Triathlons and Duathlons
Like many runners, members of Carnethy Hill Running Club will touch on many things outside of running. Sometimes climbing, sometimes swimming, maybe road cycling or MTB, or perhaps just rhythmic dance. It’s nice to dabble, after all, we’re not hillrunning robots. Not road running though, that’s a step too far. For those that occasionally cycle and maybe a little splashing round a pool, there’s a wonderful world of triathlon out there.
Triathlons can sound a little daunting, and most people fear the swim part in particular. I wouldn’t worry too much about that as the swim sections can be as short as 400m (8 lengths of the Commonwealth Pool) for the “Come and Tri” events. Obviously the cycle and then run sections are equally short (around 10km cycle, 3km run). At the other end of the spectrum there’s Iron-distance triathlons consisting of 2.4mile swim, 112mile cycle and 26.2mile run. Between these events there are many flavours of Triathlon, consisting of varying distances, along with onroad/offroad cycle, onroad/offroad run, indoor/outdoor swim. There’s even some events that are even more mental than iron-distance, but that’s for another day. For now, all you need to know is that we have a wee section dedicated to the reports from Triathlons, along with any nuggets of info that may help you on your exciting new sport!
Reports…
Carnethy Trio at Craggy Island Triathlon
I didn’t enter the Craggy Island Triathlon this year. Last years race was moved by a month at late notice and I had to carry the entry on to this year. Well that was the decision made to 2017, Fraser and Helen decided to join me. Then it turned out to be the day before the Pentland Skyline, and also the day before Cathi’s 60th Birthday Meal (and 2 days before her birthday). Well something had to go, and it was The Skyline.
After a night at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, at 6:30am, Helen, Fraser and I got into the car and headed to Oban. Three hours later we were parked in the mizzle opposite Kerrera and after unloading the car there was a quick innertube change before we cycled to the queue for the boat.
There was a bit of a wait before we got to transition to set up the bikes the cycle and running kit and get into the wetsuits, then we were back queuing to get back to the mainland. As we stood on the slip for the best part of an hour chatting in bare feet (and no glasses) we were discussing the event with Joan Wilson and Jean Bowman Lomond Hill Runners). Fraser was worried about the swim , Helen was worried about the bike and I was worried about the run. Joan was worried about her shoes and Jean was fed up waiting.
The Swim
Eventually it was time to start and we discovered why the slipway is so named. Falling into the water we lined up and after a couple of minutes we were off. My plan to swim on the right to avoid my normal left deviation worked well and I managed to get to the other (aptly named) slip in 4th place. After slithering about and skating up the concrete and a bit of a run on the carpet I was in transition and ripping the velcro off the wetsuit and trying to get my socks and shoes on. I was out of transition without seeing my wee boy and Helen.
The Bike
I was on my Carbon Superfly 29er (my “Elsie” Bike), perfect for this race. It was lovely weather, almost sunny and the views were stunning. I was trying hard but not eyeballs out, and I was losing places regularly. I dont think I am quite brave enough on the bike, but i managed all the descents staying on the bike. There were the odd mud baths on the way, some so deep that the bottom bracket was under water, others were just gluey gloop. I had to push some of them, getting going again was harder work. As I pushed up a grassy slope I heard the “Hi Dad” and then Fraser was past. The last 2 miles was on fast road and then the bike was dumped.
The Run
I was better than last time, but running was still hard work as we did the first bit of track. Once on the Hill i was more at home, and again the weather and views were great. The descent was grassy and fun and as we reached the coast we ran through a natural arch. The soft sheep shit was joyful underfoot and after another bit of nice grass were back on track and tarmac for 2 miles of pain to the end. I was only 3 places behind the lad. Joan was 5 minutes behind and Helen was in about 3 minutes later the Jean finished 10 minutes later.
The Recovery
Sitting eating burgers and Coffee in the sunshine was the perfect ending. After all the worries we all had a wonderful time and we will be back!
Another queue to get back to the mainland and a while to pack the car and by 8pm we were back to Roslin knackered but happy, happy to be missing the Pentland Skyline!
Thanks to Gus Bowman and Andy Upton for the photos and to the Craggy Island Team for all the fun. It was great to have ridden Elsie Scott’s bike again in her favourite race , we miss you Elsie.
Willie Gibson
Position | Name | Age | Class | Time | Swim | Swim Posn. | T1 | T1 Posn. | Bike | Bike Posn. | T2 | T2 Posn | Run | Run Posn. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Andy | King | MS | 01:32:17 | 00:10:09 | 11 | 00:02:39 | 62 | 00:38:41 | 6 | 00:00:27 | 5 | 00:40:21 | 1 |
2 | David | Burnett | MS | 01:33:27 | 00:09:39 | 3 | 00:01:13 | 5 | 00:37:44 | 2 | 00:01:01 | 89 | 00:43:50 | 4 |
3 | Brendan | Seenan | MS | 01:34:22 | 00:10:32 | 18 | 00:01:36 | 16 | 00:37:46 | 3 | 00:00:30 | 9 | 00:43:58 | 6 |
26 | Fraser | Gibson | MS | 01:52:46 | 00:13:11 | 92 | 00:02:34 | 57 | 00:43:16 | 22 | 00:00:41 | 28 | 00:53:04 | 37 |
74 | Willie | Gibson | MSV | 02:05:07 | 00:09:45 | 5 | 00:02:27 | 46 | 00:47:54 | 48 | 00:00:36 | 18 | 01:04:25 | 119 |
92 | joan | Wilson | FSV | 02:10:54 | 00:13:02 | 87 | 00:02:45 | 73 | 00:58:41 | 135 | 00:01:02 | 95 | 00:55:24 | 52 |
102 | Helen | Wise | FS | 02:13:24 | 00:13:58 | 117 | 00:04:04 | 151 | 00:55:34 | 113 | 00:00:40 | 26 | 00:59:08 | 78 |
126 | Jean | Bowman | FSV | 02:22:09 | 00:13:33 | 107 | 00:04:16 | 156 | 01:00:00 | 143 | 00:00:45 | 46 | 01:03:35 | 113 |
Applecross Duathlon
Back in June Billy and I signed up for the Applecross Duathlon – the price (£6) and the timing (Edinburgh September weekend plus our 20th wedding anniversary!) were right. But we all know what happens to the best laid plans. Billy ended up doing the timekeeping for most of the handicap races rather than running them due to injury over the summer and only managed a few runs out with Willie’s old and broken group (Willie’s words not mine!) prior to the race. I on the other hand completed all the handicaps bar Arthur’s Seat as I developed a dodgy knee just days before. So when race day arrived Billy dropped from the race to the challenge and I became support crew.
The duathlon comprises a 9 mile (471m ascent) off road run followed by a 15 mile (538m ascent) road cycle and is a well organised low profile race, although many folk had travelled quite a way to get here. The campsite we were staying in was waterlogged. It had seemingly rained every day for the previous 3 weeks. Conditions on the run promised to be interesting! But Billy was upbeat and set off at 12.30 with our friend who is a professed road runner and was definitely out of her comfort zone.
There were frequent rain showers but the sun did shine at times and at least the cycle wasn’t straight into a headwind as is often the case. Only the junior record was broken and as Stewart Whitlie wasn’t taking part this year there were no Carnethies on the podium! We did spot one other Carnethy but he wasn’t listed as Carnethy in the results so I didn’t get his name!
Cakes and tea were held In the village hall afterwards and a good time appeared to have been had by all. We will definitely be back.
Dorothy Elliott
Aberfeldy Triathlon
Question: Apart from some running, what has the Aberfeldy Triathlon and the Edinburgh Marathon got in common?
Answer: neither happen in their named town! Names can be deceptive.
Would you run the Pentland Skyline in the Moorfoots?
With a few niggles recently, some cross training seemed a good idea and entering a triathlon seemed a way also to learn to swim better and ride a racing bike, at the same time as resting pains. Previously, my swimming skills were limited to breast stroke and splashing about with the kids, and biking was limited to mountain biking rather than rolling along on tarmac which always seemed bit dull. The running bit should be straight forward apart from the niggles and the Monday swims in the local reservoirs gave me water confidence, even if my direction finding is poor and technique even worse. So, I bought a bike and got a few rides in to get a feel for those funny handle bars.
I met Maggie Creber the night before at registration who I had swam behind a few times at Gladhouse. It was her x7th Birthday weekend. Folk were busy getting expensive campervans stuck in the mud or preening space-age looking ‘bikes’. One guys front crank and gears alone cost more than my shiney new Boardman. Sunday had us awake early in KENMORE at the end of Loch Tay (6.5 miles from Aberfeldy) for a 1900m swim in lovely fresh (ecoli free) water followed by a stunning 90km bike ride over the hill and around Loch Rannoch and back to the start. The half marathon run took a reversed ‘h’-shaped course with three laps around the golf course in the grounds of Taymouth Castle.
All these 3 legs went better than expected. Due to my zig-zagging, my swim distance exceeded the 1900m and while finishing in the last third of the third wave, was a bit quicker than I expected. For me the bike went really well. With so many targets there was plenty of overtaking and for the first half I played cat and mouse with racer 100 and Dave 120. A shout – ‘is that you Mark?’ said I had caught Maggie alongside Loch Rannoch. The descent back toward Loch Tay disappointed as I didn’t quite hit 50mph. Must try harder! The run turned out to be quite tough due to tarmac and wee hills to sap you, repeated 3 times. No PBs for me but the weather was great and the scenery lovely. Maggie seemed to be catching me as I saw her at each out-and-back, although to her I was getting further ahead.
Most importantly, the birthday girl came First Female Senior Vet and stood proudly on the high bit of the podium for Carnethy, then had to go up again for the prize as 3rd FV40.
I came 15th MSV which I am quite happy about, beating Mr 100, but behind Mr Dave 120 and settling for an alcohol free beer.
Result here: http://www.aberfeldytriathlon.com/aberfeldy-triathlon.html
Mark Hartree
St Mary’s Loch Standard Distance Triathlon
On Saturday Chris H and I made our way to the sunny Borders for the St Mary’s Loch Standard Distance Triathlon. I’d bullied Chris into entering a couple of weeks ago, dismissing his claims of not being an experienced enough swimmer to do it. He’d been to a couple of swimming lessons a week prior, so I figured he’d be alright for it. Triathlon can be a little daunting, I think, and sometimes you just need that little push from…em…a caring buddy that only has your very best interests at heart. So I pushed in my usual overbearing way. You’re welcome, Chris! On the drive down I was hoping that the weather would make it all seem worthwhile, but the relentless rain and drizzle made us both wish that we hadn’t entered at all. It really was a day for sitting under cover, drinking tea, and snoozing. It certainly wasn’t a day for splashing around in a loch, then skidding around on your bike, and then sploshing around on a run. The only kindness shown by the course was a warm water temperature – a surprising 16°C, exactly the same as the air temperature.
The race started well, the warm water certainly making a difference. It feels like breathing is easier, that my lungs feel less tight, but that may just be my imagination. I managed to sneak to one side of the main group which kept me away from the stramash of bodies, flailing arms, and feet looking to kick your face off. Easy breathing, steady swimming. It was relaxed! In fact, it may be the first triathlon swim I’ve really enjoyed. I can only put this down to an increase in the amount of open-water swimming that I’ve been doing. Anyway, no sooner had it started then the 1500m were all over, and I was gingerly trying to haul my sorry carcass over the stony waterside.
The bike was also alright too, strangely. I was concerned that I was going to get cold just cycling in a tri-suit, but the air was mild and made for an enjoyable cycle. Well, not cold, at least. The cycle heads south west-(ish), out then back, along the quiet roads of the A708 to Moffat, 40km in total. At the heart of the cycle is a hill passing by the Grey Mare’s Tail waterfalls. On the outgoing leg it’s a fast, winding descent – it’s just the right descending angle to lift your fingers off the brakes and let yourself fly! It was glorious! St Mary’s loch is essentially at the top of this hill, so on the way back home it’s a long and desperate grind. The flying outward leg soon turned and I was facing the climb back, and I quickly realised that the headwind that I thought I was pushing on the way out was actually a tailwind. Aaaargh! All I could do was just keep my head down, wobble my way back uphill, eat fistfuls of ShotBlox and drink some juice.
Finally the run section, along the Southern Upland Way beside St Mary’s Loch. No real climbing, just undulations and thin trods for the outgoing 5km and then turn around and do it all again in the opposite direction. I think all the eating at the end of the cycle paid dividends for the run. It felt quick, for me at least, passing lots of people on the way.
Once over the line, I spotted Chris standing, fully dressed. I automatically congratulated him on beating me in the race in true Scottish form – by insulting him and generally calling him names. Not so! He’d taken 4 strokes on the swim, and decided that he didn’t fancy the race after all. He then turned for the tea tent instead, got a brew, found some shelter in the car, and then went for a snooze. I really couldn’t blame him.
All that was left for me was to analyse my stats, get a burger and juice, and then head home to maybe get some beer. Looking deeper into the numbers I was 25th overall out of 150 finishers. It seems my swim is pretty rubbish (25:18 – 82nd), my cycle was pretty good (1:16:53 – 27th) and I’m really happy with my run (41:28 – 6th). Chris also got a PB on his tea drinking, so it wasn’t a wasted journey after all!
All in all, a nice wee diversion from hillrunning, which can be nice sometimes. A grand day all round!
Results here.
Jim
The 2017 Celtman Triathlon
The 2017 Celtman Triathlon took place on Saturday 17th June up in Torridon on Scotland’s magnificent Atlantic Coast. It’s a unique event, oversubscribed several times over each year, attracting triathletes from all over, with quite a strong contingent of racers from Sandinavia (as the race is part of some ‘Extreme’ dude series of three: The Norseman, Swissman and Celtman.
As Mark said in his report (here), it all went well, I came 5th and whilst I would have loved top 3 I do appreciate that if you want top Iron Man distance results then one’s training needs to be focussed on very long steady efforts and working to a low power (sorry but running and biking up and down hill is more fun, isn’t it?). Basically, the swim was rough and cold, and Mark literally did T1 for me. He was so quick in stripping off the 7mm of rubber off my chest that I’d already caught up about 20 lost places before getting on the bike. The bike was fast, cross and tail winds for the first 100 miles, and hence pretty exciting. 21-22mph average, mainly down again to Mark and Jim’s incredible support throwing fuel and encouragement at me from the van and side of the road. The head wind for the last 30 miles stopped everyone, rather frustrating, but T2 again performed by Mark put me straight into about 15th for the run. The big upset was that Torridon mountain rescue didn’t let racers up onto Beinn Eighe for the MTN run which is what it’s all about, so we had to do a lower level but still pretty rocky run. We ran much of this as a three and that was the most enjoyable, although hardest, part of the day, to take us into the finish in 5th overall.
Having two such great pals supporting is what made this a special race. Jim Hardy and Mark Hartree I won’t ever forget the support you gave me that day. Also the race atmosphere is pretty unique. If anyone fancies this event then please get in touch so I can pass on maps, info and my own support!
Nick Williamson
The Celtman Machine
Some folk aspire to do the Celtman which is rated as an Extreme Iron Man. I’d done several Bowhill Duathalons with Nick Williamson (the Teacher one) and knew he was a machine. He had podium aspirations for the Celtman and completed it on Saturday in the worse conditions ever and convinced his support team comprising of Jim Hardie and myself that they would give the Celtman a miss in the future.
The swim was cold, very choppy and full of jelly fish. Nick was mid-field at Transition 1 meaning a lot of work was needed. The bike was hilly, often wet and cool, and the 45 mile head-for-home leg all into a strong wind was brutal, even sitting in the warmth of the support wagon. Nick was quite amazing and focussed, reeling in place after place to be in around 15th place at Transition 2 from bike to run.
Jim Hardie stepped in to run the finishing marathon and a very quick change took a few more places. I was going to do the Beinn Eighe hill section (hoping he’d be knackered by then) but the high route was cancelled due to high wind and rain so after a minor faff, Jim ran on and I supported from a new place.
Nick and Jim spanked the run reeling and dumping more places to bring Nick to the finish in 5th place. An extraordinary achievement in Jim and my eyes. A faster swim and a medal was certainly likely.
Results will be up soon on the Celtman Website. An awesome race for machines.
Mark Hartree / Jim Hardie