I then had to receive medical treatment due to the pain, the medic thought I might have fractured my clavical and advised me to go to A+E if it did not feel any better the next day to allow the swelling to go down, I had a dressing placed on my arm wound and made my way home aching but satisfied with my attempt to have completed.

At home I found even more injuries than I first knew about but with the help of a hot bath (ouch!!! again), Ice and Ibroprufen I managed to have a good nights sleep only to wake the next morning with a stiff painfull shoulder along with what I can describe as whiplash, I then went to the docs and they have said I have badly bruised the bone in my shoulder but it is not broken and to try and keep it mobile.

From Mark Browne

It is an arduous event for teams of 4 persons to navigate their way around a long mountain course (approximately 22 miles). Following a massed start, teams visit seven peaks along the way, Snowdon, Drib-y-Ddysgl, Gylder Fach, Gylder Fawr, Y Garn, Foel Gogh, Elidir Fawr (total ascent 8000’). Teams must remain together throughout; carrying a set amount of equipment, clothing, food, drinks.

NYP entered two teams, a ladies team – Lynne Rodley, Lesley Whitehouse, Angie Went and Caroline Pollard and a men’s team – Mark Whitehouse, Neil Stanton and Mark Davies.

We all arrived in torrential rain and very low cloud on the Friday evening before the event, the weather report said it would be better for the start at 8am on Saturday. After an early meal in a local restaurant we went to register at the event HQ. Here we received a rigorous talk on the compulsory kit we were to carry e.g. 8oz of survival/emergency food, which could not be eaten, a pencil and paper in case we needed to leave a checkpoint marshal a note ! And if a team wished to carry a GPS for emergency use, it must be sealed in an evidence bag without the batteries in.

Saturday morning arrived and the visibility up the mountain was poor, we couldn’t see above 300m, it wasn’t long before we stopped to put on waterproofs. The only time the cloud cleared to reveal a view was coming down to Pen-y-pass and down from the final hill Elidir Fawr for the 3 mile jog/run through the quarry to the finishing field.

63 teams started the event and despite the appalling weather only 6 teams failed to complete the course. NYP ladies teams finished as 2nd ladies team, only 4 minutes behind the local ladies from North Wales Police. The men’s team finished in 14th place (unfortunately as they only had 3 team members they did not count in the overall placing). The Men’s event was also won by North Wales Police.

NYP Tri Finishers did just that.... we finished. Not all that gloriously
perhaps, but the Relays were never a needle match.

NYP Tri's team consist of Nic Clay (53), Pete Holbrooke(50), Raffi (49) and
Mike Quinn (our Ringer at 26). Couldn't compete as Vets so went as an all
ages team ie 1 over 20, 1 over 30, 1 over 40 and one over 50. Well Raffi was
well over 30 so it seemed fair.

The swim was conducted in the unusual upstairs swimming pool at Acklam.
They've obviously never heard of global warming there cause the water was
positively hot. Perhaps there's a deal with Hartlepoll's nuclear power
station to recirculated the coolant water there - Pete and I were certainly
glowing when we came out. An additional hazard was the lane marker ropes
which came undone and strangled you, but whats that between friends....

Cycle section was mercifully free of animal incidents, but to make up for
the hot pool it now rained. A lot. A really really lot. We should have worn
wellingtons not clip ons. Every time we came below 15mph my shades
(seriously cool shades, I'll have you know) steamed up, so an extra
incentive to keep the pace on. And did you know your brakes don't work quite
so well when they're wet, and the new bike route has some "interesting
technical descents". (ie bloody steep bendy downhills which you'd wee
yourself on if you had time or could see out of your glasses.)

More entertainment on this section when Pete's bike gave notice of its
intention to retire - a loud repetative clucking from the rear axle. However
we made it round, even overtook a Cleveland Tri team ..... yes, yes, it was
"The Calendar Girls" all dressed appropriately, but you've got to grasp
these straws wherever they come.
(... and of course Pete reckons he can get a new bike out of it. If he sends
me £50 in used notes I won't tell his missus that a new set of ball bearings
and some grease would probably do the trick.)

And last to the run ... less said the better. One team entered as "Tarts and
Vicars". The ladies were dressed in utterly inappropriate tri kit, revealing
far more than your average tri-suit. You'd think we might have beaten them
... well one of the "Tarts" was Amanda Cantle who's won everything in her
class worth winning round these parts and she'd have beaten us by herself!!

But we did finish - 4th in our class (yes, there were only 5 teams in our
class) and of the thirty or so competing teams we were 3 or 4 from last
overall ...... but we were there, and we won a pack of Boddingtons in the
spot prize draw. (Raffi - I have your three cans. Claim soon or I drink
them!)

NYP Tri has put 4 or 5 teams into this event in the past. Its a bit of fun,
and can be a social occasion with the breaks between events. What about a
big entry next year ..... and give poor Mike a chance to work with a team in
his own ability range instead of having to work to the pace of us older
people ... like twice his age!

Nic Clay - FINISHER

BLANKENBERGE (BELGIUM) TRIATHLON 06

I hope you have had better weather than I have had in Belgium, torrential rain and then scorching sun and strong winds.
Having spent a week prior to the race eating fries and mayo along with various other delights I attempted my first foreign triathlon not fully understanding the Dutch language, no energy drink as I had run out and in my haste to buy water buying fizzy.

On arrival at registration I was greeted by the organizers as some sort of attraction as no other English person had competed before and so I was a novelty, the organization was second to none and people going out of their way to translate various bits of info on the board, a great gift of around EUR40 worth of massage oils and soaps.
I along with Team Browne made our way on foot through the town to the promenade with gear in tow to the large transition area.

At the transition area it was very strict with access and there appeared to be more stewards than competitors, each competitor was given a large area along with a seat and crate to put gear, the whole area was spectator friendly with the promenade packed with tourists etc.

On entering transition prior to the race I was informed by a small lady of large build who was a referee that my Profile Century Tri bars were illegal as they were too long and it was a drafting race so I either had to adjust them to a ridiculous height or remove them, I chose the latter as did many other athletes.

There was then a 1km walk to the start point further down the beach and the sun came out in force (thankfully I had layers upon layers of sunscreen on)

All the instructions/ race briefing were given in Dutch and I managed to work out that the swim was a short run into the sea, swim to a yellow buoy, then onto another yellow buoy towards a red buoy before heading to the beach, then a run of some 400 meters to transition.
On looking out to sea I could see up to around 30 canoeists and no less than 4 inshore life boats manned by the cast of Baywatch.

The hooter went and a large cheer from a large group of spectators we we're off 120 possessed athletes

3-4 feet waves in the sea made the sea swim really scary as it was only my second outdoor swim (Hatfield mill pond being the first), I had to do breast stroke as I swallowed half the North Sea in the first gulp of air. However, I was not the last to exit.

Once in transition there were two large buckets full of water to allow you to dip your feet and remove the sand (handy).

On leaving transition you were given a card indicating a time that your cycle stage starts you then had some 12 mins to make my way on the bike some 4km through housing estates to another transition area and join a queue to start the bike leg( your time is frozen at this point) luckily I followed fellow competitors as I would never have found the way.

It was then two laps on a totally flat route with a front full wind at all times however, I did not meet up with anyone to draft off and so suffered on the bike as I had no tri bars, the route was well marshaled with both Police and civvies from various clubs, Police outriders followed almost every rider along with two first aid ambulances sweeping up, large crowds out along the route to cheer you on as you passed their homes etc, returning to bike transition I received another card along with another 12 mins to ride back to the main transition area (again this time is frozen) to begin the run stage.

The run was a long 7km between two piers on the beach completing two loops flat and featureless in hot sun and wind. All the way holiday makers cheered you on and at each of the three turn around points there were people handing out drinks etc, the run was hard due to the sand being soft.

At the finish line a large crowd applauded everyone over the line where upon a free bottle of energy drink was thrusted into your hand and I was told to go to another tent where there was free fruit, cake and water for every competitor served by helpers

After the race a presentation ceremony was held with beer and BBQ under the pier as the heavens opened up and then every competitor was asked to the stage to receive their medal for competing.

I was 89th with a time of 2h 27mins 45 secs.

All in all it was a well planned and marshaled race and I think of exceptional value at a mere EUR15 (around £11).

Cheers

Mark Browne

I completed the Wensleydale Triathlon yesterday - results are on Wensleydale Triathlon website. Had a steady swim, the lake was fairly cold and very choppy. The Bike was hard - surprise -surprise but got round. On to the run had to walk the up hill as I had hurt my back on the bike - must have been the cold and the vibrations from the road surfaces - lack of core training! Was able to run the second half - down hill. Fairly stiff today but happy to have made it round again comparatively unscathed.

Still a good race to have completed - only 57 entries with only 43 finishers. Managed 24th. I need to improve my running to back to my old form. They are organising it again next year definitely worth doing for those seeking a tough challenge. I am now looking forward to Helvellyn.

Also competing were Andy Pomfret and James Tebbutt in a team.

Regards

Adrian Etchells

My Ironman Germany experience by Jon Cooper

Buoyed by the relative success of a 30-minute personal best in Zurich in 2005, I (foolishly?) threw my hat into the ring for Ironman Germany 2006. Tim Broomfield will testify that the road to Frankfurt wasn't easy as illness and injury appeared to be lurking around pretty much every corner along the way but following a reasonable performance at the Cleveland Steelman I felt I was ready for the challenge again - if only to complete the event.

Travel and accommodation had been booked 9 months in advance and the journey to Frankfurt began with a 1:00am start and a trip across The Pennines to Manchester Airport for the 7:15am flight with BA Connect (£140 return for 2 people). Train and flight were super and on the descent into Frankfurt we could see the Langene Waldsee - The swim venue - under us. It looked like a working quarry! Transport into the centre of Frankfurt was a cinch using the S-Bahn and soon, team Cooper (Mrs plus assorted supporters) were checked into the Hotel Miramar on Berliner Strasse. This choice was a stroke of genius – 200m from the finish in the Romer Platz and with air-conditioned rooms which were essential as temperatures were in the high 30s (reaching 42 degrees on the Saturday).

I registered, checked out the Expo and watched the huge grandstands being erected in the Romer Platz before having an early meal and turning in and trying to catch up on some missed sleep. The nerves were starting to kick in as I looked at all the fit people wandering around with their ‘Ironman European Championship’ rucksacks.

Friday morning I had arranged to meet a couple of people from the TriTalk forum to recce the bike course so off we set at 9:00am. The bike course looked a little twisty but the hills held no fears for me and we got out and walked the 400m section called ‘The Hell’ – basically a cobbled street with a small incline. We decided that the best course of action would be to sit down and push a bigger gear than normal so there was less ‘wheel-spin’ over the cobbles. Back at 2pm and then off to the race briefing where it was confirmed that the swim would be the first ever non-wetsuit European Ironman. Cue huge panic – my last 10 weeks swim training had all been in a wetsuit and I had never done 2.4 miles in open water without one. The race briefing also highlighted the lap 1 bike cut-off of 5:45 from the start.

Excellent Pasta Party in the evening and back to Frankfurt centre for a beer before lights out in our lovely cold room.

Saturday morning I queued at the Romer Platz for a bus that would take me (and my bike) to the Swim start and T1 for bike racking. The heat was really oppressive and reached about 42 degrees during the afternoon. At the bike racking I was greeted by my own individual ‘Helfer’ who showed me my allotted space and I racked my bike, let down the tyres and placed my bike bag in my blue box, ready for the following morning. My run bag was also left in T1 for transportation to T2 – Germany has a split transition, which sounds a bit of a faff – and is….. But being Germans the organisation is excellent and it works.

Sunday morning I was up for the ‘Iron Breakfast’ at 4:00am, on the bust to the start with my supporters ay 4:45am and was good to go by 6:00am – lots of toilet visits later and a quick kiss with Kirsty and at 6:40am I was queuing to get into the water. I was still queuing at 7:00am when the music started, the fireworks went off and the race started! In my haste to get into the water I trod on a sharp pice of debris and cut my foot – not great, but after that my swim was an uneventful 2 lap affair. The only fly in the water was the number of people swimming breast stroke in front of me, they were wide and slow and continually got in the way so I swum a very wide line to stay away from them. I wasn’t keen on fighting with anyone and there were subsequent stories of some pretty aggressive swimming going on. Not my bag at all. I exited the water in 1:26 – a good 15 minutes down on what I had hoped for and took a leisurely 10 minutes in transition. This involved a loo stop, running away from the wasps that had taken shelter in my blue bag, debating whether or not to visit the medical tent to get my foot looked at, applying SPF50 and trying to get soggy wet sand out of everything that I was about to wear for the rest of the day.

Bike course was as expected except it rained. Hard. Not ‘Gets you wet’ UK rain, but German ‘Thunder, Lightening, Stinging, gets you wet on the way down AND on the way back up’ rain. I negotiated the hills on the first lap easily. The atmospheres at "The Beast, The Hell, Huhnerberg and Heartbreak Hill" were special. A quick stop for a pee on lap 1 was about as eventful as it got and I was done in around 3 hours and on to lap 2 thinking I could have a sub 6 hour ride. On lap 2 the sun came out and it got warm – great for me on the marathon! I faded a bit on lap 2 and the last 15 miles were harder than they should have been. Big highlight for me was being able to pee while on the bike – I’d been trying for a hour when I finally got it right on the way back into Frankfurt! With 6:05 on my bike computer I hit T2 in the centre of Frankfurt. My bike was whisked away by another ‘Helfer’ and a was met in the change tent by yet another ‘Helfer’ with my run bag. More SPF 50 and some Vaseline, on with my shoes and away. Secretly I was hoping for 4:20 on the marathon but knew at this point it was never on. Laps 1 & 2 were as expected OK but lap 3 I walked more than I should have and rallied for the last lap to complete in ? The finish line clock had stopped working and I’d had problems with my HRM all day so I didn’t have a clue. It was actually 12:36:52. Two minutes outside my previous best but I was happy to have finished in 1 piece to be honest and I said, that’s it – never again while supping a large latte after the race.

Feedback on the race would be – DO IT (if you can get in). It’s probably the fastest European Ironman – excepting Roth - so it is a PB course. The organisation was as you would expect from the Germans, was excellent. The roads were completely closed for the Bike and the aid stations on both the Bike and Run courses were exceptional and plentiful. The support both on the course and at the finish line had to be seen to be believed with apparently 300,000 people watching on the day. Ironman is HUGE in Germany and there was a 2 hour program of highlights on the day of the race!

Have fun and I’ll see you out and about training for IMA in ’07. Now what did I say about "Never agin"? What an idiot…..?

JC