Posn	Name	Cat	Cat Posn	Swim	Cycle	Run Time	Total Time
20	Owen Harries	M40	3	32:39	2:19:03	1:33:44	4:25:27

Distances: Swim 1,900m, cycle 49 miles, run 14 miles.
Cycle time includes swim to bike & bike to run transition

Race Report

They say time and tide wait for no man and so it seems neither do race organisers. The swim section of the Swashbuckler Beaulieu triathlon is held in the Beaulieu river starting and finishing at Bucklers Hard and the tides on the day meant the first swim wave had a 5:45am start! Working back from this time meant setting (two) alarms for 3:40am when even the birds were asleep. Not surprisingly most of the traffic on the drive down had bikes on the roof / back and was also going to the race.
I was in the first swim wave so on arrival racked my bike and got into the wetsuit. The short swim over to the other side of the river where the start was confirmed that the water temperature was fine but visibility was pretty much nil. Swim course was two laps from the Hard round a downstream buoy with the moored boats providing a natural separation on the out and back legs. Start hooter went catching me by surprise a bit and the previously calm river turned into a mass of flailing arms and legs. Attempted to find some clear water to swim in but was almost at the first turn mark before things spread out. First lap down and had settled into a fairly easy stroke and feeling good, even overtook a few people on the last section before exiting the water. Got a cheer from Nick (Wright) who was marshalling the swim exit. Transition was at the top of the Bucklers Hard hill so it was a jog up taking the wetsuit half off as I went. Faffed around in transition getting bike top, shoes etc on and then it was onto the bike leg.
Bike course was a two loop figure of 8 taking in Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst, Beaulieu, Lepe, Ipley Cross and back to Bucklers Hard. With a middle of the pack swim time I had plenty of people to catch and overtake in the early stages of the bike. Also narrowly avoided a cow that decided to wander across the road in front of me. Traffic at this time of the morning (still not even 7:00am) was thankfully light. One exception being a horse lorry that had to overtake me before stopping to turn right immediately afterwards, breathe in while squeezing down the inside!
Managing to keep a good cadence (leg speed) on the bike and average speed is around the 22mph mark. Remember not to cut any corners, especially the turn into Beaulieu village as 5 riders later got DQd for this. In the last half mile I eased back and made an effort to spin the legs in preparation for the run to come.
Bike to run transition was OK and out for the final section. Run course was 2 laps of the lanes around Bucklers Hard and footpath between Beaulieu and Bucklers Hard. Took the first mile steady while the legs got used to running rather than cycling. Must have been adapting better than other as managed to catch and pass about 5 people in the first 3 miles. Some fantastic support from the marshals and residents on the route, one had even got a hosepipe out to provide a cooling shower for anyone who wanted it (temperature was rather warm by this point). Lots of support as came through Bucklers Hard to complete the first lap, that hill up the street was the steepest part of the course though.
On the second lap there were lots more people on the course and it wasn’t possible to tell who was on the first or second lap, didn’t get passed by anyone though. Final section along the footpath was good to get some shade and know that the finish was close. Managed to save a bit of energy to try and look Ok on the final run up the hill to the finish. Photos will probably tell another story!
Overall this was a fantastic event in a beautiful location. Organisation and marshals were great and although warm the weather also helped to make it a memorable day.
Owen.

Photos here

Please Note:
Any problems with names / times / positions etc then please e-mail boardsbikes@yahoo.co.uk