Race report by Chris

What possessed me to get up at 04:15 to drive 90 minutes to a standard distance triathlon just outside Milton Keynes? Well, I wanted to see how I would stack up against those racing for the BTF – England Standard England Championships.

Setup – Parked, racked and ready to go at 07:15, I was surprised to find myself in Wave 4. The race was a wave start, based on predicted swim time. I thought I had put in a fair estimation for my swim-time, but realising the ‘pointy end’ was going to be in the water a few minutes before me, I realised I was going to be working solo rather than finding some fast feet. Note to self, revise estimated swim time (this is not the time for modesty).

Swim – Crossing the start line, and we were off, it was a river swim, so up one side, turn at the buoy and then straight back down (thankfully no Seine paced currents today). I quickly pulled away from my wave, didn’t have to sight much and just tried to keep the pace even, but worked hard. Watching Wave 1 come back on the other side of the water, I was sure that I could have been up there.

Bike – Out of the water, a short jog to transition, and socks and shoes on then onto the bike (sorry Gareth no flying mounts this time despite the practicing). It was a large single lap, with two foot down turns (apparently DQ’s have happened before) but they were well signposted, so no concerns. I completed some steady overtaking all the way through, and focused on getting 2x gels and 750ml of carb drinks onboard (it would have been easier with BTA tubes, but just an old school bottle available).

Run – Flying dismount (yep, all ok and no handlebar gymnastics) and shoes on and out to the run. I knew that I had passed another in my AG at the mid-point on the bike, but I knew that he was also a fast runner. I hit the first km in 3:22, and decided VERY quickly, that it wasn’t going to be repeated for the remaining 9km;-) I backed off a touch, but kept moving through the strong swimmers and bikers. With a three lap race it was difficult to know where you are going into the second lap, with people coming in ‘fresh’. I held the pace, a touch lower, and pushed hard all the way to the line (except it was actually the transition entrance, and I had to turn around and cross the actual finish line).

Post Race – Finished, a little sit down and a quiet reflection, before getting changed and checking the results with an iced coffee in hand. I was surprised to get second overall (third was 4 seconds back), and was the 40-44 AG winner:-) Really pleased with the result, considering the quality of the field, and also the potential time lost on the swim. Now for a few days off before heading to Mallory Park on Saturday for the British AG Sprint Championships, and hope the legs have recovered!

A great race, well organised and well supported, and definitely one worth making the journey for.