Oxford triathletes pushed to the limits
On Sunday April 30, a group of 18 intrepid Oxford triathletes piled into a minibus with bikes, shoes and goggles- galore and ventured down the A4 to Calne in Wiltshire for the BUSA Triathlon Championships. The event took place over the sprint triathlon format, with a 750-metre swim, a 20-kilometre cycle and then a 5-kilometre run.
The race was contested by nearly 250 competitors and although Loughborough, Birmingham and Bath dominated the top places, Oxford fielded one of the largest teams and certainly made their presence felt. Geoff Roberts was the highest-placed Oxford athlete, who claimed 40th place overall after clocking an admirable 1:06:34, while the second-best performer in the Oxford contingent for the whole event was OUTriC President, Simon McDonald, who finished 51st in 1:08:37.
A special mention must go to Rachel Hughes, who stormed around the undulating course in a time of 1:12:29, and was the first woman over the line for Oxford. Her performance was a showing of great endurance and stamina, taking into account the fact that she also powered her way to gold in the BUSA 10-mile cycling time trial on the same day. Second overall for the women was Tamsyn Allen, who finished with a time of 1: 14: 33.
Allen had a brilliant swim but suffered from the conditions that became ever colder and inhospitable as the way wore on during her spell on the bike and did very well to gain the high place that she did. The nature of the event is such that only 12 athletes can swim at one time in the pool and so each group of athletes starts the race at about 20 minute intervals apart, the time of the start being based on predicted swim times.
This meant that the first competitor set off at 2pm and those who were seeded higher up in the rankings had to wait around for needlessly-tedious spells. In Allen’s case, who was one of the fastest swimmers, she could not start until after 4pm. There were also many Oxford athletes who were competing in a triathlon for the first time.
Impressively, they all appeared to manage and negotiate the complicated transitions and all the rules of each event in an expert fashion and applied themselves with a concentrated level of professionalism. Everyone appeared to enjoy themselves after the conclusion of the day’s events, and this enthusiasm must be carried into the next race on the calendar, which happens to be the most important, and this is, of course, Varsity.
The showdown with Cambridge will be all the more spectacular because it is being held in the majestic setting of Blenheim Palace.
4th May 2006