Dambuster Triathlon

Saturday 23rd June 2007

1500m open water swim, 42k bike, 9.67k run.

Race Report by Richard Sheldrake

In my fourth season of triathlon I finally got round to entering this race after hearing so much about it from other Lincoln and Newark Tri members in particular about those infamous ‘Rutland Ripples’ on the bike course!

Having chosen not to camp at Rutland the night before but instead to drive down from Newark, I was up at the ungodly hour of 4.15am shovelling in the porridge made more palatable with plenty of Nesquik chocolate powder! The weather was overcast and cool but with only a light wind - ideal racing conditions.

Seeing so many clubmates before the start relaxed me and I had a clear plan to go steady at the back of the pack on the swim. I swam far straighter than I ever do at Whisby however the depressing reality was that the first 3 swimmers from the next wave overtook me as I passed the Rutland Belle close to the swim exit. My swim split was 33.28, slow but I felt OK.

Into T1 and in wriggling out of my wetsuit I leant too heavily on the racking, my bike fell off and helmet rolled about 10 feet away. Having got everything on (or so I thought) I dashed to the mount line. ‘Where’s your race number?’ an official shouted. S***, its in T1 attached to my number belt laid out neatly next to my trainers and socks! A quick about turn, knocking one of my pedals backwards and my infamously fickle chain came off. Sod it! I’ll fix that in a minute. After leaning my bike against the barrier at the side I sprinted back into T1 bouncing off startled competitors from the next wave going the other way, after retrieving my number belt, a quick dash back to my bike, on with the chain and off I went wishing I had worn a pair of Steve Saunders’ gloves to keep my hands oil free!

The bike course has some 1600 feet of ascent in 42k of riding but is still fast because of some decent descents on good road surfaces. Having rode it a couple of weeks beforehand it held no fears for me and I got round in 1.21.10 at an average of 19.2mph. I perhaps could have gone quicker but having pushed too hard on the bike in previous Olympic distance events I had not left enough for the run and was determined this wouldn’t be the case this time.

The run is officially 9.67k in length involving mainly paths but with some muddy grass round the edge of the lake to the dam. The dam has to be crossed four times before returning past transition to the finish. The race info talks about the dam as being the hardest part psychologically as each athlete can gauge how easily they are catching or being caught by others. I enjoyed the dam the most as the surface was easy to run on and there was a refreshing breeze. Perhaps it would have been harder if I had seen Steve Campion and Steve Saunders chasing me earlier than my final crossing of the dam!

I crossed the finish line with clenched fists in 2.41.27 (see scary official photo) with a run split of 44.15. My overall position was 446th out of 633 finishers. Low down but a quality field!

It was only the following day to my horror I discovered that Jon Riddell had not only been cheering everyone on at the bike mount line but had also happily been recording my mount line capers for posterity with his camera. Now I know how Posh and Becks feel with the paparazzi! Please see attached photos if you want a giggle (also starring Peter Bretan with his own unique dismount style).

Overall a very well organised event which I definitely want to do again next year.

Other Lincoln Tri members’ results (I hope I’ve not missed anyone) were:

Steve Saunders 2.26.56
Steve Campion 2.33.21 (part of his pre Ironman Austria taper!)
Eric Wintersgill 2.34.35
Jim Dalton 2.46.33
Judith Brand (swim & bike) /Anna Saunders (run) 2.53.02
Mark Ruhier 2.53.11
Peter Bretan 2.59.19 (despite some dismount traumas!)
Heather Riddell 3.02.58
Terry Vine 3.13.29 (Tailender of TriTallk fame)