in the mix” at the swim start – as taught by coach Yeo he set off on “2” at the countdown and loved the thrashing/kicking/hitting of all the bodies in the water and  constantly looked for other swimmers to draft off. On the second lap, Pete did a racing turn round one of the buoys and was surprised by the number of people behind him. By the end of the swim Pete was a staggering 5 mins ahead of his usual 1500m time… while Colette was still fighting with the weed that seemed to infest the lake. None the less, seeing her fellow Viceroy in the distance (well the end of the men’s wave) Colette managed to leave the bulk of the female wave behind her and was really pleased to catch up with the end of the men’s, leaving the water right in the mix with only a few ladies ahead of her. 

Biking like a pro, Pete maintained his planned pedal cadence and power output and  stayed in aero tuck (despite his back complaining), told his screaming quads to shut up and maintained visual contact with the bikes that dared pass him. Meanwhile, Colette describes, “A wonderful ride though the Kent countryside.”

Normally the run is  the strongest part of Pete’s race, but his legs were heavier than usual off the bike so there was a little bit of an “ironman shuffle” for the first km, but he took heart from the large number of shufflers he was able to cruise past around the cross-country circuit. As Pete  reached the athletics stadium for the finish, he was inspired: “ I could imagine Coach Yeoman’s track session shouts (stand tall, high knees, push off the toes, etc, etc) in my head and sprinted for the line. I stopped the watch – just over 40 mins for the 10km – reasonable for me. “ Colette too had a PB on the run and did spectacularly to finish overall 4th in the female sprint (5 mins off the leader).