On Saturday, Mark Lacy raced at the iconic Bloodwise Blenheim Palace Triathlon, one of the largest triathlons in the country, the Freedom triathlete raced amongst almost 4,000 athletes. To fit in with the geography of Blenheim, the slightly irregular sprint distance triathlon was raced over a 750m open water swim, 19.8km bike and 5.4km run. Mark did brilliantly well, completing the race in 1:32:00 finishing in 181st place in his age group.
The Gran Fondo is held on fully closed roads over 80.2 miles (129.07km). Riding for Freedom Tri were Thomas Sauka, Matt Cotter, Sarah-Jane Court, Neil Paterson and Mat Freeman. Sauka's time of 3:58:48 met the required time for qualifying for the World Champs, Cotter finished in 4:22:56, Court in 4:36:27, Paterson in 4:36:29 and Freeman in 4:42:18.
Three Freedom Tri athletes represented Great Britain last weekend at the 2016 World Duathlon Championships in Aviles, Spain. All three competed in the sprint distance event comprising a 5.75km run, 21km bike ride and 2.6km run, alongside 1,400 competitors from 32 countries.
Suzy Hawkins, in the female 40-44 age group completed the course in 1hr18 for 13th place.
Michelle Reeves, in the female 25-30 age group finished in 1hr17 for 17th place.
Chris Belcher, in the male 40-44 age group finished in 1hr09 for 25th place.
Freedom Tri hope for more international honours over the coming months with Belcher already selected to represent Great Britain at next year's European Triathlon Championships, and Sarah-Jane Court expecting to join him.
More locally, Freedom is already gearing up for Letchworth's annual Duck 'n' Dash swim and run multi-sport event for adults and children which this year will be held on 11th September at Norton Common. For more details visit http://www.duckndash.org.uk
Freedom Tri have been racing far and wide this week, with some impressive performances, including 4 first places at the Herts Championships at the Active Training World triathlons at Stanborough Lake in Welwyn.
Wednesday 25th May was the second fixture of the Scott's Travel Midweek Road Race League, a 10k race around Hitchin. 19 athletes from Freedom lined up at the start for this challenging course.
In the ladies race, Tracey Palmieri finished 6th position in 42:34. 28th position in 47:45 was Jenny Cotter. 32th position in 48:07 was Angela Phillips. 41th position in 49:17 was Christine Caine. 43th position in 49:22 was Rachel Lynes. 84th position in 55:05 was Emma Kinsey. 108th position in 1:00:28 was Liz Aitken. 115th position in 1:04:38 was Jackie Livings.
In the mens race, finishing in 39th position in 39:48 was Rob Willis. 40th position in 39:56 was Martin Hawke, 41th position in 40:00 was Matt Freeman. 55th position in 40:40 was Michael Day, 58th position in 40:50 was Chris Clarke, 83th position in 43:18 was James Parsons, 108th position in 45:11 was Mark Allen, 180th position in 50:41 was John Phillips, 189th position in 52:04 was Jeff Thompson, 207th position in 54:07 was Rob Evans, 214th position in 56:07 was James Rhodes.
On Saturday at Nottingham in the European Sprint Distance Tri Qualifiers Sarah-Jane Court and Chris Belcher had another top day of racing. Sarah-Jane was 7th in AG in 1:12:36 just missing an automatic qualification place but should be good enough still to get in. Chris was 5th in AG in 1:03:16 which is good enough for an automatic place on the GB team!
On Sunday in Edinburgh, Jenny Cotter and Matt Cotter (pictured below) took on the Edinburgh Half Marathon, running 13.1 miles around the city. Both performed fantastically, both securing personal best times over the distance. Jenny finished in 1:41:41 and Matt smashed through the 2hr barrier, crossing the finish line in 1:58:38.
Christine Caine doubled up the distance in Edinburgh, and took on the full 26.2 mile marathon. Christine raced exceptionally well, and with pace control and discipline finished the race in a great time of 4:26:32.
Suzy Hawkins 01:19:14 1St
Ann Tryssesoone 01:31:05 1St
Richard Pitcairn 01:34:28 1St
Jonathan Hart-Smith finished in 01:17:19, 5Th in age group. Emma Kinsey finished in 01:30:14 6Th, in age group. Michael Day finished in 01:16:42 7Th, in age group. Gareth Bates finished in 01:26:29 7Th, in age group. Kevin Smart finished in 01:17:48, 8Th in age group.
Robert Sedgwick finished in 01:20:47 8Th in age group. Thomas Sauka finished in 01:18:58 9Th in age group. Mark Allen finished in 01:26:24 9Th in age group. Adrian Robinson finished in 01:29:57 9Th in age group. Mark Lacy finished in 01:26:09 11Th in age group. Mark Bullivant finished in 01:32:15 11Th in age group. Mark Cheadle finished in 01:27:19 12Th in age group. Lewis Green finished in 01:35:19 14Th in age group
Also racing at Welwyn over the Standard distance of 1500m open water swim, 40k Bike, 10k Run were Jan O'Callaghan and Dean Heuer. Jane had a great race, finishing 1st in her age group in 3:02:46, and Dean finished 9th in his category in 2:56:14.
With triathlon season now in full swing, Freedom Tri have been racing well this weekend.
Racing the Grafman Middle Distance Triathlon Championships were Kevin Smart, Lee Gilchrist, David Wright (pictured below) and Lewis Green. The race was contested over a 1.2 mile open water swim, 55 mile bike and 13.1 mile run. Smart finished 39th position in his age group in 5:21:43, Gilchrist 46th in his age group in 5:29:53. Wright finished 54th in his age group in 7:01:12, and Green 72nd in age group in 6:48:54.
A good day for Freedom at the Eton Dorney ITU qualifier on Sunday. Sarah-Jane Court smashed up the course finishing 5th in her age group in 1:19:01 which means she is likely to qualify for the GB team at the World Sprint Triathlon Championships in Mexico later this year. Chris Belcher managed 12th in his age group in 1:09:45 - not looking to qualify for Mexico but a good practice for next weekend's Euro Qualifier in Nottingham. Mat Freeman had the hottest weather starting later in the non-qualifying Sprint event and came 28th in his age group in 1:23:29.
Wednesday 11th May was race 1 of the Scott's Travel Midweek Road Race League Division 2, a 10k course at Bishops Stortford. 10 Freedom Tri club members lined up amongst a quality field of athletes from Hertfordshires running and athletics club, and were the only multi-sport club taking part. Tracey Palmieri was 8th lady in 43:38, Angela Phillips was 27th lady in 48:01, Christine Caine 36th in 49:26, 38th was Rachel Lynes 49:46. Club coach Gareth Charles was 49th male in 40:31, 90th was Declan McCabe in 44:40, 91st lady was Emma Kinsey in 56:44. 108th make was Mark Allen in 45:52, and 129th was Lewis Green in 47:48, and in 186th place was Rob Evans in 56:27.
Four Freedom Tri athletes were racing at the HSV May Triathlon. This sprint distance pool based triathlon features a 400m pool swim, 20k undulating bike leg finished off with a flat 5k run. Peter Carpenter (pictured below) finished in 01:32:41 1st in his category. Kieran Feetham finished in 01:09:15, 2nd in his category. Gail Litterick was 4th in her category in 01:30:06, and Lewis Green finished 9th in his category in 01:22:00.
Racing for Freedom Tri this weekend was Richard Allen (pictured below), at the Mojito Standard Triathlon, organised by Monster Racing at Peterborough rowing lake for the second year running. After a very early start, Richard was in the shallow, murky water for a 1,500m swim, then a 38km bike ride taking in the villages surrounding Peterborough, followed by a 2 lap run totalling 10k around the boating lake. Richard posted a course best time of 2:44:27, despite a slower run than last year due to the heat. His time secured Richard 93rd position.
On Saturday, Ben Gilbert and Louise Willis raced the first swim of the Box End MASS START Swim Series. The very water cold meant that the 5km race that Ben had entered cancelled, so he opted to race the 3.8km. This was a distance too far for a lot of people, so quite a few "did not finish" were posted. Louise took part in the 750m race and was first female and second overall, finishing her swim in 13:47. Ben completed the 3.8 km finishing in 01:06:03, 11th male and 13th overall.
On a bright Sunday morning, 8 members of Freedom Tri raced the North Herts Road Runners Greenway Challenge. The scenic but challenging 13.1 mile loop of the Letchworth Greenway was enjoyed by all, with some fantastic performances. Lee Gilchrist was 18th in 01:34:58, Jonathan Hart-Smith was 33rd in 01:39:55, Declan McCabe finished 43rd in 01:42:59. Angela Phillips was 65th, finishing in 01:49:29, Christine Caine 123rd in 01:56:25, Dave Ball 125th in 01:56:56, Lewis Green 126th in 01:56:57, Andi Woolas 169th in 02:10:30.
Racing the half marathon distance in Milton Keynes on Bank Holiday Monday was Adrian Robinson. Adrian finished in 417th position in a personal best time of 01:49:22.
Taking on the full 26.2 mile marathon distance in Milton Keynes were Michael Day, Dean Heuer, Gareth Bates, Greg Bowie and Jackie Livings. The marathon boasts a scenic route, encompassing wide city boulevards and numerous beautiful lakes, picturesque parks and even the meandering grand union canal, with entertainment en route too. Michael Day was first in for Freedom Tri in 03:46:14, 134th in his category. Dean Heuer finished in 04:19:30, 393th in category, Gareth Bates finished in 04:16:47, 394th in category, Gregor Bowie finished in 04:41:43, 511th in category, and Jackie Livings finished in 06:10:29, 129th in category. Very well done to everyone racing!
Freedom Tri were in the mix again on Sunday, competing at a range of different events, including some early season triathlon fun.
Mark Lacy completed the Harlech Triathlon in Wales. The 400m pool swim, then 21km cycle was the easy park, the 6km run was a gruelling course, taking in sand dunes, the beach, and finishing with 200 steps to finish at Harlech castle. Mark finished 41st in category in a brilliant time of 1:28:21.
7 Freedom Triathletes were racing at the Chilly Triathlon at the Inspire Sports Village in Luton. This was a slightly unusual race, where the first transition from the 400m pool swim to the 20k bike course is not timed, to allow the athletes as much time as required to get dry and warm, so they don't suffer the elements too much on the bike leg. Stepping up were Kieran Feetham, Matt Cotter, Tracey Palmieri, Adrian Robinson, Peter Carpenter, Sara O'Callaghan, and Rob Sedgwick. Returning to triathlon, Feetham was first to finish for Freedom in 1:14:45, 12th in his category. Cotter was 8th in category in 1:19:13, Palmieri 9th in category in 1:23:20, Robinson finished 10th in category in 1:23:28, Carpenter, 1st in category in 1:36:03 and O'Callaghan, 8th in category in 1:43:52. Rob Sedgwick unfortunately did not complete the race, due to a technical issue on the bike.
Up in north Bedfordshire, Jackie Livings and Kevin Smart tackled the 20 mile road running race at Oakley. This mentally and physically tough 2 lap race was no match for Smart and Livings. Smart was 187th in 2:41:26 and Livings, 761st in 3:56:01.
Sunday saw 8 Freedom Tri athletes running the Welwyn Half Marathon, covering the 13.1 mile course in some impressive times. First home for Freedom was Adrian Sherwood, finishing 18th over all and 2nd in his age group in 1:25:08. Martin Hawke finished 13th in his age group in 01:27:35, Mickey Day, also 13th in his age group in 1:30:38, Kevin Smart, 31st in age group in 1:39:55, Dean Heuer, 42nd in age group in 1:40:40, Chris Clark, 47 in age group in 1:42:14, Jenny Cotter, 13th in age group in 1:45:29 and Adrian Robinson, 49th in age group in 1:49:46.
Meanwhile, Freedom member Declan Mccabe and his family (pictured above) took on a 14km swimathon challenge for Sport Relief, swimming at the London Aquatics Centre. Declan swam 5km in 1:55, Sam swam 1.5km in 40 minutes, their 12 year old daughter, Eva swam 5km in 1:35 and youngest, Hannah, 10, swam 2.5km in an hour. Donations to Sport Relief can be made via their page: http://my.sportrelief.com/sponsor/declanmccabe
Freedom Tri performed fantastically well at Sunday's Bedford Autodrome Duathlon Race. The run/bike/run event was competed over the Sprint distance of a 5km run, followed by a 20km bike, then a final 2.5km run. Despite a very cold and foggy start to the multi-sport season, the four Freedom athletes, Michelle Reeves, Suzy Hawkins, Chris Belcher and Lee Gilchrist all performed exceptionally. The draft legal race was a qualifier for the ETU Sprint Distance Duathlon Championships, which will be held in Avilies, Spain in June.
Reeves and Hawkins both finished in 5th in their age groups, in respective times of 1:07:46 and 1:09:19, and should automatically qualify for the championships by finishing in the top 6 in their age groups. Chris Belcher should also qualify, by being within the required time, finishing in 17th in his age group, om 1:03:21. Lee Gilchrist just missed the qualifying time, but did very well by finishing in 20th in his age group in 1:06:02.
Sunday saw the fifth year of staging the Saucony Cambridge Half Marathon, and as always, Freedom Tri we well represented at the race. Selling all 7,000 places in a matter of days, 16 "lucky" Freedom Tri athletes managed to secure sought after places to this race. The course has been reformatted to a single lap, which improved the course massively. Mickey "The Masher" Day (pictured above) was finished 49th in his category in a fantastic personal best time of 1:27:46. Chris Clark was next in 198th in category in 1:33:18.Lee Gilchrist was 181st in 1:36:30, Andrew Jones was 337th in 1:43:44, Jenny Cotter was 55th in 1:43:50, Angela Phillips was 53th in 1:44:58,
Rachel Lynes was 76th in 1:46:34, David Ball was 608th in 1:53:55, Gareth Sharp was 672th 1:57:50, John Phillips was 237th in 1:57:51, Janet Bassett was 271th in 1:58:42, Manjit Virdee was 703rd in 1:59:48, Matthew Cotter was 774th in 2:04:41, Jackie Livings was 489th in 2:17:23, Sarah Taylor was 722nd in 2:32:09, David Wright was 376th in 2:57:52.
Also racing on Sunday were a trio of triathletes. Lining up with 300 runners on a cold Sunday morning to take on the Baldock Beast half marathon. Reputed as the toughest half marathon in the area, even the downhill feels like it's uphill. Gareth Bates was first home for Freedom, finishing in 32nd place in a time of 1:37:38, Mark Lacy finished 105th in 1:47:57, and Gareth Bradbury finished in 187th in 2:08:37.
