Weekend Round Up 3rd 4th August
CALFMAN STANDARD TRIATHLON (with camping)
Emberton Country Park in Milton Keynes was the setting for The Cowman, Calfman, and Stampede Triathlon plus Aquabike. For the Calfman Standard distance we had Jon Cassell & Adrian Oliver on the start line. Out of 203 starters, Jon finished 4th in his age group 18th overall. This was attained with a rapid swim (1st in age group ) and a spritely 42 minute 10k – excellent. Adrian takes up the story:-
‘With Jenny having qualified with Sue Simpson for the 2025 Standard Distance Aquabike World Championships in Wollongong, I was delighted with my role as chief bag carrier and supporter. Colin and Sue have since been dropping hints that I should consider upgrading my role to be a fellow competitor – and that the Milton Keynes’ “Calfman” Standard Distance triathlon, the final BFT qualifying event, was coming up soon! Plus it also had a middle-distance “Cowman” Aquabike, which suited Jenny’s LeJog training’.
‘While researching accommodation, we noticed the event was in the beautiful Emberton Country Park, which included camping facilities—time to dust off our tent! We’re going camping (by car)!’
‘On arriving the day before, a large sign advertised the water temperature as 25’C – NO WETSUITS! More importantly, the water was clear, sewage and algae-free’.
‘With an unseasonal cold night (yes we noticed it in our tent!), the early start meant the water temperature had dropped to 23’C – BTF rules state that swims greater than 1500m are wetsuit optional – under 1500m, wetsuits are not allowed unless you are over 60… So Jenny’s Cowman Middle-Distance Aquabike was optional wetsuits, while my standard triathlon was no wetsuit (not old enough yet…)’
‘Having met up with Jon and Michelle Cassell (Jon was also competing in the triathlon with the aim to qualify), Jenny was off first at 7 am, followed by Jon and myself. With some 200 swimmers in our standard distance event, the swim start was “interesting”, especially as without wetsuits, there was some direct bodily contact… After two swim laps, out of the water straight into the nearby transition, onto the 40km 2 lap undulating bike (with some lovely extended and very fast downhills), back into transition to start the two-lap gently undulating run through the sleepy village and surrounding farmland before looping back into the park’s perimeter road’.
‘Needless to say, the countryside on both bike and run routes was varied and lovely. The event was well organised and reasonably priced, the location in Emberton Country Park was beautiful – I would thoroughly recommend it’
‘Did I qualify? Maybe. After digesting and analysing the results, I was within the required 115% of the winner in my age group. However, five others in my age group also vying to qualify were ahead of me, so I will have to wait to see (I did manage to be 1st out of the water in my age-group – all credit to our excellent coaches!). Either way, it was a very enjoyable learning exercise – I now know what I need to do to improve my chances of qualifying next year – but whatever the result, Wollongong, here we come!
Adrian
Jenny
COWMAN AQUABIKE
Next up, Jenny Oliver’s side of the weekend as she covered her middle distance Aquabike:-
‘Since Adrian was persuaded to sign up for the Calfman standard triathlon in Milton Keynes, I thought I might try the Cowman Middle Distance Aquabike. I really enjoyed the recent Aquabike at Upton. I have been doing regular long rides in preparation for LEJOG, and the swim at 1.9km was not that much longer than the standard 1.5km’.
‘Unfortunately during the previous week I developed a little infection which had me needing to wee with alarming regularity. Then on Thursday evening I developed pain in the kidney area. By Friday evening it was getting worse, so on Saturday morning in the midst of packing, I decided to visit the pharmacy for advice. I was fortunate to be given some antibiotics which did help calm things down!’
‘We decided to camp so as to be on location. In former days when camping with our kids, we would usually have a little barney when putting up a tent, but this time we didn’t! We settled down for an early night at around 9pm only to be woken at midnight by some party-goers returning to camp! It turned a little cool overnight but we managed some sleep and got up at 5am to get ready.’
‘My race started at 7am, whilst Adrian’s started at 8am. As usual Adrian was chatting to and supporting a nervous first timer, whilst I was struggling to get into my wetsuit! We made up for not bickering about the tent!’
‘The lake swim was balmy. We were assured of ‘very good’ water quality but there were a lot of dark flaky bits in the water! I did a fair job of not swallowing or inhaling too much and reflected that perhaps the antibiotics would mitigate against anything in the water! I soon relaxed into a steady pace and was quite pleased to exit the water with quite a few others so not completely at the back.’
‘I had quite a slow transition as I decided to put on proper bike shorts for the long ride. It was a tricky change and fortunately the ref didn’t spot any minor nudity violations!’
‘The bike was on a lovely scenic course. I still had a bit of an issue and had to have a couple of pit-stops during the bike. Each time I was overtaken by the same guy, and then overtook him again. We had a laugh at the end! ‘
‘Does anyone know why photographers always position themselves on the steepest hill? “Was it a smile or a grimace?”, I asked’.
‘It was great to see Adrian and Michelle Cassell as I passed the end of bike lap 2 and then at the finish.
‘I seriously underestimated the difference between a 90km ride at a social pace, and a 90km at race pace. My right knee was quite sore by the end. The Aquabike competitors were supposed to rack their bike and then run or walk through the run finish for a final photo and to collect the medal. I asked the TO what was the quickest way to get to finish with as few steps as possible! It’s tricky to run on grass with bike shoes but I made a good effort and had a big genuine smile for the camera’.
‘It was a further effort to pack up the tent but we managed it still with no disagreement about how to do it, which we had a laugh about and I apologised for my stress in transition. Overall a very enjoyable if challenging weekend and my first Middle distance event albeit Swim, Bike and Done!’
Jenny
Cowman album – click on the pic below:-
Simon
HERTFORD AND MIDDLESEX TRIATHLON
The Herts & Middlesex Triathlon was held at Rickmansworth with the swim stated to be in the most popular open-water venue inside the M25. With a full range of Triathlon, Duathlon, Aquathlons and Aquabike disciplines, Simon Thistlethwaite was our Tuff representative and raced the Standard distance, reporting:-.
‘After scouting near by Triathlons I decided on this one after reading it was a fast and flat course or so I thought 🙂 . I’ve done countless 70.3’s including two this year but after an issue with Hot Foot on the middle distance over the past few years I decided that olympic distance would be a better way to enjoy racing until I resolve my foot pain. It was an 8am start so no pressure getting to the event too early and registration was pretty simples so straight through with no dramas. I hadn’t slept again at all the night before so I was sceptical of how I would perform but I’m getting used to it now so I wasn’t phased by it’.
‘The swim was two laps of the lake which was 21 degrees meaning wet suits were optional. I’m not a fan of being climbed over on the mass starts but planted myself in the top 1/3 of the swimmers to give myself half a chance. I settled in ok and enjoyed the swim then found my TT bike quickly in T1 and headed out through the private Estate over the 15 or so speed humps before hitting the main roads. The course was 2 laps approx 22k each meaning the bike course was almost 4k more than expected. The bike course itself was hideous with broken tarmac, uneven surfaces and so bumpy so much I lost my tool kit bottle 1 time each lap so had to unclip head back to collect then try get back where I was. The first lap was a disaster for a bunch of us as we all got stuck behind a tipper truck down a country lane with no way past. It was a tight busy lane with cars trying to come up causing the truck to come to a complete standstill while we waiting for the lane to clear. There was a few choice words and we were very frustrated as this went on for a couple of miles and other riders caught us up. The course was around 500metres elevation so on such a short course it certainly wasn’t for the TT which became apparent when most of the locals turned up on roadies’.
‘Heading into T2 was a welcome sight so I was hoping to make up some time on the run which was working well for me. The run was lush. We started on a very bouncy running track before heading onto trail around the swim lake. The run was 4 laps of a supposed 2.5k per lap. It was hot now and i’d missed the sighting of the drinks station until the 4th lap. I crossed the line in a respectable time on the run under 42 minutes but a bit disappointed that it was about 600 metres short. Why we couldn’t have done another lap or so to make up the distance? who knows’.
‘Happy to be out racing and to get an age group P3 but a little disappointed in the event overall. You gotta enjoy it even if its not the day you hoped for . Looking forward to the next one
Simon
Stuart, Clive & Trevor
HARTING MULTI TERRAIN 10 MILE
Next up Trevor Harvey reports in from the Harting 10 miler based South East of Petersfield; a well established run that this year attracted 200 finishers, including Clive, Stuart & Trevor Harvey,
‘A 10 mile trail run starting, (not surprisingly), in Harting. Based at the cricket club, there is a short walk to the start, and on the gun the first mile is straight up onto the Downs. Undulating is a bit of an understatement with total ascent of over 1,000 ft. Even at the 8 mile marker, the course still seemed to go up. The run finishes at the cricket club with the obligatory bling, and also a great array of coffee & cake for sale in the pavilion.
Four Harvey’s were at the start line, Stu, Clive myself and big brov. all of whom, bar Stu, had done it before. Stu showed his dad & uncles a clean pair of heels and stormed round in a really great time…& me, last Harvey home! A well organised and friendly race, highly recommended, even given the hills.
Trev
Fraser
CLUB LA SANTA LANZAROTE
Next up we have a very active Fraser & Amy Kidd out in Lanzarote for a two-week timeshare. Fraser’s report is first up:-
‘There have been three events of note thus far on our trip, with another 4 to go (Saturday to Wednesday which I can later report next week)’.
‘Firstly I took part in the Duathlon on Monday morning at 8am, which attracted 30 competitors of many nations. The event started with a 3km loop of the lagoon, followed by 15km on the body bike (as it’s known here) and another 3km loop of the lagoon, and finishing off with a lap of the track and through the Meta tower (which is standard for all events here). Total time of 53:26’.
‘On Tuesday, I took part in the half marathon race which is 3 loops of 7km and therefore there is a 7km, 14km or 21km option. I therefore chose the 7km option, feeling very tired from all the activities this place brings. All I could cope with was 4:30 kilometres due to tiredness and heat, though crossed the line in joint first with a nice chap who didn’t have much interest in racing for the finish like myself’.
‘Still to come are the 5km race on Saturday, my attempt at the Aquathlon on Monday, 7 or 14km race on Tuesday (tbc), and to finish off the active holiday, a sprint triathlon on Wednesday morning’.
Fraser
Amy
Fraser stated that Amy’s Aquathlon was held with the sun fully out pushing temperatures to over 30 degrees. He was impressed to see many showing their credentials by wearing their GBR and IRL Tri suits. However he was impressed with how Amy did as she is in training for the Brighton Aquathlon on 1st September. Amy reports:-
On Monday I had a go at an Aquathlon, 200metre swim and a 3km run. Out of the water in 2 minutes 53 seconds, I quickly transitioned into the run. Up against some kids who were age groupers for their respective countries it was more a tester of my ability, than a race especially in the hot weather. With a run time of 17.22 my overall time was 21.08. All in all a good result.’
Amy
PHOENIX AQUATHLON
The last of this year’s Phoenix Tri’s Friday evening Aquathlons at Guildford, where this month, Ben Abbott, Trevor Harvey & Clive Harvey attended. Clive reports:-
Ben regularly attends these Aquathlons each year, coming 3rd overall in the June event. Trevor has also been attending several times. I’ve attended before but only as Chief Technical Official. Having been Race Director at all our Frosty’s and poolside for our lido Aquathlons, I thought it was high time to resolve the ‘when did I last race an Aquathlon’ question.
Junior and Tri-stars comprise well over half the field but they are at one end of the long 50m open air Lido, so kept totally separate with their own transition. The adults have their transition at the other end. Security in transition is lax and the race briefing was just that – brief. However this doesn’t make this a bad event (as no expensive bikes in transition) in fact it helps to make the event relaxed and enjoyable.
Clive, Ben & Trev
As it was such a beautiful, sunny, warm evening there was a larger adult turnout than usual. The lido has 10 lanes, so a snake swim, but just up one lane, duck under and down the next, traversing all ten 50m lengths to attain 500m. This provided plenty of space for overtaking and it was pleasing to say the Tuff Trio all did multiple times.
From there, trainers on for a climb up into Stoke Park around paths in the evening sunshine for a 5k run. It is nice to have the last mile as a gradual descent to push for the finish. There was a good mix of swift athletes and those starting out. Ben was 8th overall then myself and Trev and as we discussed over a post race coffee (with our medal and banana) we all agreed that more Tuffs would enjoy these next year.
With registration closing at 7pm (adult start circa 7:30pm) Guildford is ‘gettable’ after work and for those who haven’t swum in a 50m pool before it is worth a look next year.
Clive
RAINBOW RUN 5K
Held in Hove Park the Rainbow Run, this 5k has become an annual Friday evening fixture for Kate Evans and ladies from her running club as they glam up and then have a picnic in the sun, having secured their bespoke Rainbow Run medal – well done Kate.
PARKRUN ROUND UP
Unusually we only had Tuffs running at a sole parkrun this weekend – Littlehampton which was well attended as follows:-
Worthing parkrun was cancelled for a second week due to activities on the prom.
LIttlehampton parkrun was once again a beneficiary of Worthing’s absence. Having achieved their highest turnout last week, this week, despite a strong headwind back to the Arun, still achieved their second highest attendance ever of 396 runners. Steve Fryer was our first runner home with a 70% age grade in 21:14. Colin Simpson was next finishing as first in his age group – well over a minute ahead of second. Simon Grundy was pacing his nephew around the course who gained a PB. Then we had Bob Rogers – another one winning his age group. Phil Turner, one of our Worthing parkrun regulars ran here for the second time and smashed his previous time set over a year ago by over 1.5 minutes, Vicki Hedger was our next runner home. The strong numbers attending may have also been due to it being ‘pacer week’ and Alistair Evans was keeping to a consistent speed and crossed the line exactly on his chosen minute slot to earn both a run and volunteer credit. Chris Evans finished just 5 seconds behind earning double credits having undertaken the race briefing. Tuff numbers were swelled by Debbie Birch who was race director and Clive Harvey on the marshal team.
Well done to the Tuff Ten
