BUCS Duathlon 2022-23

BUCS DUATHLON 2022

The day began with an early start as we boarded the coach to head to Castle Coombe circuit near Bristol. Some expert bike packing in the van meant we only had to beg the coach driver to let us put 3 bikes on the coach. Big love Mr Tiger Coaches.

We arrived in plenty of time for some race prep and to sort out the compulsory face painting that needed to occur. Silly fresher Jake Evans decided he was too cool for the green and gold and ended up with a singular green go-faster stripe. Definitely looked less silly than the rest of us good effort.

Another fresh Ben J was so determined to maximise the aero that he put his bike sticker on upside down. Marginal gains people.

Time to head to the start for wave 1 so we walked over to the area with an enormous arch that said “START” where the loudspeakers were. We were happily taking photos and waiting for everyone else to turn up when suddenly we heard the cheers for the actual start of the race about 50m round the corner. A panicked dash there and a few profanities later, wave 1 were on their way. Shout out to the marshals who watched us make this mistake and decided not to mention this for the 10 minutes we were stood there. Quality support, appreciate it.

Starting the race on the back foot didn’t phase our athletes and there were some cracking 5km runs despite weaving their way through the crowds of athletes who did manage to locate the correct start line. After making it through T1 they were out onto the 20km bike course round the race track. A sharp hairpin turn back into transition and bikes were racked, trainers back on and helmets ditched and onto the 3km run to the finish. Unfortunately the weather turned against them on the bike resulting in some very cold hands leading to bit of struggle to put trainers on in T2. Or at least that’s what fresher Ben H claimed, despite the accusations that he just needed a little sit down. Congratulations to Aidan on a cracking performance and our first athlete home in wave 1.

Wave 2 was the turn of most of the female athletes who learned from the previous mistakes and did make it to the start line at the correct time. Our first female athlete home was Fern Kimber, turns out training with the athletics club isn’t as horrific as we originally thought. Build bridges not borders.

Wave 3 was the elite men’s wave and wow were there some impressive performances. The bikes were flying past us supporters so fast they couldn’t even hear the visionary chants coming from the megaphone. Now I don’t know about you, but we sure do fancy Jamie Pugh after that flying mount. Wow. Shout out to Gregory McVicker who was our fastest boi of the day.

Honourable mention to our DOTD Torin, awarded this award for stealing Mr Thompson’s bag which we were searching high and low for, leaving it in his parents car for the day and then suddenly appearing with it later. Way to psych out the competition, love the strategy Torin.

We had so many amazing performances we can’t mention everyone but we had so many people doing their first duathlon which is incredible. It made us extremely proud of you all and you should be equally proud of yourselves. Can’t wait to see lots of you at our very own duathlon at Harvey Hadden on the 3rd December and then the countdown to BUCS sprint is on!

George and Clarissa

Peaks Weekend Away 2022

A group of 45 brave triathletes (and one imposter from cycling/athletics) headed to the peaks this weekend for our annual trip for some cycling, running, questionable cooking, and the associated chaos.

Despite a few hiccups on the journey there, including some mechanicals before the trip had even started, we managed to get us and all the bikes there safely. A scrumptious bolognaise was served (only a couple of hours late) and the carb loading began.

Our first day started with some excellent trail runs in the pouring rain, after some less excellent porridge... Fabulous character building if you ask me. There was even enough hot water for everyone to shower afterwards - miracles do happen. We then set off on our first rides. These ranged from 30km all the way up to 100km. Now we may have started in cloud and constant drizzle but by the afternoon the weather was (by the peaks standards) not too bad. The usual fiasco of mechanicals occurred with the highlight being a fresher with a completely snapped chain requiring a hitchhike to the nearest bike shop. Astonishingly, we only had one contender for bonk of the day. But my god did he do it with style. Rumour has it that James Walker is still out there somewhere trying to get up the hill back to the hostel.

Shoutout to one of our freshers Priya who had a whirlwind of a 24 hours, signing up to the trip 40 mins before the coach left and then in an unfortunate turn of events got abandoned in the Peak District and had to knock on farmers doors to try and get home. As I said before - character building.

Saturday night came with some organised fun fuelled by lots of curry and rice. Praise the lord for the extra hour of trip granted by the clocks going back.

Sunday morning saw some early risers going out for a big ride or trail run while others recovered for longer in the luxuriously comfortable beds. We all met in Castleton for a supposed pub lunch however the heavens opened just as we all arrived there and suddenly there was no room at the inn. With many borderline hypothermic freshers, things were looking bleak. Suddenly our hero Charles Barry invaded an innocent tearoom and we took over the entire upstairs and gave the singular chef in the kitchen a stress-induced heart attack. What would be do without our eternal fresher?

The clouds disappeared, the sun came out, the wind dropped. The cycle home was beautiful beyond words. A perfect ending to a fantastic weekend of cycling. The van even made it all the way home without breaking down. You really couldn’t ask for more.

The countdown to Majorca begins.

BUCS SPRINT TRIATHLON 2022

It’s that time of year again - the season of our big BUCS events. UoNTri fielded the biggest team out of all the other universities in the UK, and our biggest cohort ever, of 47 keen triathletes at the sprint triathlon this year. A 400m pool swim, 22km bike and 5km run lay between us and that post-race feeling.

The day began with an outrageous coach departure time of 5.15am. The streets of Lenton were dead except for the last stragglers walking home from a big Saturday night and some weary-eyed triathletes cycling to Portland Building. What a contrast but both arguably equally as unsafe to drive. Thank you Tiger European for getting us there safely, most of us managed to sleep despite the intense stench of urine but please sort this out we beg you.

We arrived and set up camp at the extremely bougie Westonbirt School with our unrivalled gazebo, thinking we were armed for anything. The weather disagreed with persistent rainfall all morning soaking many of us through but we wouldn’t let it dampen our spirits, or the vibes.

The girls were first up and we had some excellent performances, with the big block of training and transition practice from Jo and our other coaches clearly paying off. The transition practice clearly really stuck with Naomi as she was preaching to the others the importance of not forgetting to put your helmet. However it seems she may need to focus on herself some more as she was at the mount line before it was kindly pointed out to her that she did not have her helmet. Big thanks to the three marshals that she passed in the process who failed to mention this to her. A loud extremity, a near crash and a minute later she was back on her way. But wait, it doesn’t end there. T2 starts swimmingly and then a wild Naomi is seen leaving transition with her helmet still on her head. Another trip back to the bike rack and finally she is on the final straight. Luomi 2 status reinstated.

Fastest girl home was Christie Durbin (41st) with solid efforts across all three disciplines, closely followed by Anna Smail (44th) with a mind blowing swim and then Hannah Stewart (52nd) coming home as our 3rd fastest girl. All others smashed it too with lots of triathlon virginities lost and smiles all round.

It was finally the turn of the boys around lunchtime after hours of anticipation and pasta consumption. With a very strong field and some close races it was great to watch. Again we had lots of first timers and everyone did fabulously. B-Rice decided the join the chaos and have a puncture that required swapping wheels with Naomi but we made it in the end. Our top boys in the leaderboard were: Simon Davis (20th), Charlie Harding (31st) and James Kadziak (36th).

After recovering from the trauma of finding out there were no beers at the finish this year, everyone got their playerlayers back on for a compulsory photo in front of the posh school backdrop and then headed to the coach to head back home. The 30 minute trek with all our stuff to where the coach was finished a few of us off and there were lots of sleeping triathletes on the coach home, despite the epic tunes blasting out the little UE Boom. Sheaves we are coming for you xx

We just want to say a big shoutout to our sponsors, Active Training World and OZ Bar for all their support this year too!

MAJORCA 2022 SUMMARY

Our highly anticipated trip to Majorca finally began on a chilly Saturday morning with the coach ride to Gatwick, after an enforced 2 year hiatus. Only one speaker and one Mr Quick didn’t make it onto the flight to Palma where there were whispers up and down the aisle from poor unsuspected members of the public speculating about how rowdy the group of youths in neon pink t-shirts would be.

The plane didn’t fall out of the sky despite concerns after seeing the weight of some of the bags and we all landed safely (although Sam 8 hours later and €500 richer - cheers easyJet).

An alarmingly high number of freshers managed to injure themselves in some way within the first few hours of being on the island which set a precedent for the chaotic nature of the week. That poor first aid kit was opened more times during the week than bottles of sangria. One particular fresher learned a lesson in instant karma after spraining their ankle attempting to climb the wall to steal another villa’s furniture. The mighty fortress of Villa Pedro remained strong, even if missing 4 outdoor dining chairs.

The excitement of arriving was overwhelming for some and so the idea of cooking dinner was forgotten about until 10pm leading to a rather hungry bunch of triathletes at the evening briefing. Nonetheless, everyone got prepared for the first day of riding.

Sunday

The first morning swim was beautifully with clear skies and clear waters. The gorgeous sunshine was enough to make even Izzy Gelder (mostly) forget the cold. Hire bikes were collected and groups set off up Coll De Femenia, the first of many beautiful climbs. Pizza, chips and ice creams at the top, enough to cure a certain pre-bonk, and then some groups headed back and some continued on a slightly longer route. A very hectic trip to the supermarket to stock up for the week was the evening entertainment and I think the poor Eroski staff didn’t know what hit them after we rounded up food for 40 triathletes for a week.

Monday

After another sunny morning swim the second rides of the week lay ahead of us and proper fuelling was essential. The volume of oats consumed across the villas was impressive. The rides out to Arta battled a brutal headwind but it was all worth it for the climb up to the monastery. Joe was so excited to make it up the climb he launched his helmet off the side of a cliff and spent the following 20 minutes searching through long grass in his cleats to find it. Of course he would not let morale drop and a fabulous pizza stop fuelled the speedy ride home. This was many people’s first 100km and the sun on the way back just made the vibes immaculate.

Tuesday

This was the big day. Villa Lenny (and Mary) took on the mighty 180km ride whilst most others tackled the 140km, both including the largest climb on the island - Puig Major. What an eventful day. There were mechanicals, bonks and some crazy impressive climbs galore. Unfortunately there were a couple of rescue missions needed but everyone made it back safe in the end and everyone earned their big dinners, enjoying the fact that they didn’t have to get on the bikes the next day. This again topped lots of people’s longest rides and I was so proud of everyone for their perseverance, grit and kindness. No person was left behind and it was evident to see everyone caring for each other. 10/10 day.

Wednesday

Rest day. Tragically the one day of the week where the weather wasn’t on our side. This didn’t stop us. Day drinking at its finest was on the cards with the afternoon beer mile followed by the talent show. Alumni, former president and current record holder of the UoNTri beer mile Luke Donald gave an immaculate display to storm to a (contested) victory, after Fresher George decided to participate in a “Sangria Mile” resulting in a decider beer lap. The amount of talent of display was incredible, with guest stars from Zac Efron and Macklemore himself. Kudos to Joe G for being in both the winning and losing acts.

This was followed by a lovely paella at a restaurant in town who were a bit taken aback by the level of intoxication of our party as we entered the establishment. This was not improved when it was discovered that a bottle of wine was €10 but a great meal overall.

Villa Llenaire (after some slight coercion) hosted the rest of us afterwards and the descent to chaos was rapid. The most remarkable thing to take away from the evening is that the ability of some of our freshers at Zummy Zummy is abysmal. And that Aidan moves his shoulders like no other.

Thursday

The day of Sa Calacalacaobra. The big beefy 10km climb. We had some outstanding performances here but everyone who made it up there should be proud of themselves. Especially Luomi who got taken out by a MAMIL who wiped out going down far too quickly but dusted themselves off and made it to the top and were still smiling. In the evening most of us headed to the nearby cove on a run/walk/hobble with crutches. The sunset views were immaculate and the pink t shirts lit up the cove like little magical lights. Unfortunately Izzy had a navigational malfunction and ended up very lost but the heroes of UoNTri Bryce and Mary made sure everyone made it back in one piece. Where will this club be without those two next year I dread to think.

Friday

Last day with the bikes and we went out with a bang cycling up to the NE tip of the island where the Formentor lighthouse is in our matching white jerseys. Never have I seen such coordinated chic cyclists and it was great to have the alumni join in for this ride and catch up with them. 4 of our athletes decided to ditch the bikes and run an ultra marathon to the lighthouse and back!!

An afternoon in the sun concluded with the highly contested Super Super Sprint triathlon on the sea front. Great racing from all involved, congrats to the winning team.

As well as all our daily jerseys we also had two limited edition mini jerseys to give away to two people that Adam and I agreed deserved a token of our recognition. Congratulations to Naomi and Will for getting these prizes for the unbelievable good vibes and kindness you both showed throughout the trip.

After the final jersey presentations and awards it was time for Party Pedro. The sangria was flowing and the bangers were pumping. Pedro were shit at beer pong, others were average at beer pong. The usual 2am skinny dip occurred and the troopers were dancing into the early hours to Take That. What a night.

All that was left was to pack and leave the villas ready to head back to Notts. An absolutely fantastic week with so many great memories with an amazing group of people. I’m already counting down the days until next year babyyyyy. See you there 1st-8th April 2023.

BUCS DUATHLON 2021/22 - MALLORY PARK

On Sunday 14th November, the University of Nottingham Triathlon Club took a team of 26 eager triathletes to Mallory Park for the first BUCS race of the season – BUCS duathlon. This comprised of a 5km run, 18km bike and 2.5km run around the race circuit.

The team left Portland bright and early at 6:30am for the first wave to set off at 8:50am. The first wave of girls – Clarissa Burwood, Tessa Marley, Hannah Maybury, Daisy Hollister, Dasha Roberts and Amelie Roberts got the uni off to a great start with each girl completing a fantastic race with good times all round.

We then moved on to the boys – Felix French, Barnabas Pitchford, Alex McRae, Ollie Clemow and Lewis Bull. Despite coming from a cycling background, Felix and Barnabas fought it out to the end on the run and Ollie and Lewis finished strong. Even with a nasty crash, Alex still had a smile on his face and smashed his 5k PB.

The elite boys were next – Simon Davis, Jamie Pugh, Toby Fernandez, Charlie Harding, Gregory McVicker, Ben Dibley and James Walker. This was an exciting race to watch with the boys battling it out throughout. Toby, Charlie and Gregory finished 26th, 27th and 28th, Jamie 16th and Simon an amazing 10th. This meant the boys team finished an impressive 2nd overall. This is not only a great achievement but bodes well for the future seeing as all the current Performance boys are either in their first or second year.

Finally, it was the turn of the elite girls. Christy Dublin brought the girls home in style finishing 18th followed by Rachel McDonald in 26th. Putting injuries behind her, Imogen Matthews raced confidently and smashed a sprint finish with Georgia Hamblett not far behind. Following them came Anna Smail, Lydia Baxter, Alicia Roberts and Emma Hurdle. Well done girls!

It was great for the team to be out getting stuck into the first BUCS race of the season. It was also fantastic to have lots of supporters join us on race day. With lots of freshers to the club this year, BUCS has been a great chance for both beginners and elites to take on a multisport race. For 9 athletes this was their first BUCS event, and for 8 their first multisport event. Hopefully come BUCS sprint and standard in the spring, we will have many more incredible performances.

255 Triathlon

A brave group of 22 members headed to Chichester this weekend to complete the world’s longest single-day triathlon in relay teams of 3 or 4, the 255 Triathlon (5km swim, 200km bike and 50km run). What a task lay ahead of our 6 teams.

After arriving in the evening at the luxurious camping field with no running water and some lovely dinner and team talks, we set our alarms for 4am. It can’t be said it was the best nights sleep of anyone’s lives so not everyone was feeling super fresh when we woke up but in the immortal words of Clarissa Burwood, good vibes only were allowed.

A short cycle to the lake followed where we set up T1 and got ready for the swim start at 6am. Spirits were high but so were the winds as the water got progressively choppier as time went on. 4 laps of 1250m lay ahead of the teams and everyone put in excellent shifts with the first two teams out the water both being UoNTri teams. Shoutouts to Alex D’Arcy and Ed Blackburn for taking on TWO laps at a rapid pace, Bryce Shirley for an absolute stonker of a lap and Georgia for smashing out a lap for her team even when she wasn’t feeling her best.

Onto the bike course and there were too many fabulous performances to mention everyone as everywhere you looked there was someone in beautiful green and gold flying round the bends of Goodwood Motor Circuit. The weather for the early riders was not kind, with Clarissa on her last lap in the torrential rain having an “out of body experience” (disclaimer: even if these were verging on below average vibes, at no point did the vibe level ever drop below the overall good category). However, the sun ended up poking through resulting in Michaela admitting she actually enjoyed a cycling race for the first time (who was this and what have they done with Our-Chaela). Special mention to Reece for taking on the most miles out of anyone to save the day - you are our hero.

The incredible shifts on the bike meant that all the teams got onto the run far ahead of our estimated time so everyone was feeling the good vibes as the sun really came out in the afternoon. The gruelling 5km run lap with a vicious headwind turned out to be a real challenge (especially for yours truly who was very silly and set off on his first 5km at a pace he had no chance of keeping up and subsequently began to bonk in the 2nd of his 4 laps...). The run truly was a display of some of the talent and team spirit UoNTri athletes all have. Again there are too many great performances to mention everyone but specifically Isabel Gelder for smashing out 4 laps in a row at a crazy pace, all with the biggest grin on her face and also Immy for showing us just how great of a runner she really is after battling with recent injuries.

Iona Transitioning

Speedy Jess

Mary Transitioning

Evidence of George's bonk

After 255km the teams crossed the finish line to massive cheers from everyone and as many free lasagnes as they could consume. All showered and packed up, everyone headed to Jess’ garden for an absolute feast which she had laboured over getting ready for us. The world doesn’t deserve this lady honestly. A slightly more enjoyable (but a lot more wet) night in the tents followed and yet more chilli was consumed by some for breakfast as it was just that delicious.

What a weekend this turned out to be. A massive thank you is needed for Jess being the hostess with the mostess and for helping out with the very tricky logistics, as well as all the team members for their undying enthusiasm and Adam for being the best supporter/substitute runner. Everyone absolutely smashed it and should be so proud of themselves as UoNTri is certainly proud of them.

Who’s up for the solo race next year???

TriLove,

George

BUCS SPRINT TRIATHLON 2021

On Sunday 6th May, 28 athletes from UoN tri took part in BUCS Sprint Championships, held at Waterland Outdoor Pursuits, Gloucestershire.

It was an early start for triathletes, setting off from Portland at 5:30 am, but spirits were high at the prospect of getting back to racing. The club has run several open water swimming sessions at Spring Lakes in the lead up to the event, but for many the swim was still the most daunting part of the race – especially as the water temperature was a chilly 12 degrees. Nevertheless, all members of the team reached transition in one piece, helped ashore by a very enthusiastic race official.

Due to social distancing, transition was frozen for 4 minutes allowing a more relaxed transition from swim to bike, however time was added after 4 minutes which unfortunately caught a few athletes out. The bike course was scenic and flat, taking us on quiet countryside roads. No drafting was allowed, but this didn’t stop UoN athletes from laying down some fast times on the bike.

Similarly, the run course was very scenic in comparison to that at BUCS Duathlon at Castle Combe Race Circuit a few weeks ago. Despite Covid limitations, the atmosphere was great with UoN athletes cheering on one another as they crossed the finish line.

Out of the 28 UoN triathletes who competed, for 12 it was their first triathlon. Everyone who attended completed the race and there were some great achievements all round. Toby Fernandez was Nottingham’s highest placed boy, finishing an amazing 16th, and Hannah Stewart our highest placed girl, finishing 24th.

The next race is BUCS Standard in less than 5 days now,  this will be a great opportunity to try out a standard Olympic distance triathlon.

Movember 2020

MOVEMBER ACHIEVEMENTS

12 days too late but better late than never..

Movember is a charity which aims to raise awareness and funds for men’s physical and mental health, specifically, prostate cancer, testicular cancer and suicide prevention.

As a club we set the challenge of running 60km throughout the month for the 60 men that commit suicide across the world EVERY HOUR! The aim was to raise as much money as possible for the Movember charity. The money raised contributes to the many projects that the charity fund. Read more about this on their website here

I wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who got involved this year to raise money for an amazing cause. As a club we raised £1230 thanks to your efforts! 

Many members of our club upped their distances on the roads, either cycling or running. Others members took on the challenge to grow a moustache, some more successful than others but as always it’s the effort that counts and more importantly, in this case, the cause! 

Ali Walker was our top fundraiser, raising over £300 for Movember, closely followed by Michaela Brown who raised £225. 

Michaela also took on the ‘60km in November running challenge’ but absolutely smashed it out the park by doubling the distance and completing 120km in November.

In her own words, “It’s been a fun, but tiring, month of running with many stunning sunsets along the way. It’s been a great way to look after my mental health in lockdown 2.0, whilst raising money for an important mental health charity.”

Bryce and George also increased their running distances and took on a mad challenge.

They split their 60km into 2 x 30KM runs - that’s only 12km off a marathon! Not only did they run this crazy distance in one go, but they were also pretty speedy for this amount of time pounding the pavements.

Some amazing route planning from George and Bryce to form a moustache from the streets of Nottingham! 

This wasn’t enough for these two, they decided to do another 32km run a week later.

Together they raised a total of £250, we are super proud! 

Another crazy triathlete, Reece decided that he was going to cycle 60laps of campus - that’s 184km/115miles. To further the insane distance, he also reached an elevation gain of 7700ft!!

Not only was his challenge brutal, he also got 2 punctures, a broken crank and, to top it off, had to swap bikes in the dark for the final few laps after his road bike gave up before he did. No one else was crazy enough to join Reece in this challenge but the lovely poppy kept Reece fed and looked after during the endeavour!

In addition to this effort, Reece also raised £192 for movember! 

Many other members of our club got involved with running 60km in November and raising money for this cause. Well done everyone and thank you! 

Please follow this link to check out our athletes’ fundraising pages!

UoNTri 2020...the story so far...

Smiles all round at Wollaton Welfare Wun!

I would like to start this post by thanking all of you who contributed by answering my questionnaire. I really enjoyed reading all your answers.

I thought I would share a post about what you have loved so far and what you are looking forward to. Of course, Lockdown 2.0 has thrown a slight spanner in the works but UoNTri doesn’t stop here…

-        We are still able to meet one other person! Whether that may be for a stroll in Wollaton or a lovely ride/run. Just pop a message to the group or anyone and I am sure we will be happy to join you!

-        Jess and Hal are going to keep us busy throughout the next few weeks (check the Facebook group)

-        Yoga and circuits will still be going ahead on zoom so we can still keep training

1.      What was your favourite part of tri-it week?

-        Circuits with disco lights

Who doesn’t love Ben’s circuit sessions and of course disco lights - it is the closest we are getting to ocean for the time being!

-        Swim taster session

-        Tuesday intervals

-        Being able to be part of Sunday rides even though I didn’t have a bike

-        Sunday rides (most popular)

It’s so great to see everyone enjoying the Sunday rides no matter their ability. As a club we love to get everyone involved as much as possible! Last year the Sunday rides looked rather sparse so we are so glad that we have had lots of groups out this term!

2.      What made you feel most welcome?

-        The people!

-        How friendly people are à never met more welcoming people

-        Tri social media

-        Seeing someone else getting a puncture and the committee saying oh well this is what Sundays are all about and that we could quickly change it - made me feel less afraid of being a beginner and that people wouldn't think I was stupid if I needed help :)

Personally I think it is the people that make our club – whenever I am having a hectic or bad day, it is always the people from UoNTri who cheer me up the most; whether that is on a ride, swim session or just a general catch-up/chat.

 3.      What have you enjoyed most about being part of UoNtri?

-        The people

-        The activities

-        Being around warm, kind and friendly people

-        Swimming sessions

-        Multiple choices of training, times and sessions

-        Meeting new people and mixing up training

-        The inclusivity

-        Getting out in the evenings

I think this is something that is super helpful at university this year (when a lot of university is online), even when you have a long day of lectures, you are still getting out the house. Of course, we cannot all train together in the evenings with the current COVID restrictions but remember you can meet one other person; keep up those Tuesday evening runs and Sunday rides. We cannot wait to all be back together again!

-        Everyone is so friendly and welcoming, it feels like one big, weird family, like people genuinely care about each other. Yasss I agree!

Bubbles of 6 at welfare wun

4.      What are you most excited for this year?

-        Socials at some point

-        Getting to know everyone and events that are planned

-        Improving riding skills

-        Backyard tri

-        Races

-        Becoming more confident on a bike

-        BUCS

-        Getting fitter and faster

Aren’t we all excited for normality to return at some point so we can have backyard tri (freshers you don’t know what is to come ahhh) and get back to racing.

Until then, Jess and Hal (our social secs) have been working very hard to organise ‘Tri-solation 2.0’ along with some other things up their sleeve to keep the tri love going through lockdown.

Back to when socials could happen - Backyard Tri

5.      What advice would you give to someone?

-        Get involved and tri everything

-        Just got for it

-        You don’t realise how great it is until you are in the session

-        You don’t have to bet the best

-        You wont look back, just get stuck in

-        Do it! Friendliest club on campus, just get involved, you don't have to be experienced or competitive, a lot of us are just here for fun :) This is my favourite reply in the whole survey, tri love <3

“every accomplishment starts with the decision to tri 😉”

Birmingham Aquathlon 2020

Early on Saturday morning, with a few of us feeling fresh from a night out in Ocean, it was time for 10 triathletes to make the short journey down to Birmingham for their annual aquathlon. 400m in the pool and a 5k run around the campus was all that stood between the competitors and the finish line. Blustery conditions outside made for a challenging run but everyone can be pleased with their performances on the day.

Limited sleep might not be the ideal race preparation but we did not allow that to dampen out spirits as we made sure to be the loudest support on poolside.

With no UonTri competitors in the first two waves there was time for us to discuss our race strategies and do some last minute carb-loading. Self-proclaimed transition expert president Donald made the bold offer of a free pint to anyone who could beat him in transition, the most important discipline of triathlon. Surely no one could do it?

With waves one and two done it was time for the first representatives in green and gold to get their races under way: Iona Willingham (41:26) and Miri ‘always in a rush’ King (28:22). Clearly the swim was the perfect warmup for Iona as she set a 5k PB on the run. Miri also had a fantastic race and an especially fast run meant that she finished in sixth place overall. A strong performance indeed.

After a lengthy half-time break, we were ready for the next wave, and the turn of Ali ‘just here for the night out’ Walker (29:47), Charles ‘I love tri’ Barry (29:42) and Pippa ‘sit on the floor’ Simpson (31:42). Ali was first out of the pool, shortly followed by Charles and Pippa, who were within ten seconds of each other going into T1. It appears that Charles got slightly lost in transition but made up for this with a fast run split and finished 5 seconds ahead of Ali.

Wave 5 saw swimmer turned aquathlete Oscar ‘I haven’t trained in ages’ Williams (33:59) try his hand at some multisport racing. Being a swimmer, he did not wear one of those silly trisuit things, but this meant his transition time was affected and recorded the slowest transition of the day. UoNTri members will know that this is an honourable achievement and should definitely be celebrated.

The sixth and final wave saw the remaining four uontri members take to the pool. George ‘Oh my Christ’ Budden (25:50) set the pace and recorded the fourth fastest swim split of the day. He followed this up with the fastest uontri transition, one second ahead of el Presidente, earning him that free pint. Fine margins in this sport we love. A speedy run split for George meant he secured a top ten finish overall. Becky Miller (36:49) was next to go and also set a very fast swim. Her recent injury clearly didn’t impact her race as she was also able to put in good run split. Peter ‘Shady P’ Bates (29:41) was up next. A quick swim got him off to a good start but he confessed he struggled on the run. Despite this he still managed to record a very respectable time. Last of all the athletes to set off was Luke ‘no sleep required’ Donald (26:47). A slightly optimistic swim time estimation meant he was lapped early on in the swim. But he didn’t let that faze him and managed a strong run to finish.

And with that the racing was complete. For some that meant it was time to head home, but for those with the most stamina this was just the start of a big night. For post-race nutrition we headed for the local recommendation of The Bristol Pear. The food was pretty good, just a shame it took them almost two hours to get the food to everyone. So the slight delay meant it was straight to pres after the meal. Fortunately, we had until 12 to get to Birmingham SU (or the Guild of Students as they like to call it). According to previous attendees ‘Fab’ is a ‘guaranteed good night out’ and it certainly did not disappoint. As there was no official theme for the night, we all agreed and promised that we would wear our newly acquired Birmingham aquathlon t-shirts so that we all looked the same. Apparently, everyone except Luke and Pete ‘forgot’ about this so they were the only ones looking really cool. Eventually it was time to head to bed and get a few hours sleep before a delightful National Express journey back to Nottingham. Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend had by all.

A massive thank you to everyone at UoB Tri club for being excellent hosts and putting on a wonderful event. Also, a big shout out to our former Treasurer Bethan who was in charge of timing for the day with Race Timing Solutions.

Full results can be found here