Weekend Round Up 23rd 24th July
What can we say, but another weekend of plentiful Tuff action, more terrific personal achievements, goals gained, podiums, including another English champs medal, and the camaraderie in getting encouraged out to events by fellow Tuffs.
DAWN ON THE DOWNS
Last year dawn brought low mist and drizzle all morning but 2022 brought bright sunny weather with the heat building as the Tuff collective set off on their respective routes. A 10 mile race started at 8am and then a 10k route at 8:15
For the 10 mile, Gareth Coombes was first Tuff home, and 8th overall in 1hr 19. Oliver Thomas finished 9th overall in 1:22:27. More strong results as Danny Cunnett & Jon Babbage finished 13th & 14th respectively just 35 seconds apart. Adrian Oliver was 17th, Clare Worgan was 5th in her age grouping and then good work from Shelley Babbage as she builds towards London Marathon.
With the 10k runners finishing the announcer kept saying, ‘and here is another Tuff, and another ‘ and it was politely pointed out 6 of the 9 core organising team were also Tuffs 🙂 The first competitor overall was Simon Thistlethwaite over three minutes ahead of second in 46:18, a great time for the undulating, hot course.
Thanks to Simon for the following report:-
“Arrived at race start to see a flurry of blue and white Tuff vests smothering the Sussex hills. A last minute switch from Glatting Beacons 5 to RAW DOND proved a popular choice for the club championship. With the heat already blasting down at 8.15am the race was sure to be a challenging one on the hills in the rising temperatures. As usual the Tuffs made their way to the front and off we go. I needed to keep Mark Walford in my sight for any chance of challenging for the STRUN series. I knew it would be hard work and settled in early doors for 3rd place after Mark and his buddy showing good pace from the off. 4 Miles in I felt comfortable and wasn’t really wanting to push too hard as it was beginning to get really hot and there was no sign of the first two runners and a big gap between myself and the next guy. Approaching the 5 Mile mark I found myself alone and with no one else around I wondered if I’d gone wrong somewhere. Then I saw a left marker and realised I was still on the right track but obviously more than 2 minutes behind the first two men whom I never saw again. I was pleasantly surprised when I was announced as race winner and knew then the first two had been unfortunate and made a mistake somewhere. My first ever race win and absolutely chuffed to bits. Great to see so many Tuffs helping out again at these events and everyone having a ball.
Simon
Fantastic to see Paul Martin back on the campaign trail after injury and he crossed 6th overall. Kate Cooper rolled out her usual speedy run to cross the line as third female vet and fifth female overall. Emma Hinton was 10th female home, and then Sue Neilson, just a minute behind.
What had started as a small group of Tuffs at the finish steadily increased in size and definitely volume, as other Tuffs finished and joined the group with everyone staying to cheer all clubmates home.
As pointed out by Simon, Mark Walford had been locked in battle with another runner for the lead; these two had been running strongly only for them to miss a turn. Simon Thistlethwaite couldn’t believe Mark and his fellow runner had yet to appear back at race control. It transpired they had run over 15km with a finish time of 1 hour 4 minutes. Whilst clearly their extra was on a different route, the time would have likely put them on the podium for the actual 10 mile race.
Still Tuffs kept pouring over the line.as Janet Shepherd finished at 2nd in her age group, Claire Moyle, Jimbo Brock (on the comeback trail), Jenny Oliver, Karly Martin to complete an amazing 17 Tuffs racing. Well done to Jane Custance, Jon Roper, Trev Harvey Tiff Orton, event manager Debbie Boxall & Clive Harvey on the organising team. Good to see Karen Napleton along to cheer her son.
SUMMER TUFF RUN SERIES
There was a secondary element to Dawn on The Downs as the 10k race was also one of our nominated STRUN races – (Summer Tuff Run Series) The series permits runners to carry forward their best three scores based on their gender/age grading. The table after three events is HERE The ladies are showing the men how it is done with Janet Shepherd in first position, Emma Hinton and Claire Moyle 2nd and 3rd. Still time to make an impact with Worthing parkrun scheduled for 13th August and then Arundel 10k on bank holiday Sunday 28th August
FULLSTEAM CASTLE TO COAST
Fancy a Middle Distance Tri?, we can’t call it a 70.3, this was 81.2mile as the bike was 66m miles (3,262ft ascent) and 14 mile run (1,300ft). It is billed as a sportive with the transition locations open to go inside and change. Entrants do wear a chip so the organisers can track everyone’s progress. So who would be up for this? – Nina Tully and we are grateful for her report which is a very emotive read about her epic adventure:-
“Castle to coast or beauty and beast?
A couple of years ago I was on a high after my first super sprint Triathlon at David Lloyd and my good friend Graham told me of a sportive he was going to do called Castle to coast, I went and had the usual coffee and chat with my Dad about my next crazy adventure and I got the usual reaction of eye roll followed by ‘I know you can do anything you set your mind to’ and he would train with me and support me. Then came the devastating news the next month that he had mesothelioma a cancer caused by asbestos and Covid lockdowns and sadly the loss of my amazing Dad.
I kept my promise to go after this goal, I got Tuff’s membership and trained predominantly solo as a way of coping.
On the morning we headed to Dorney Lake for the start, we had the perfect weather and we’re happily joking about how many pubs we could stop at on our way to Brighton.
While putting my wetsuit on, my back decided to go into spasm! Graham looked terrified when I told him but I just casually said it’s okay the swim will sort it out!
The 1.2 mile swim was amazing I felt strong and comfortable but we decided it was an easy paced swim which turned out to be a really good time for me, I had also opted not to kick to help my back.
We excited the water with a high five and headed to transition got ready and handed our bags in then we were off on the 67 mile bike ride on an open road route of hills hills and more epic hills (I did need to get off on one of them as my back was locking up and it was a beast!)
There were two pit stops (not pubs) on the bike course and a few sections of really bad traffic due to roadworks too but the beauty of the course somehow won us over then we arrived at Hassocks leisure centre for the bike to run transition, I handed my bike over to the Brighton team who then took it to the finish…I was a bit relieved to hand it over and was excited to start the run.
We get ourselves into our run kit and handed over our bike bags and set off for the 14.2 mile run at this point both of us were feeling it a bit, but chose to ease in with walk runs to then turn the corner to what looked like a terrifying hill…this was the baby of the hills to come let alone another little gem soon to be called the steps of doom! Who puts steps into a run!!!
Once again the views kept winning us over,
I can’t remember the exact point but at each pit stop we were noticing people waiting for transport to the finish line and I nearly opted to do the same with my back now fully locked up, Graham then gave me a hug and said he was stopping there and I was then joined by the tail walker who told me the riders after us had been moved on which now meant I was last on the full course, I got a bit upset, then from nowhere, I had it in me to walk I think the fastest I have ever walked,
I had asked if I was allowed to finish the last 4-ish miles walking and he smiled and said of course its your race you do it your way but if you need to stop it’s OK too.
Then came the steps of doom they were not kidding but the view again at the top over looking Brighton was amazing, I ran down the hill at the racecourse and got to the bottom and out onto the road to hear cheers from Sue (pinky) another burst of energy and photos then carried on enjoying the buzz at Madeira Drive, past the pier, thought I was seeing things when my sister in law ran towards me, at this point I was way over expected time so they were all getting worried, but the organisers were keeping them informed that I was coming…the finish line with my family and friends was the best view of all ❤
I did it Dad xXx
Nina
CASTLE HOWARD 70.3 TRIATHLON – THE GAUNTLET
Just two weeks after competing at Tribourne 70.3 – Pete Littleboy was in action at another 70.3 in York. The website states ‘ Not for the faint hearted, this race pushes competitors to their limits whilst visiting every corner of the beautiful castle estate’ so it was a great result as Pete explains :-
“I signed up to the castle Howard race in Yorkshire as it was near to where some of my family live and being part of the castle series it was offering great discounts and all helps with petrol prices as they are. We drove up Friday morning as I had booked a swim session in the lake. However I was disappointed with it, but that being said, I got to see the venue as it was a full weekend of various races for all the family.
My time Slot for the gauntlet (70:3) was start 8am Sunday with registration & bike rack opening at 7am and surprisingly went smoothly until I waded to the start line. Off we went for a two lap swim (no exit) and it was carnage with a mass start in a small area and with the weeds and sludge it wasn’t at all pleasant. However I felt safe as I could stand up at any point and so with the swim done, I took the long run to T1 The bike was a two lap loop at this point, but when a northerner says it’s ‘rolling’ think Everest, as it was tough but very scenic. I was thinking perhaps my TT bike wasn’t required or it just required more gears.
Then it was onto the run; another 2lap loop and I was thinking part trail, mostly concrete and I was wrong; it was all trail and yep, tough with most competitors walking the hills. I therefore took strength from passing people, as the bike had drained my legs. only to discover its the same course for the marathon and other races so you have no idea on your placement. When I approached the finish it was like a hero’s welcome; the crowds cheered with the castle as a backdrop. So in summary all triathlons are not made equal, and I would definitely do it again now I have the knowledge
Peter
ARDINGLY SWIM THE LAKE
Following some Tuffs swimming the June event at Ardingly Lake, we have a witty report from Nicole Patterson-Lett’s return trip last Wednesday as follows:-
“A whole bunch of excuses including COVID and a bike crash meant it was just James Hodge (JH) and I leaving work a bit early Wed to get to the swim event for 6pm registration.
Note1 – most of this write up is taken directly from James WhatsApp messages the following morning!
Note2 – shhh, but I think JH is an MI5 agent!
Arriving at the car park, Michelle Dillon (former World Tri champion and 2 time Olympian) asked us if we were organising the swim event. We said no and walked off. James thought not recognising her might have been our first mistake!
Thursday – JH “Team Bodyworks are a development centre for Brit tri – no wonder Michelle Dillon was so desperate to talk to us!”
Late Wed afternoon Hedgehog Tri Facebook declared the lake was 25degrees so the event was non-wetsuit, this was confirmed at registration and there was an abundance of men with their ‘floaty pants’ (ask JH!)
Everyone was having their last banana’s, gels, electrolytes when the organiser declared “You can wear a wetsuit if you want to – but you’ll have to get your hands number marked as well as your arms” Chaos ensued – Do I, don’t I? What’s the speed advantage? Are you? What do you think? etc. Finally, I went skins, James went floaty pants, and 95% of the others went wetsuit.
Thursday – JH “I’ve been on the BTF website for 2022, race should be declared non wetsuit at 25 degrees unless aged over 60yrs, wetsuits optional up to 24.6. So essentially all the wetsuit swimmers are DQ’d”
3km swimmers go off first – the men a couple of minutes before the women (sexist? maybe!)
I didn’t start well for me – still on the pontoon when he said “Ready”, i fell in, goggles leaked a bit, forgot to start my watch, swam through a few steady starters and then realised a bunch had gone off at my 100m sprint pace. Found a ‘slightly too quick for 3km’ pace for lap 1 and started chasing down the men.
The swim course at Ardingly is as good as it could be, fresh cool reservoir water and a well marked out course with easy to spot buoys.
By lap 3 cramp was creeping in a bit partly due to a day at the work desk, and partly due to an overexcited first lap, but seeing James spurred me on (Sorry JH 😉) and i knew it was just one more 750 lap to the finish.
It’s difficult to know where you’re placed so all you can do is give it everything you’ve got left, and think how the effort will justify the McDonalds on the way home (JH “according to my watch the calories just about equalled out”, i.e. race deficit = large meal deal = 2 hurrahs!)
Wobbled up the slipway to give my number to the timekeeper, and not long after James came in looking pleased with his time.
A vaguely familiar looking guy said hello to us as he peeled down his wetsuit to reveal a GB tri suit, and we eventually realised it was Stuart Hayes. Turns out that Stuart and his speedy swimmer mate went well under 40mins for their 3km !!
Thursday – JH “I’ll take top 10 in the men’s, especially as I seem to have mistakenly entered the pro category!”
We stayed for the prize giving; top 3 Under 40 and top 3 40+. James said he lives in hope they’d do ‘spot prizes’!
I got a 3rd place trophy, but most importantly we both managed to beat our times from last time and had a brilliant fun evening.
Thursday morning and James was in full research/stalker mode!
JH – “Everyone has done something – pro triathlete / channel swimmer … even 4th place man appears to be some sort of local swim celeb!…. I’ve been on Twitter, the first placed woman is a South African pro staying with Michelle ready to race in Germany at the weekend – I’m going to check insta and see if we got a mention!”
FAME!- I’m podium hand shaking on Michelle’s Instagram video
James and I are left wondering, just how much difference would a wetsuit have made? Would the difference between a wetsuit and James’s floaty pants be close to 13mins over 3km? …. we’ll never know!!
Nic
PS Finally thanks to Katie Y-H who taught us how to customise our McDonalds orders after the last Ardingly swim- who knew!! (I went for maximum gherkins!)
NATIONAL SPRINT TRIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS
The English National Sprint Triathlon was held at Mallory Park which is one of the shortest permanent motor circuits in the UK between Leicester & Hinkley. Comprising a 750m swim, 18km bike and 5km run – thanks so Steve Feest for reporting in:-
“I was flying the Tuff Fitty flag this weekend.
I went up to Mallory Park on Saturday and raced in the National Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships on Sunday morning, 24th.
I camped on site, very convenient with good showers and toilets.
We were off at 10:00 am and it was wetsuit optional.
The lake is not very deep but a fair course, easy exit and shortish transition then out on the bike.
Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to get in a pack, all young and too quick!! but I counted the correct 6 laps.
It was a lovely course, traffic free, mainly flat around the motor circuit, but with one climb and hairpin each lap.
Good layout for transition again and out onto the 4 laps, 5k run course.
I didn’t realise I was catching 2nd in my age group until I’d finished.
He’s a good swimmer, out of the water 3 and a half mins in front of me.
I was slowly catching him throughout the race, unbeknown to me until after and I saw the results and breakdown.
So, I was 7 seconds off Silver but happy with to get on the podium with Bronze and keen to have another go next year.
I learnt a lot from my first “draft legal” tri race … and that I must improve my swimming!”
Steve
ITALIAN OPEN WATER SWIM – MACCAGNO – CROSSING THE CASTLE RACE 6K
Maccagno is in the north of Italy in the Lombardy region on the shores of Lake Maggiore, and thanks to Susan Douglas for reporting in from her swim:-
“The day started well with an email from The Lottery saying there was news about my EuroMillions ticket, upon checking I’d won £3.00!
On to a sweaty Gatwick and flight to Malpensa Milano Airport. An hours delay but got there in the end in time to catch my first train to Gallerate cost 6 euros, to get the connection to Maccagno – 5 euros! Trains are cheap, on time and comfortable in Italy. Beautiful journey through rural stations and the final part travelling along Lake Maggiore where my swim was to take place the next day.
My B & B was conveniently 5 minutes walk down to the lakeside. The swim was in a series organised by Italian Openwater Tour in various locations. My swim was a 6k out to an island with an ancient castle and back. The race was started in the water and we were off. Not a huge field, just 67 swimmers, 99% of whom whizzed off! I thought thats what always happens, I’ll catch up with them in the end… wrong! I had one wetsuit swimmer in front of me who I chased all the way to the castle, finally sitting on his toes thinking I’ll take him on the return leg, but rather unsportingly at the turn he took one look at me and sped off! I kept him in view, but by then the field was pretty strung out and I was at the back! I thought I was swimming ok, but the without the incentive of a castle to aim for and other competitors I lost a bit of momentum, plus there were jet skis zooming about which were a bit off putting. Eventually the end was in sight and finished -not last at least, but a bit outclassed by the speedy swimmers. The fastest was 1hr 20mins. But I had a good time in an absolutely beautiful location, wall to wall mountains. I’ll definitely come back again and maybe do one of their other swims.
Susan
BRIGHTON PIER SWIM
Another sea swim at Brighton Pier and so great to see further Tuff presence. This one comprised a 1,200m swim starting on the East side of the pier and finishing on the West side. There were a trio of Tuffs, Wendy Kane, Elaine Rousseau & Vanessa Green. Thanks to Wendy for reporting in:-
“Initially if anyone had asked me, I used to say I hated swimming! I was scared of deep water, seaweed and big waves! After being persuaded by a friend to try a sea dip at the start of the year in freezing temperatures and discovering the huge buzz that it gave me, this crazy idea soon developed from dipping to swimming. “Starting firstly with a bit of ‘old lady style’ breaststroke, as I didn’t like getting my head in the water or the taste of salt, to starting to learn front crawl and joining Tuff Fitty! ‘Swim Round the Pier’ was a goal set back in February in our little swim group called The Freezing Fannies! And after having covid a week ago I wasn’t sure if I was even going to make the start line! Luckily after testing negative on Thursday I managed to get in a quick pool and sea swim on Friday to check I was okay. It was so nice to be back feeling the buzz of a race, but I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as I had never done a race like this before, always running races!”
“It was a great atmosphere and very friendly, a lot of people attempting it like me for the first time, so I didn’t actually feel nervous, more excited! We had such a laugh between us all as it was getting to be a competition on how many times can one person need a wee before we started! When one lady commented that we all looked very professional getting in the sea to warm up and acclimatise, as we all laughed and shouted “no, we were all busting for a wee!” 😂😂 We all walked around to the other side of the pier ready for the race briefing and then suddenly we were off! I decided to hang back a little to avoid the washing machine effect of the faster swimmers and found a really lovely spot with just enough space not to be banging and crashing into other swimmers. Before I knew it I had done the first stretch of the pier and was heading to swim around the end. The waves got a lot choppier here and I somehow managed to swim quite a lot wider past the end than the other swimmers near me, taking “don’t get too near the pier” a bit too literally! Now on the home stretch back to the shore I found a great spot in between 2 other swimmers and managed to draft with them all the way back to the finish. It felt so good and I was delighted to finish quicker than I ever thought that I would. Definitely recommend this swim it was such great fun!
Wendy
CHESTNUT TREE HOUSE HIT THE DOWNS MTB
Having been widely advertised on roadsides around Sussex , Hit the Downs MTB Sportive had three distances to chose from 30k, 60k and 80km. Mark Dinsdale entered this but this was booked before a trip was arranged to see his daughter in Middlesex. Whilst Mark’s parkrun was picked up last week, Mark explained:-
My daughter had planned the weekend so she took me swimming at Shepperton Lake on the Friday evening and then the Brooklands parkrun the next day. Then it was back for the Mountain Bike Sportive on the Sunday; so an action packed weekend, so soon after Eastbourne.
Mark
COLOUR OBSTACLE DASH
A 5k Colour run with 20 obstacles, 6 colour stations, 20 music zones, foam and more, saw Sue Pinky enter with her grandson. Sue reports:-
Still an event even if I walked most of it with my grandson. We raced across some of the obstacles and of course he beat Nanny everytime! No cheating or slowing down went on at all! Loads of fun and we certainly got our monies worth!
Sue
PARKRUN ROUND UP
With various seafront events – there were no parkruns at either Lancing Green or Worthing, and not Worthing next weekend either – despite our Friday club event and Sunday’s Dawn on The Downs – there were still the following:-
We start with another new parkrun with the Tuff name in the results – Nostell parkrun. Based at Nostell Priory in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Alistair Evans was our representative here completing his 93rd run.
Another parkrun tourist location ticked off, as Nicole & Clive Patterson-Lett took part in the Mount Edgecombe parkrun whilst in Cornwall. The course recommends trail shoes as mainly off road and it states ‘walking is to be celebrated’ just to admire the views across Plymouth Sound and Cawsands Bay. Err it may also be because it is billed as the 4th toughest PR in England !
At Littlehampton parkrun this week Steve Fryer did well again crossing the line in just 20:42. This was also Steve’s 49th PR so is tantalisingly close to his 50th T-shirt. Nick Hartfield was also present.
Bognor parkrun saw Nathan Bilham in action finishing in 23:28 to clock up his 81st PR. Clive Harvey, and then Trevor Harvey who is another one homing in on his 50th PR T-Shirt as he completed number 49. Claire Luckham completed the Tuff quartet on her 29th.
Well done to all nine
