Weekend Round Up 24th 25th Sept

Another weekend where, once again there is more Tuff news than can be posted in one Round Up. The following will be followed by a summary of events in Bilbao; but for now:-

HEVER CASTLE TRIATHLON

Our Standard distance club championship race had been difficult to find as we exited Covid, but whilst late in the season, it transpired that there would be some great racing and terrific results at Hever Castle. This week’s banner shot is a view out onto the lake.

The final results have been declared to resolve a couple of issues and Tom Goddard excelled as first Tuff home in a time of 2hr 34 min – a time that included the 5th fastest bike split of the event & 14th position overall. Second Tuff, and another one using the bike as his best split was James Togneri finishing in 2:38. Chris Robinson was third Tuff, 31st overall and 4th in his age group (2:43). Clive Patterson-Lett followed; 36th in 2:44 – 5th in his age group. Simon Thistlethwaite has been racing hard all season, getting good times and coming straight into this race from Brighton Tri last weekend finishing here as 5th Tuff.

There was only 5 seconds between Pete Littleboy & Adrian Oliver. Andy Crawford was our next club member home before a surge of Tuffs as Gareth Coombes finished just before a jubilant Les Pearce who came second in his age group. Paul Martin finished and then our first Tuff lady; well done to Olivia Morey using her strong running to her advantage ahead of London Marathon. Jo Baldwin was second Tuff lady, then Claire Moyle, who came second overall in her age group, Leah Simms and Jenny Oliver completed the roll call of 16 amazing Tuff racers.

Thanks to Chris Robinson for reporting in and then Jo Baldwin:–

The sun came out as we lowered ourselves into the murky lake and sank ankle deep into the silt. The swim was crazy! Like being in a fishing trawler’s net for ten minutes, but we spread out after ten minutes. I came out of the water on 25:57 just ahead of Tom Goddard who shouted at me then overtook me as we ran up to transition. Then on the ride, I enjoyed the rolling hills and quiet roads, but didn’t get down on the aero bars much. Clive and I rode pretty much together (without drafting) the whole way. Great to have some Tuff company! Until he overtook me on the run up to transition. NB Nicole was  cheering him on and our top supporter for the day. I clocked 1:22 on the ride which might seem slow but the winners bike split was 1:11. It was not a quick course. The run was trails and hills – my jam after all my running around Findon. It was my chance to get some overtaking in. I finished after 49:46 run split – again not  PB stuff but definitely emptied the tank!! I collapsed before the wonderful Tuff finish line camaraderie. I finished in 2:43:36 elapsed time – third Tuff home and 31st overall. Fourth 50+ male

Chris

‘Hever Castle was certainly tough with undulating routes for both the bike and run. I’d had several niggles over the last month, I couldn’t defer so I decided give it a go knowing a dreaded DNF might be the result.  I was nervous about the swim – I hate being cold and it certainly delivered on that front. The pictures of me post swim sum up how cold and disorientated I felt. Lesson learnt – more open water acclimatisation needed for future events and must get myself to the captain’s sea swims next year! Got through the bike unscathed with the hills soon warming me up. The run was far more ‘trail’ than I’d expected and unfortunately my niggles kicked in half way and had to walk/hobble the last few km’s to the finish. Next lesson learnt – should have worn my trail shoes for better stability if nothing else! But I finished, that was my aim and I’m so pleased to have ticked off my first full Olympic distance event. Great event organisation, fantastic marshalling throughout and lovely location. ‘

Jo 

Next up two more views. Firstly Pete Littleboy, then Claire Moyle

I signed up to the 3rd and final club championship race at Hever Castle after it won the vote for our  Olympic distance race and then I forgot about it as it was in  late  September. I had plenty of time; however theses races come round quick and before I knew it I was having coffee with team mates waiting to rack bikes.

As with castle series weekend races you rack and ready an hour before so armed with our red swim hats off we went into the water and carnage followed and it wasn’t till half way I started to enjoy it, but the weeds and mucky water put pay to that. Then to the long run to T1 and off on the bike and with it not being closed roads I rode conservatively, apart from the 2nd lap downhill sections.

Into T2 and off on the run to chase down my fellow tuffs of  which I did and passing our captain in last 100m for nothing more than my own glory and finishing under my personal goal of 3hrs. This distance doesn’t play to my triathlon strengths but brilliant fun especially with the stunning views and good crowds

Peter

A new event for me as I have never raced at Hever before and it is a stunning place and well organised event. When I received the race pack I realised that when I signed up I had not really looked at what I had signed up too. 1500m swim well I haven’t swam that in open water this year, so I was not looking forward to that. Hilly bike and run not my favourite either. Well never mind it is the last event of the season for me so just go and enjoy it. I went up the night before so no early start and a chance to drive the bike course; at least I know where those hills are.

Arrived in good time meet up with some others tuffs and was soon in transition talking with the officials. It’s nice to have friends on both sides now. The weather was perfect and the lake looked very inviting although rather cold. I decided to just enjoy the swim which I did, big buoys that are easy to see helps. I found some clear water and just concentrated on my stroke, it felt good. Before long I was already half way round & just needed to head for the green arch. Out the water it was a long run up hill to transition, but when I got there it felt very warm as the sun was up and the wind had dropped. Riding out to the road it was gravel and speed bumps so I took my time and once on the road hit the first climb and my chain came off. As I was fixing it several bikes flew past including Jenny O with a shout of ‘are you ok’. I was soon back on the bike and flying round the course 2 laps then back in, onto the gravel before dismount. I made a quick transition for me; onto the run but my legs didn’t want to run and as we climbed the first hill I knew this was just about finishing, not time. By 3k I had found my rhythm and was running well, until the last hill just before the finish where my legs were saying no more. Luckily the end was in sight and there were tuffs there to cheer me home.

Great event got a good time too and finished 2nd in my age group.

Claire

With so many events across the weekend it is great to report a top result from Saturday as Wendy Kane entered the lake on Saturday morning for the Sprint Aquabike. Not only was this a super result, Wendy has been raising money in memory of her son Jack for the Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance service:-

The Hever Castle Aquabike sprint was my first ever Aquabike event and a perfect combination of 2 very new disciplines for me! On the morning I woke up it was cold and dark and after a really busy week I wasn’t really feeling the love. But luckily my things were all organised from the night before so it didn’t take long before I was up and buzzing! Surprisingly I didn’t feel too nervous about the event itself, more about all the logistics of what had to be where at what time, etc.  But things were so well organised and before I knew it my bike was racked and my things for transition all laid out and all I had to do was put my wetsuit, hat and goggles on and go down to the lake with my group! This was my moment of panic when I went to put my googles on my head and they snapped! I just laughed out loud nervously in disbelief!  In the great words of CPL “Just remember its not the bloody Olympics!” went through my head!  Now my new mantra for all my events kept a smile on my face and still makes me giggles everytime I hear it! The next few minutes were spent running to get my card out of the baggage and then sprinting around the stalls to see if any of them were selling googles! Thankfully there was one  and they saved my day! Then another sprint back up to put my card into the baggage and run down to the lake to join my fellow competitors. Not quite the calm start I was expecting! But these things are sent to try us. We had a quick race briefing and we were then allowed to get into the water and swim out to the start line. The water was colder than I was expecting and was glad I had my wetsuit on. This was my first mass start so I knew to hang back a bit and not get caught up in the washing machine affect. This definitely paid off and I got into my pace nicely and only had 1 collision. The buoys were big so sighting was much easier than I expected and managed to stay much straighter than all my previous swims in open water. It wasn’t long before I was being helped out the water and on my way into transition. To my surprise I found my bike really easily and quickly changed and was ready to go. The bike course was great, much tougher and hillier than the course at Southwater. I had recced the course with my cousin a month ago so knew where to pace and where to push on, which really helped. There were some fantastic down hill bits and I could still hear my cousin’s voice telling me “get down on the drops and don’t brake” so I was so pleased that I actually felt brave enough to do this! I arrived back in one piece absolutely buzzing! I’d had so much fun! And to top that came in 1st female, my first ever podium finish! Totally over the moon!

Wendy

KINGS CUP GRAVEL FESTIVAL

King’s Forest, near Bury St. Edmunds was the setting for a festival of gravel bike racing. Sunday saw a Gravel Fondo, a sportive for all. There was a night ride open to everyone on the Saturday, provided you had a light and the big one was Saturday’s Gravel Race. The term ‘big one’ is used intentionally as it served as the British Gravel Championships together with a dedicated Masters Championship. So we doff our caps in complete respect to Jon Roper, first Tuff home and Andy Ward in the masters race and Tiff Orton for the night and Sportive – our three illustrious Tuffs. Thanks to Tiff for her report:-

A weekend away in the campervans in Suffolk with Andy Ward and Jon both gravel racing. Myself and Amanda (Wardy’s) wife were chief supporters throughout the Masters age groups racing. The boys did really well as the field was so chuffing quick! For those who have ever watched cyclocross, it was just like this! Gun goes off and you have to cycle like mad for 2 hours! In hindsight, very glad I didn’t enter the race.

The Saturday evening, all 4 of us took part in a night ride. It was only 10km, advertised as a family friendly ride, a nice leg spinner for the boys and a brief encounter for what was in store for the 100km gravel sportive Jon and I were going to do on the Sunday. Lovely ride through the forest and some people really went to town decorating their bikes in flashing fairy lights and light up spokey dokeys!

Sunday morning and the Wards bid their farewell whilst Jon and I got ready for the sportive. Blooming lovely route through forests, country lanes, fields and some sandy parts too. The sun was out, in shorts and short sleeves what could be better?

Will deffo be back, could even be tempted to race next year….. Just for a giggle!

Tiff

ETON DORNEY TRIATHLON

Dorney Lake in Windsor was the setting for Kate Evans and Sheila Bailey to participate in a Sprint distance triathlon of 750m/20km/5km. With a civilised 11am start, thanks to Kate for reporting in:-

“After the horrific hills of East Grinstead I said if I was doing another triathlon it had to be flat! So Dorney it was!! Having been ill the last week and covid a few months ago, I’ve not trained as much as I should have, but decided to go anyway. We arrived early for a bit of a recce and found our bearings then racked our bikes. A bit of chaos there with no designated spots, so a free for all. The lake was much colder than I’d hoped, so wetsuit went on. (Sheila was far braver and went trisuit only!) a good swim got me off to a good start, however the bike leg was NOT flat! They lied! Windy too on the uphill section, lovely on the lake side with the wind behind you though. The run was pleasant…. Although I had numb feet for the first 2k! A good strong finish saw me finish in 8th place in my age category and Sheila 9th in hers. All in all a super day out!!

Kate

TUFF FITTY ZWIFT RIDES

There is a nip in the air now autumn has arrived. The good news is that this means Tuff Fitty’s group Zwift rides return on Tuesday evenings from 6:30pm. These are a great way to build cycle strength over the autumn/winter seasons; as the saying goes, winter miles, summer smiles

So what is Zwift? It’s a virtual training game/programme which banishes the boredom staring at a blank wall when pedalling. The Tuff Fitty sessions are led by Richard Hobbs where he creates a route and our participants are the only ones shown on screen. Hobbsie also places everyone in a band which simply means, provided everyone keeps pedalling, the system will keep all our riders together, so it really is suitable for everyone.

The greatest recommendation for the Tuff Fitty group rides is that Hobbsie advised Tuesday October 4th will be the 84th Tuff session with previous seasons gaining impressive ride numbers and a dedicated following.

There is a voice channel called discord which everyone is encouraged to sign onto. As the ride progresses Hobbsie’s smooth encouraging instructions help riders get the most out of the session. Others on the group chat will contribute with some banter, although if you prefer to be on mute and just listen to what is coming next, that is absolutely fine.

Is this for you? There are lots of online articles and some whizzy (very expensive) set ups you can buy, but if you have a bike and a basic turbo trainer the following article shows the cheapest way to get ‘Zwift ready’. here There is advice available from club members and Hobbsie willing to help. To complete the package you would need to download the Zwift companion app so you can be invited to the rides. Gradually more Tuffs are getting Zwift compatible, will this include you?

BARNS GREEN HALF MARATHON

Normally a popular venue for Tuff spotting, but with the race calendar still busy we just had two participants in amongst 1,019 finishers split almost equally across the traditional half marathon course and 10k. This year was a significant landmark as the race finished its 40th anniversary..

Strong running from Richard Budd who finished in just 1hr 40 minutes. Also running just a week after Brighton Tri Vicki Hedger did well 17th in her age group, a great result in such a large field crossing the line in 2hr 5m, knocking a considerable time off her last Barns Green time = well done to both.

RUNNING GP _ GOODWOOD CIRCUIT

Run Through events were back at Goodwood Motor Circuits for one of their regular run events. Competitors could chose between 5k,10, half, 20 miles or marathon. Steve Fryer was our sole representative who undertook the 20 mile run. As usual, strong running from Steve as he crossed in 8th position in 2hrs 33 min

PARKRUN ROUND UP

Littlehampton parkrun saw Steve Fryer cross the line 9th overall for his 54th parkrun in just 20:01. Then we saw 21:42 achieved by both Richard Budd and Dave March – great running. Alistair Evans completed his 99th PR, then Sue & Colin Simpson finished to notch up their 158th and 195th parkruns respectively. Nick Hartfield was on the organising team.

There was no Worthing parkrun this week due to an event on Beach House Grounds, albeit it looked as though that event was cancelled !

Lancing Green parkrun went ahead with Elaine Rousseau chalking up her 141st PR ahead of next weeks London Marathon.

Well done to all 8