Report by Jeff Chappill
Wednesday the 3rd April 2019 saw the start of the Scunthorpe triathlon club training race series (with once again the emphasis on training). With the flood defence work taking place at Burringham the location was moved to Flixborough Industrial estate for this, the first, in 11 training events. The weather was very kind on us with near perfect conditions. 62 Athletes signed on and all 62 completed the 1–13-1 course.
Normally my race reports would be full of humour and have been described as not really factual however for this one I thought I would outline what the Duathlons are all about.
They started at a time when Dinosaurs still roamed the earth, with a couple of cavemen / cave women (being political correct is one of my strengths) deciding that they fancied going for a run, came across a couple of T-Rex, they jumped on them for a ride, then ran home. From this was born the modern day Duathlon, with the Cave men and women of today following the same sort of format (go for a bit of a run, ride a bike, replacing the Dinosaur, and finishing off with another run).
All this done in the name of fun. Which is where the Scunthorpe Triathlon club comes in. We run a relaxed atmosphere event with the closest you get to racking is a tree, no electronic timing and very few rules, with every single volunteer giving their time up with no payment, except a “thank you” and the fact that the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. Please don’t get me wrong, these events do attract some of the best athletes we have, not just in the area but as far spread as Doncaster and some even come from a small family village called Grimsby.
The ethos to the Duathlons is “you race you” and at the same time “support the other athletes around you”. There are no world ranking points at stake, they are not GB qualifiers so these must be kept in context, a “keep going” to a struggling athlete always helps.
We do ask the following:
- Please arrive in adequate time to register with a Race brief 10 minutes prior to the event start.
- Please listen to the race brief.
- Please say thank you to all our Marshall’s, it makes it easier for us to recruit them, and remember without them you will not be taking part.
We do insist on the following;
- For safety reasons these are not draft legal, so get off that wheel or get passed it. If you do not know the rules are then please ask. We have a disciplinary policy for those caught.
- Never be disrespectful to our marshals. Any one physically abusing or using foul / abusive language to a Marshal or member of the public whilst taking part in an event will not be welcome back to any of our events.
- You must abide by the highway code on both the run and the bike. Don’t cut roundabouts, don’t cut corners. Again if you do not know what the highway code is then please ask.
- You must have a smile on your face at all times, anyone who has a faced like a slapped rear end whilst taking part in the event may receive a penalty, this may include writing 100 times on a board “I must smile whilst I am doing Duathlons, and stop being such a misery guts”
That’s it really, see how relaxed it is, no two or three page booklet to read.
Races 3 , 7 and 11 are all handicapped races and we ask for donation to a charity. To qualify for the Handicap win you must have competed in the first two events for race 3, have completed 5 events for race 7 and 7 events for event 11 (you think it’s complicated try working out the results)
On with the report. Let’s meet the crew
Jason, he is the Chair of the club, he pretends to be in wave 3 but really should be in wave 4. Not much more I can say.
Debs, she is err Club secretary or is that me and she is treasurer?. She is also married to the Chair, so when you see her give her a cuddle and just say there there there.
Jeff (that’s me). Can never remember if I am secretary or treasurer. Raced to a high level, winning the duathlons most years, well since I started doing the results (coincidence honest). If there is anyone out there who does not know I take the sport that series I actually had a kidney out just to shed wait.
Vicky is our head time keeper along with her side kick Dawn, will usually be found at the end of the first run and then again at the finish line making your times up (sorry mean taking your times from their stopwatches). We also have Kerry who, when not taking part will be setting you off and taking your bike time. We also have a number of others who have supported us for years, Sandra, Dave, Mr F and Andrea (apologies if I have missed anyone).
For the results from the 3rd April click here.
I end this report with a very special mention to one of our younger athletes who competes with the sound of “come on over Valerie” ringing in her ears.
Kind regards,
Jeff Chappill