Fastnet Sprint Triathlon

The picturesque town of Schull in West Cork with its rugged coastline, hidden coves and craggy hills was the backdrop for the Fastnet Sprint Triathlon. On Saturday, 11th June five members of Blackwater Triathlon Club headed to Schull for the race. Hosted by Schull Triathlon Club the sprint distance included a 750m sea swim, 20km hilly bike and 5km coastline run.

Over 200 participants took part on the day, adventuring from the four corners of Ireland with the biggest group of competitors coming from county Cork. Rain was forecasted on the day but with our unpredictable Irish weather the rain stayed at bay, but the wind added an extra challenge to the cycle.

Congratulations to David Lahive on completing his first ever triathlon finishing in 1:49:00 a great time for a first triathlon. Ruairi McGrath lead the gang home on the day in 1:28:05. Not too far behind him was Pat Finn 1:37:20 and Dave Harte finished at 1:52:56 and Anne Furlong 2:22:34.

The club spirit once again shone on the day, as Anne was heading on her 5km run, the rest of the BTC members had finished their race. They stood at the finish line to wave Anne off on her run, and 40 mins later when she returned, they were still standing there waiting for her to finish and to cheer her over the line.

Anne said: “What a wonderful demonstration of what our club is about, the lads knew that I wasn’t going to be back anytime soon and still waiting for me to cross the line, it will certainly be one of my most treasured memories”.

The routes were well marshalled and the athletes were encouraged by them every step of the way. Another well organised and friendly event run by Schull Triathlon Club and the people of Schull. Well done to all involved.

HOOK OR BY CROOK

From the West to Dunmore East, county Waterford, also held on Saturday, 11th June, Waterford Triathlon Club hosted their Hook Or By Crook sprint triathlon. This triathlon is part of the BMW Triathlon Ireland’s National Series and the Sprint Distance National Championships, where individuals compete to earn points from each event.

The weather was less than favourable on the day and with a sea forecast warning in affect the 750m sea swim was cancelled. An additional 3km run was added to the event which turned this Sprint Triathlon into a Duathlon, 3km Run 20km Bike 5km Run.

Dynamic Duo Ashleigh Byrne O’Brien and Richie O’Brien team up on the day to do the relay. Not only teamed up the day but also for life, (that’s not a commitment you have to sign up to if you do a relay, so don’t worry!). Ashleigh was due to do the swim leg of the relay and Richie was doing the cycle and run, with the swim cancelled if was all up to Richie to bring home the trophy of winning. No pressure on Richie then! Certainly not a man to shy away from a challenge he completed the duathlon and won in a time of 1:14:23.

On the day over 300 athletes participated in the event. The bike course was an out and back cycle on the Dunmore to Waterford Road. The 5km run was challenging with a large section of the run on the Dunmore East golf course, finishing at the golf club. Well done to Waterford Triathlon Club on a well-run event it is always a popular race with athletes.

TG4 DOCUMENTARY

The club is not always about lyrca, we can turn our hand to a bit of filming too. TG4 arrived in Fermoy on Saturday, 11th June where they were making a documentary about the River Blackwater. As part of the documentary, our swimmers took to the water to demonstrate what a wonderful amenity we have on our doorstep. Club member Mary Collins took the lead regarding to the interview as Gaeilge and shone like the star is she. “Mr DeMille I’m ready for my close up”.

METALMAN TRIATHLON

When you drew your curtains open on Saturday morning, 25th June, you would have been forgiven to think it was the month of October not June. Newtown Cove near the seaside town of Tramore, County Waterford is home to the Metalman Triathlon. One of the newest middle-distance event to their calendar which is 1.9km Swim, 90km Bike and 21km Run.

Unfortunately, with the weather warning from Met Eireann the tough decision was made not to hold the swim. Even with the swim cancelled there was plenty of racing to be done. The bike headed west down N25 towards Dungarvan and returned along the hills of the scenic Copper Coast. The challenging run course followed the coast out past the Metalman towers and back in again. The course is tough one, but the winds certainly increased the challenge of the race. Thankfully the rain stayed away for the duration of the race. The post-race photos of blue skies and sunshine would make you wonder how bad was it?

Congratulations to our members who braved the winds and competed the race. Mike Lyons rocked home again in 3:47:42 (4th in his age group). Stephen Collins 4:17:19, Dave Bartley 4:32:42, Peter O’Brien 4:38:04, Dave Harte 4:39:37, Martin Feeney 4:40:39, Bernard Kiernan 4:49:28, Adrian Collins 4:52:05, Dermot Johnson 5:06:09, Mike Feeney 5:07:42 and Jim Crowley 5:25:13. Over 200 athletes took the roads on the day. Metalman organised a well-run race with marshals and water stations always on hand to help the competitors.

BALLINSKELLIG’S TRIATHLON

On Saturday, 25th June the Hardman Events hosted the Ballinskellig’s Triathlon, two distances were available on the day. The Sprint race 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run or the olympic race 1.5km Swim, 40km Bike and 10km run. David Lahive headed to county Kerry to compete in the Olympic distance triathlon.

David is new to the world of triathlons, and he is signed up to take part in the half Ironman in Youghal in August. In preparation of the Ironman event, he wanted to practice a sea swim of 1.5km and Ballinskelligs was the ideal event to do. After he completed the sea swim, he stepped down from the Olympic distance triathlon to the Sprint distance as the conditions on the day were atrocious.

David reported: “With 15 years of running experience behind me I never seen such bad conditions. With gale force winds, rain

and surface water the cycle was challenging. I had a few wobbles on the bike and the descents were steep.

I was soaked to the bone and freezing cold, so my ego didn’t put up too resistance to me finishing the sprint distance instead of the Olympic distance. On the day I was delighted to have competed the sea swim even if I felt like an extra in the film a Perfect Storm.”

Although not the most favourable conditions on the day, the Hardman Event series are always technically challenging races. Well done to everyone who organised and marshalled the event on the day, as hard as the course is, it’s not easy to be standing in the same spot for a few hours in that weather.

NEW MEMBERS

We welcome new members at any time. You don’t have to be an elite athlete to take part in triathlons. While for some people it’s about the competition for others it’s just about taking part and having fun. It’s also a great way to meet people with similar interests and abilities. So if you’re feeling like a new challenge for 2022 contact us and before you know it you’ll be able to call yourself a triathlete.

More advice and information on triathlons is freely available from your local club. For further information see our club website www.blackwatertriclub.com, online or email us at btcfermoy@gmail.com or contact Ronan Fox at ronan.fox@spxflow.com.