With the triathlon season now in full swing, members of King’s Lynn Triathlon Club were once again out in force over the weekend.
Debbie James raced her first open-water event at Blenheim Palace on Sat, a 750m OWS in the lake, 20km undulating bike then 5.4km run around the Queen’s pool with the transition in the palace’s courtyard. It is one of the largest sprint triathlon in the country and this year attracted almost 4000 entrants. Her training and hard work showed, finishing 8th in her AG and 86th woman overall in a time of 1hr34min (17min25/42min/27min15). Afterwards, she said she absolutely loved the open water over the pool swim and even managed to not get lost on the bike. She was raising funds for Bloodwise, and donations are still being taken at www.justgiving.com/Debbie-james10.
Sunday saw 9 members racing at Tallington Lakes. Anna Seaman opted for the Aquathlon, a 1.5km swim followed by a 10km run and finished 2nd in her age group with a time of 1hr27 (33min31/50min51). For everyone else, it was the Olympic triathlon that beckoned and the distances involved were the same as the Aquathlon, but with the added fun of a 48Km bike ride between the swim and the run. Despite adding and extra 4km to his bike, Jamie Sparrow was first home for the club in a time of 2hrs36 (25min11/1hr22/45min) and earned himself an AG win, 7th overall and the fastest T1 of the event. The next four members to cross the line were either chasing each other down, or trying not to get caught. Chris Playford held the lead to come home 3rd in his AG with a 2hr49:39 (26min09, 1hr26, 54min) after being chased on the run by Steve Bowdery who finished in 02hrs49:58 (30min42/ 1hr28, 47min), who in turn tried very hard not to get caught by Neil Gayton in 02hrs50:39 (30min32, 1hr32, 45min), who himself just out ran Adrian Ebbs who came 1st in his AG with a time of 02hrs50:59 (33min12, 01hr29, 45min). Only 80secs separated all four at the finish. Dave Hicks produced a brilliant 03hrs15 (31min48/1hr37/1hr02), closely followed by Jemma Redhead who posted the 3rd fasted womens’ bike split and picked up 3rd in her AG in 03hrs18 (35min43/1hr33/ 1hr06). Jenna Gotts rounded off the results with a finish time of 3hrs38 (36min46/1hr43/1hr03).
The club also held their first open water swimming taster session of the year at the weekend. They swim every Sat morning at the Ouse Sailing Club and run special sessions for both adults and juniors new to OWS throughout the summer. If you think you might be interested, details can be found on their website at www.kltri.co.uk and their next adult taster session will be in July.
