Tuff-Fitty Triathlon Club

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Provisional Date For Frosty 2011 is the 6th March

The Frosty Aquathlon is a great swim/run race organised by Tuff Fitty and is open to everyone.

The event is very successful, held annually and 2005 saw the tenth anniversary of the event. The Frosty is traditionally held on the first Sunday in March each year and as the name implies we have seen frost and also snow as well as fine sunny weather. Many competitors view this as a curtain raiser to their new season and with it the chance to see how successful their winter training has been. Frosty Funday covers two Aquathlon races:

The Frostbite: 400m Pool swim and 5k run or
The Frosty: 800m Pool swim and 10k run

The swim takes place in Littlehampton Swimming Pool (Littlehampton. West Sussex) which is a 25m Pool. The run takes in a circuit around the local boating lake and then out onto the seafront promenade. Subject to weather conditions the course is flat and can produce some fast times. Competitors receive a memento for completing the course & there are awards for individuals, and in the longer race, a team award.

2010 Race Report - Frosty Aquathon

Always on the first Sunday in March the Frosty Aquathlon can throw up some extreme weather conditions for the run course along Littlehampton Promenade on the Sussex coast. A clear blue sky greeted the competitors but they had to contend with freezing temperature.

This was the 15th year of the race which attracts many competitors back every year as they commence their multisport season.

In the Frostbite race, a 400m swim and 5k run, Matt Lambert was the first competitor home to retain his title from 2009 a minute quick than last year, in 24:21. Another returning competitor was Pavan Rooprai who won the Junior title last year. Pavan, from Thames Turbo, cut 1.5 minutes of his time to retain his junior title finishing second overall in 24:30. He also attained the fastest swim split for 400m in a time of 5:31 – a super time which also included transition. The ladies race was won by Claire Nichols from Southampton Tri Club. She returned the quickest 5k run leg of the day to come home in 25:08 – a time just 5 seconds outside the course record.

The main race, the Frosty an 800m swim and 10k run, was a close race with seven competitors emerging together clearing 12 minutes for the swim and transition. Olivier Pinchard was the first out of the pool in 11:30. The run soon settled with Olivier (Ful-On-Tri) and Kev Pearson (Tuff Fitty Tri) running side by side along the seafront, a position maintained until the last 1/3rd of a mile. Oliver dug deep to pull away and win in a time of 49:30. Kevin finished just 6 seconds behind in second and first Male Vet home. Kevin & James Stewart (T.H.E) both had strong run splits matching each other in 37:51. However by 1 second Liam McNally from Brighton Phoenix had the fastest run split and came home third followed by Paul Payne. The first Male supervet was Pete Wallis from Raw Energy Pursuits.

The ladies race also started off closely with Polly Mosley from Tuff Fitty Tri leading last years winner Kate Everley out of the pool by 1 second. (11:46) Kate had a good race improving her time over last year by 2 minutes. However Polly showed great running form to pull away and return home as the new female champion in a time of 51:04, with Kate second in 53:24. Third lady home was Erica Martin from Brighton Phoenix. The other category winners were regular Frosty competitors; Martine Burke from A2 Tri Club as the first female vet and Debbie Evers from Brighton Phoenix as first supervet.

The team event comprising four competitors with at least one female is always a keenly contested event between local clubs. A good showing from the host club Tuff Fitty Tri with two key wins was not enough to prevent Brighton Phoenix from regaining the team prize that they had lost last year to restore their long tradition of the team prize in this event.

A successful event with competitors returning home with their goody bag which included a Frosty Aquathlon embroidered towel.

2009 Race Report - Frosty Aquathon

Always held on the first Sunday in March, the past three years have seen snow, wind and rain for the Frosty Aquathlon. This year the competitors emerged onto the seafront run course to find cool, calm conditions.

First race off was the Frostbite. 2nd in 2008, Sarah Wigmore went one better finishing first home in a time of 25.03. From Amphibians 2 Tri club, her quality was underlined by the fact that she broke her course record to finish in 25.03. In second place was Matt Lambert from Hove in 25.29. Awards also given to the Juniors. Emily McLoughlin (Crawley Tri) won to retain her title from 2008. Junior Male went to Pavan Rooprai from Thames Turbo.

Now in it’s fourteenth year, it has preserved the unusual format of a mass start in the pool. Once on the run competitors get an idea where they stand as they try to reel in those ahead. In the main Frosty race, Jonathan Streeter from Crawley Tri was first out of the swim, a tradition he matched from 2008 but was not able to stay ahead finishing in third position. Gareth Evans from Larkfield AC, ran past and pushed on very strongly to record the fastest run split of the day of an impressive 33.31. His brother, Michael Evans was also in fast form and it was a one two for Larkfield, with Gareth first home in 44.23 with Michael in second in 48.37.

Gareth’s convincing performance smashed the course record by 59 seconds, a benchmark that had previously stood unbroken for 8 years – a great achievement.

No records in the ladies race but still a strong performance from Kate Everley who travelled down from Uxbridge to finish first in 55.31. 2nd place, 45 seconds behind went to Anna Murawska from Hampton, with Sharon Young from Esporta Brighton third.

Fourth overall and first Male Vet went to the host club, Tuff Fitty Tri and Kevin Pearson, with the first Supervet Ron Evans from Larkfield AC.

For the ladies the first Veteran was Claire Aquilina from Esporta Brighton and first Supervet was Melanie Evans from Larkfield AC.

In reading this a theme is emerging, that of the Evans family from Cobham in Kent. All four were trophy winners on the day and they had also combined into a team of four for the prestigious team competition. Brighton Phoenix had held onto the team title for 7 unbroken years; but in a morning of record breaking, the Evans Family became the new Team winners, to round of a great mornings work. 2nd Team Tuff Fitty Tri, 3rd Brighton Phoenix