3 members of Hitchin based triathlon club FVS TRI ran the Sandy 10 mile road race with John Rose home first in 1:10:50. Kevin Smyth was 100th from the 408 finishers in 1:12:50 and Steve Mussett used the event as his last preparation race for the London Marathon and was pleased with his 1:25:59 for 263rd. Steve won a place in the Club ballot for London and will be joined by Greg Evans who will both represent the Club on the big day.
Brian White raced over 16 miles in the Asics Kingston Breakfast run and was 1st V50 in a time of 1:38:25 and 18th overall.
IronMan Rob Wilson travelled to Wilmslow to compete in the Half Marathon and recorded a 1:29:34 for 230th from 3449 finishers on the gently undulating course. Rob is training for probably the worlds toughest long course triathlon when he will take on The Norseman event in the summer. The event starts with a 3.8k Fjord swim, followed by 180k on the bike and than a full marathon over 42.2k with the finish up a mountain! Rob will join the Hall of Fame alongside Mic Clark and Adam Laycock who both became Norseman in 2004.
Continuing the international theme, John Burgess is flying the FVS TRI flag in North America whilst on secondment in Michigan for a year. As conditions are still too wintry to compete outdoors, John completed the Ann Arbor YMCA Indoor Triathlon with a 15 minute swim, 15 minute bike and 15 minute run. With an age group win and 3rd overall on the day, John was pleased to be maintaining his race fitness!
FVS TRI couples Tim Smith and Alison Clayton Smith, Kevin Smart and newest member Suzy Hawkins swapped partners for the day to compete in the Icknield RC 2 up TT. The format involved 2 cyclists working as a team over the 30k route which took in the Chilterns and Dunstable Downs. Alison and Suzy were first female pair in 1:09:13 and Kevin and Tim were 4th overall in 54:51
Mike Bridge raced the Castle Combe Circuit Race on Good Friday. After working hard to bridge the gap to the leading group, Mike was forced out of contention in the bunch sprint. Despite the terribly windy conditions the average pace was still 24.5 mph.
Simon Patenall completed the Jurassic Coast Challenge which involved nearly 85 miles in 3 stages over 3 days. Day 1 was 30.5 miles from Lyme Regis to Chickerell covered in 5:15. Day 2 was a 27 mile romp from Chickerell to Lulworth Cove covered in 5:30 and the final day was a 28 mile leg from Lulworth Cove to Sandbanks covered in 7:03. Simon vowed never again although he will be racing from Marble Arch to the Arc de Triomphe in September as part of a relay team which takes in a Channel swim.
