written by Steve Dolby aka Dobbers
After reading the reports of late I feel quite proud to be part of such a tremendous club, however Hinchy’s Epic novel followed by a proud report which came out of the World Champs in Czech will be hard to follow so here is just a few words on Sundays Allerthorpe Olympic distance race.
There were 5 Lincsquad athletes entered in to this race from a strong field of 250 plus people.
The morning started nice and early with the alarm clock going off at 5am followed with bundling the Team Lincsquad support crew in to the Dobber Triathlon truck!! Off we went……….followed with a couple of customary Good Luck Tweets and FB messages!!!!!
Knowing that the transition was a first come first served bases, the idea was to get there early and get the bikes racked. This was achieved with the first ever first in Dobbers career!! (Even though it was first in to transition but hay….A wins a win!!!!) see photo above
The five Lincsquad competitors slowly gathered and passed a few comments and thoughts for the day none of the as nervous as Amanda Clements who was competing in her first ever Olympic Distance triathlon!! Amanda’s knees where knocking all the way to the start line!!
The start was fast approaching and the race briefing was finished. This was when Paul Ralph was a little concerned as he thought he was going to get a mention for the spectators to keep an eye for a supper fast swim time. Going off in the first wave with Huwie Davies, Paul had accidentally put down on his entrance form a predicted swim time for a Sprint distance instead of the Olympic distance!! Whoops!! Paul’s time would have come in as a World Record………!!
The race was on its way with some good racing conditions ahead of us. Huwie and Paul of at 9.00 followed by Steve Dolby and Kate Lahart at 9.03 and Amanda at 9.09
Some great times followed with Huwie (24) being the first Lincsquadder home coming in at 2.12.47 noticing that the run was a little over the customary 10km. The Garmin did actually register a 6.84 mile run. (I’m sure this was the correct course he ran on as I certainly felt the extra distance in the legs as well!!)
Dobber (90) was the next one to come over in a sub 2hr 30min in a PB of 2.27.58 A good 10 mins quicker than the previous Dambuster Olympic event. (Also with an injured back!!)
The heat was on as Kate Lahart (115) soon come racing over the line with an impressive 2.33.18 (this was also after such a relaxed pre-race preparation!!!!! Still in jeans and a T-shirt during race briefing!!!!!). Paul Ralph (125) crossed the line next in a time of 2.34.24 Still with a smile on his face from finishing the Outlaw Ironman distance race just a few weeks previous.
Amanda Clements (241) had actually got rid of the nerves now and took full appreciation of the Lincsquad support crew during the race and came over the line in a very respectful 3.14.46 and yes………Still supporting a huge smile!!!! Well done Amanda on your first Olympic Distance!!
Steve