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
