January 1st dawned, very cold but hangover-free, so after fighting our way into the car with hot-water-bottles and even hairdriers to get the doors open, we set off for Edinburgh to this gruelling event run byEdinburgh Triathletes with sponsorship from various sources including Edinburgh Council and particularly Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative. Had to stop repeatedly to clean off the windscreen but managed to find the Commonwealth Pool at (almost) the first attempt and even managed to squeeze up behind another car on the road outside so we were ALMOST off the double-yellow lines.
Hatty registered and picked up her race number while I went on a fruitless search for caffeine ... then outside to warm up by biking the course before racking her bike. This year the racking was numbered - much better than last year when transition from bike to run became a bit of a free-for-all which was hard on the smaller, slower kids who struggled to find spaces to put down their bikes.
Hatty had intended to warm up by running, too, but by the time we'd chatted to various friends it was time for the briefing by Scott Balfour, president of Edinburgh Triathletes , who had us in fits at the STA Junior Aquathon Series race at Leith last year. Then they were off .... at which point I found that the battery was dying on my camera and my spares were totally flat! I did manage to catch a few shots - fortunately the bright sunlight made it much easier.
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The girls forced the pace, with Kirstin Daly of Ayrodynamic Tri Club leading a tight pack in from the first run. Unfortunately problems fastening her helmet held her up badly in transition and she set off on the bike well behind the others. Our own Hatty Floyd, meanwhile, changed places constantly throughout the bike leg in a battle with the leading boys to come first into T2, a lead she held out onto the second run. She was finally overtaken by phenomenal runner Shaun Devenney, winner of the under-12 boys, who finished 3 seconds ahead of her in 13:39 and 15 seconds ahead of the leading 12-15 boys. Most of the 50 or so kids finished without mishap, though such a long hard race is inevitably too much for some of the youngest entrants. However they all got a well-deserved top-quality goodie bag (a smart drinks bottle, bag and tatoos, courtesy of sponsors, Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative), not to mention a king-size Mars Bar and Coke (very healthy!).
| goody bags! | Under-12 girls | 12-15 girls | ||
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Just time to change before the prizegiving, again much enlivened by Jimmy Johnstone who somehow kept up a constant flow of entertaining but informative comment throughout the whole event. Prizes were presented by former winner Rachel Balfour. Hatty was really delighted to receive a camelback - something she's wanted for ages - and a voucher from sponsors Edi Bikes. This was soon spent - we had already planned a trip there when they reopened after the holidays to buy a turbo trainer, courtesy of a grant from West Dunbartonshire Sports Council. It hasn't arrived yet (out of stock) but look out for a blistering performance from Hatty on the bike this season!!
I'm told the teams from Ayrodynamic Tri Club did very well in the full triathlon that followed, taking first relay team, first male vet and first male and female juniors
A great event, a great start to the year - thanks to everyone who organised it.