Here’s another fantastic result for the team, with Ian taking second overall in a fiercely competitive race at Marbury Park, Cheshire…
I participated in the Marbury Park triathlon in my first season as a triathlete, a picturesque area of the Cheshire countryside. The event was last held in 2006 and was resurrected for this year. I entered the sprint event (instead of the longer Olympic distance race), knowing that the weeks leading into the event would be a bit frantic (work wise, I’m a school teacher), therefore preparation time and training volume would be somewhat reduced, but I still felt I could race hard and fast.
The swim was in Budworth Mere, a very pleasant open water venue and also surprisingly warm. With the swim marker bouys not staying in position, the organisers took the decision to use the permanent bouys from the lake to route the swim. This proved to be a fair decision, but made the swim more towards 1000m rather than the usual 750m (I wish I had done this race – JE). I exited the swim in 4th place about a minute down on the leader.
The run to T1 was a steep uphill affair and was a little disorientating for a short spell until I got my balance (it is always slightly strange going from a horizontal swimming position to a vertical running/biking position – JE). As I entered T1 the first 3 athletes had exited, so I knew that the chase was on.
The bike course was a rolling and very twisty 2 lap course (23km) and having found some better cycling form I managed to gain 2 positions putting me into 2nd place as I started the 2nd lap. I held this position until T2 and was happy with my performance.
Exiting T2, I was approximately 50-60 seconds behind the lead athlete and knew that I needed to work in order to close the gap. At the turn point at halfway, the leader caught sight of the fact that I was closing and seemed to raise his game. With 1km to go it looked unlikely that I would catch first place and I was not going to be caught by the third placed athlete, so I maintained my pace and worked at maintaining a strong but relaxed pace through to the finish.
Another podium for TORQ. I’ll be back next year to try and go one better.
Many thanks to our sponsors:
www.wilier.it – Triathlon Frames
www.ffwdwheels.com – Aero Wheels
www.ritcheylogic.com – Aerobars, Saddles and Finishing Kit
www.cycleops.com – Power Meters
www.racezone3.com – Wetsuits
www.limarhelmets.com – Helmets & Glasses
www.lakecycling.co.uk – Cycling Footwear
www.jagwireusa.com – Cables & Housing
www.scott-sports.com – Running Footwear
www.shimano.com – Groupsets
www.triathlonspecific.com/Sable/Sable.html – Swim Goggles (Sable Water Optic)
www.max-mediagroup.co.uk – Team PR
www.amphibia-sport.com – Transition Bags
www.schwalbe.com – Tyres
www.lezyne.com – Pumps, Tools and Bottle Cages
www.champ-sys.com – Custom Trisuits and Cycle Wear
