Tri-season time!

First out of the blocks in the 2016 GV multisport events campaign was Emma S with her Sunday the17th of April participation in the Southwell sprint triathlon (S400m / B20K / R5K).

Freezing (literally) conditions meant that all competitors had to take extra care in exiting the pool swim and heading out on the bike. It's an easy mistake to make to whiz through transition and rely on a simple tri suit when conditions are so cold but Emma's experience saw her taking a wise few seconds longer in T1 to don an extra layer. The result was a very good bike split and - massively importantly - the ability to still feeel fingers and feet come Transition 2.

Emma's tactical awareness and a good run leg was rewarded with an 8th from 37 finish in her age group. (Thumbnail courtesy of SportCam Ltd.)

Exactly one week later (Sunday 24th April) Steve W took to an equally freezing sprint tri at Epworth (S400m / B20K / R5K). A decent swim saw an equally tactically aware and well insulated Steve taking to his usual strong bike section and making serious time before the final hanging-on-in-there run section. In spite of the cold conspiring to produce a ridiculously low full-race-duration average heart rate of only 137bpm, Steve won his age group and was a creditable 3rd position in the overall standings.

A great start all round.

Trunce 1/9 and Steve C's war of attrition

The first of this year's Trunces conspired to stamp it's authority with torrential downpours leaving river levels high and the rain-soaked soft bits in full-on shoe-stealing mode. Mick W and Rosie Wigg took it on nonetheless and both had pretty solid runs. Mick's 51/420 overall was particularly notable (pic). The fact that the Trunce can now command approaching 500 on the start line is either a testimony to the current popularity of running or an indicator that masochism is on the up.

In parkruns, Steve C made an appearance at Stretford and in spite of concentrating lately on longer / slower training efforts knocked out a respectable 23 min run. Other Go Veggies out and about in parkruns this past couple of weeks include Emma S, Rosie Wigg and Steve W. Once again, plenty of age group wins have been forthcoming.

Speaking of Steve C's return to ultras, he recently conquered The Vale Coastal Challenge 50K event which is in anyone's estimation - as it somewhat understatedly says on the tin - indeed a challenge. Not only is this 50 kilometres of coastal trail across the Vale of Glamorgan a ridiculously long way to run, but the terrain (savage) and the conditions (a quagmire) make for an absolute war of attrition.

Steve's time of just under eight hours (a mid-pack finish) gives some indication of the ferocity of the event. In fairness, the fact it's promoted by a group called Run Walk Crawl gives any prospective entrant a pretty fair warning of how things tend to pan out.

Recent round-up

There's been lots of parkrun activity lately with many members sharpening up for the coming season. We've had representation up and down the UK with appearances as far afield as Nostell Priory (Yorkshire), Stretford (Manchester) and Greenock (Scotland). Numerous age group wins have been scored.

Jon Z has already been back in open event action with appearances at the Clumber Park duathlon (run 10K - bike 40K - run 5K) and the Helmsley 10K multi-terrain race. Jon wasn't very happy with his performances but is notoriously tough on himself. Just being out there and competing (still at a good standard no matter his disappointment) is both incredible and inspirational given his artificial heart valve and pacemaker.

Rosie W has also started her open event campaign with a strong performance in the Wakefield 10K last Sunday (03/04/16). In spite of a rolling course Rose - by a matter of seconds - only just missed out on a sub-50 minute run to finish well up her age group. It wasn't for the sake of trying: that's a grimace rather than her usual smile. Pretty good going given that this event attracts some very fast athletes and boasted a field of 1,700 in total.