Wimbleball 70.3

Well that was an amazing weekend at Ironman UK 70.3 Exmoor.

First though, other things of note have been happening….. Fran’s already written about last weekends exploits including the Purbeck 10k, Chris at the Boskman and Derek up North – have a look here

So what was on offer in Exmoor on Sunday? Well Fran had entered so rain was guaranteed; although they tried to blame it on some other bloke at the awards ceremony we all know it was Fran’s fault. Saturday was a great day – sunshine, general excitement and really cool just chilling out at camp TriPurbeck – oh yes we occupied a big bit of the camping field – flag and everything. Unfortunately that meant that Liz and Gary and Cheryl parked their shabby old campers next to Simon and our deluxe vehicles, drawing a few looks from rival triathlon clubs, but we are inclusive and proud of it, so as long as they sort it out for next year I’m happy

So race day dawned. Tripurbeck’s finest sprung from their beds like a bunch of sloths on valium to find no sign of the sun and at about 6am it started to rain. And the wind got up. And it rained. So whilst the intrepid 6 got their wetsuits on, pumped up their tyres and prepared their bike for amphibious mode, I built an ark and started loading it with 2 of everything I could lay my hands on. Great swim from Fran (32min) Liz (35min) Mandy (36) Simon (37), Gary (time unknown dependent upon how long he clung to the kayak) and Johnathan. Seriuosly bad conditions on the bike slowed everyone down so we weren’t expecting anyone yet when low and behold along comes the super biker herself, posting the 3rd fastest bike split overall, the mighty Franster led the Tripurbeck contingent and the 40-44 field by some distance out onto the run. So who would arrive next…… Gary having ridden past Simon and Liz but Simon was only 4mins back after a great ride and Johnathan a further 2 mins back despite having cable issues on his superfast Planet x Exocet 2 (note to self – really should finish building mine – obviously I’ve only had the frame for 8 months so I don’t want to rush it). Liz was next not far behind and Mandy got the nerves jangling but pitched up 4mins before the cut off. The conditions on the bike were awful and comparisons with last year suggest a 10-20min difference so great riding from everyone just to get round! So the run was set up very nicely …. Simon trying to catch Gary, Johnathan trying to catch Gary and Simon and Liz trying to catch…. I think you get the idea. Fran was never headed, finished in 5hr38min and won again! By 17mins this time despite the fatigue from Staffordshire 2 weeks before. Gary produced a solid run mostly due to keeping his head up to post an excellent 6hr 27min finish. Liz was just as fast as last time despite the weather and racing at Staffordshire – great work! Unfortunately Johnathan suffered some kind of weird foot injury….. hold on a minute…..which meant that he was unable to run. A real shame as despite his 3hr walk pb for 13.1 miles, he could have been in contention for a world championship qualification slot if he had been able to run at his normal pace. Still, at least his was a genuine injury sustained during the race. Not some weird back issue that he got plumbing in the loft or something. Anyway, neatly on to Simon.  Unfortunately, due to some weird plumbing injury he got plumbing in the loft or something, his back started to spasm and it was a run/walk combo to a 7hr finish – still great swimming and biking bodes very well for the main event in Tenby. Biggest cheer of the day was reserved for Mandy completing for the 3rd year running don a packed finish shoot.

So great racing, a spectacularly fun weekend, wonderful support from Derek and Sharon and Fran has said she’s never doing Wimbleball again – which of course means she’ll be back next year and it will be chucking it down!