Weekend Round Up 20th 21st July

An extended weekend report starting on Wednesday 17th July through until Monday 22nd as yet again we have more amazing tales of Tuff endurance

Mission accomplished

BEAT THE TIDE

The annual Beat The Tide run along the beach at Worthing organised by Sussex Trail Events. The 10k starts on the sand heading towards Lancing Sailing Club avoiding rocks, but best to plough through rock pools and particularly the storm drain which was in full flight. Then a sapping run up the shingle to the Widewater footpath to the turn. Whilst the return wasn’t too bad until the descent back down the shingle, runners were then exposed to the full force of the unseasonal wind. Regardless of times achieved our squad certainly put the ‘Tuff’ in Tuff Fitty in those conditions – kudos to all our fourteen runners.

The large number of Tuff vests was impressive amongst a strong field and Marc Flinders was our first runner home; 12th overall in 46:25. Tiff Orton was our next finisher, running back up the shingle as 4th in her age group. Next home were Kate Cooper and Adrian Oliver, both accredited the same finishing time crossing as 4th and 5th in their respective age gradings. Dan Lawrence was only 6 seconds behind, a great result as Dan is still on the comeback trail from injury. The good news continued with Colin Simpson taking first in his age group. Adam Stringer powered up the beach as our next finisher and then Clive Harvey. Trevor Harvey was under a minute behind.

Everyone was getting back before the tide with a strong run from Leah Simms next; Nina Tully was delighted to achieve a PB on this course. Susan Douglas was running with Stig as they both justifiably earnt a medal. Janet Shepherd ran well gaining second in her age group & then Alistair Evans who had endured a tough beach run into the wind a couple of weeks ago at Littlehampton, yet still took on this to complete our squad of fourteen.

The event was a success thanks to the three Sussex Trail Event directors and particularly our fellow Tuffs Jay Mccardle & Danny Cunnett. Well done to Grant Smalley who was literally a turn cone out at Widewater with sweaty runners swinging around him. Thanks to Sue Simpson for many of the photos with some from Adrian in the album below. Sue Pinky arrived dressed for running but decided conditions weren’t suitable; so we had 19 club members on the windy prom.

This was the second fixture in our club’s run championship, with Worthing parkrun next up on the 10th August. Then Arundel Castle 10k on the 25th August – entry here Our final fixture will be a Track 10k on Wednesday 4th September. Colin Simpson and Marc Flinders are leading the table after two events.

Click on the photo below for the Flickr album.

ARDINGLY SWIM THE LAKE

July saw the second of Hedgehog Tri’s Swim the Lake with five Tuffs entering the reservoir last Wednesday. Adrian Oliver was back again and takes up the tale below:-

‘Once again, it was a lovely Wednesday evening to swim in the beautiful Ardingly Lake, with a choice of 750m, 1500m or 3km swim, or a 750m swim/4.8km run Aquathlon’.

‘Isis, in training for yet more big triathlon events, went for the full 3km swim, which involved 4 laps of the 750m loop. She finished in 58:14, 10th lady (23rd overall ) out of a bumper field of 36′.

‘Ben Abbott, an Ardingly Lake regular, swam the 1500m, finishing in 29:09, 9th “Open” (16th overall). Jenny, following her success last month in winning the 750m swim, decided to upgrade to the 1500m, finishing in 33:25, 15th lady (30th overall) out of a field of 51′.

‘No Tuffs entered the 750m swim – had ANY man entered, they would have won the fastest (and only “Open”) category race – if you snooze, you lose!’

Katie Y and Adrian entered the aquathlon.  Katie, unfortunately, made a rooky mistake and grabbed her swim/run wetsuit instead of her regular swimming wetsuit – this was to Adrian’s benefit as he managed to just keep on a slower Katie’s feet during the swim.  This also benefitted Katie,  as she discovered that swim/run wetsuits are not designed for rapid undressing – Adrian was fortunately on hand to assist in “that” department…  The run was the usual hilly 3-lap route.  Katie completed the event in 37:26 (13:03 swim/24:23 run) in 3 place (4th overall), and Adrian in 39:01 (13:07 swim/25:54 run) in 2nd place (5th overall).

Katie’s slower swim due to the wrong wetsuit was interesting, as GTN (Global Triathlon News) had recently released an interesting video on “Wetsuit you need vs Wetsuit you Want” – the wrong wetsuit can cost you several minutes in an event! (here) The organisers video follows:-

This Ardingly Swim the Lake event was the last of the season—we’re looking forward to 2025—but this Saturday, we have the privilege of swimming at Ardingly with Mid-Sussex Tri Club—don’t miss out! (Book by Wednesday 14th July)

Adrian

Guildford’s spacious transition area

GUILDFORD TRIATHLON

Next we have a great report from James Togneri. Not only does James set out a great comeback result, but also how the venue/organisation combine to make this a recommended Triathlon. Perhaps one for the diary for 2025 :-

‘”This Sprint Triathlon was held at Surrey University sports centre comprising 500m pool snake swim in a 50m pool, then a 23k ride on a brilliant fast undulating course before finishing with a 5k trail run’. 

‘After Eastbourne middle distance triathlon where I didn’t feel quite right I decided to cut out at aquabike’. 

‘I then went straight to google and booked a sprint for the following weekend.’ 

‘After i booked i was feeling fatigued and I’d been suffering from what I thought was asthma and hayfever for a few weeks . So I went and saw my GP to learn I have a chest infection’. 

‘I had 3 days of antibiotics and thought I’d still go and do the sprint’. 

‘What a fantastic event ! The best sprint triathlon I’ve done’. 

‘At 8am my swim wave started . The Swim was started in 25m gaps with slow to fast ducking the lane ropes after each 100m I started last and ended up overtaking 3 people with loads of room to do so which was great’.

‘It was So well organised , transition was a 400m grass run onto a lovely soft astro where we had racked with loads of space’. 

‘The bike course was undulating but fast , roads were so clear and great for the TT bars. There were 2x traffic lights on route but they were dead zones where our chip times stopped so it was very stress free. The bike went really well I struggled with my breathing so had to hold back to a slower pace than I wanted but I couldn’t expect too much’.

‘Off the bike and straight into the run, you start on a gradual hill then get onto the Downs where you have some woodland trails which were great as you concentrate on your footing and forget about the hard effort. The run continued across fields and 1 section of pavement before you run down a hill into the finish line. My training has been 90% z2 as I’m trying to get back from a back injury which seems like I’m nearly there’. 

‘I was over the moon with my race especially after the previous weekend . Z2 has got my fitness to a great point but now ill be adding some vo2 max and intervals to get the top end back up’ . 

‘I was second in my age group 2/21 and 9th out of 276 overall after the results updated’. 

‘I’ve  now got a swollen throat and my chest is worse . But it was worth it ! ‘

‘Rest week and antibiotics before I go again’.

James 

James

THE BIG HEAT – THE HEAT IS ON

James Hodge was on Marathon duty again this week, this time heading for the Surrey Hill’s, a very undulating course where runners are expected to carry 500ml of hydration with them. With over 220 finishers across the marathon and 16 mile, another strong result from James:-

‘I seem to be on a mission to review local trail running events and this Sunday it was my first BigFeat Events trail marathon. The Big Heat is the third in their classic elements series’. 

‘The route takes you along the winding dusty tracks and through the sun baked forests and open sandy plains of Thursley & Hankley Commons. There is a choice of Marathon or 16 mile distances, each starting and finishing at The Royal School in Haslemere., and taking in the very best of the Surrey countryside!’

‘Thankfully it wasn’t quite the Big Heat we might have expected for July and we even started off in light rain. It didn’t take long though for the sun to come out’.

‘This was another fabulously well organised and friendly event. Aid stations were regular and well stocked. Great coffee and chairs at the finish meant lots of runners stayed and mingled, chatting mostly about possibly the longest and steepest hill I have ever come across in a race strategically placed at the start of mile 25’.

‘The route starts out winding its way through woods with a few short steep climbs. The middle section is mostly runnable taking care to avoid golf balls whizzing through the air from a nearby course and being shot as you pass through MOD land. I got locked into a battle from mile 20 all the way to the finish which was quite comedic as it involved such treats as hanging on desperately to the hand rail descending a flight of steps, getting stuck astride a stile due to cramp, one of a series of stiles at mile 24 and shuffling up lots of hills including the aforementioned mile long one and then trying to negotiate a final rocky descent back to the finish. I am working on my pacing and although still a work in progress was much improved. I finished in 5 hours 46 and had a fantastic and fun day out’.

Big Heat – Highly Recommended 

James

Mark

CASTLE TO COAST TRIATHLON

This event made headline Tuff news last year when we had Ten Tuffs taking part, oh and perhaps also in part because of the biblical rain on the day! This year we just had a sole Tuff entrant Mark Dinsdale who provides his story from the day – a reminder that this low pressure triathlon is worth another look next year

‘Well that was an odd but, enjoyable Triathlon.  20th July – Windsor to Brighton – Castle to Coast”. 

‘Completed this with a mate – after the 1.2 mile swim in Dorney Lake we rode the 66 mile cycle route together.  Roads were open and from where we were in the field it felt more like a Sunday club ride, we even stopped in Dorking for coffee and cake! Feed stations and transition areas were a hive of chit chat – no one seemed in a hurry and the emphasis was more on completing than competing. The 14 mile run from Hassocks to Brighton was a scenic tough cross country stage.  Arriving at the finish line – greeted with the obligatory medal and T shirt and a nice meal. Our bikes and transition bags had been transported to Brighton – we packed, cycled back to Worthing stopping in Shoreham for the celebratory few beers.  All in all a great day out – checking watch etc after the event highlighted I had spent over 2 hours non moving (Coffee stop, transitions and feed stops) 🙂 . ‘

Mark

SEVEN STILES

Another week and another West Sussex Fun Run League Fixture. Starting and finishing at Henfield Leisure Centre, the four mile course comprised mainly flat country footpaths and trails along the river and old railway line. Whilst the title remains ‘seven stiles’ over the years a number have been removed, so no longer seven! What is beyond doubt is that we had three club members participating for their running clubs. First of our members home was Kate Cooper who has built a good record in these events this year. Then it is great to give a ‘shout out’ to two of our newer Tuffs who only joined this month. Well done to both Debbie Birch and Hope Newcomer.

PARKRUN ROUND UP

At Littlehampton parkrun it was a cause for celebration as it was Littlehampton’s 200th parkrun. Steve Fryer was our fastest runner finishing in 21:02. Fraser Kidd was next just a minute behind. Emma Hinton was back on the prom closely followed by Steve Bridgeman. Bob Rogers was also on his home parkrun course. Chris Evans was running and also gained a credit for being on the volunteer team. Kudos goes to Debbie Birch also on the volunteer team

At Worthing parkrun there was a great performance from Paul Fielder as he achieved a PB for the second consecutive week. This week he shaved a further 23 seconds off last weeks time – great work. Amy Flinders was also running to pace someone this week.

Whilst only 9 running locally there was some notable parkrun tourism

East Brighton parkrun comprises a grassy course around 3 laps above Brighton Marina. Our runners here were Sue & Colin Simpson who ran together- surprisingly this was a venue they were visiting for the first time out of their combined total of 493 parkruns.

Further up the country Alistair Evans is another regular tourist notching up his 35th different location at Dunstable Downs parkrun . Close to Whipsnade Zoo the course is a ‘moderately’ undulating course.

Our furthest parkrun tourist this week was Katie Young who undertook the two laps around Hereford Racecourse. Running here for the second time; Katie took 27 seconds off her last visit to record a new PB – excellent

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

There can only be one candidate for picture of the week. Monday evening “summer” runs from the Fox Pub attract good numbers. Last Monday there was a good gathering at the start despite the promise of rain. Perhaps the runners were not expecting quite such a deluge. Going up, the path was nice and clear but once the heavens opened there was a stream accompanying runners back down, with everyone absolutely drenched!