It was a balmy and windy day at the New Forest Triathlon this past weekend.  Steve Walker and Ed Simpson battled the 1100m swim and cycled head down against the gales blowing across the open plains over the 35km bike.  Gales aside, Steve and Ed finished the bike leg only 50 seconds apart and went on to finish the race in 2:08:45 and 2:12:20 respectively. It was a good day for racing with the sun shining and the heat at a minimum so our vets were able to show off their talents.  Well done to you both on the first olympic of the year! 

In other news, Peppi Holder competed in the San Fairy Ann Cycle Sportive on Monday, May 2nd.    It seemed it was blowing a gale this weekend from South to West so the cyclists in the sportive had a lot of work to do!  Despite this Peppi secured a solid ride over 118km in 4 hours 41 minutes.  Well done pepster! 

Things are hotting up for the Tritons early on this year and though the early spring temperatures are soaring into the mid 20's, this surge in heat has nothing to do with weather!

Newly crowned European Duathlon Champion Vernon Thomas has returned from Limerick the victor, by a landslide!  It was a weekend of high end competition where Vernon, as always, showed his metal and firey determination bringing home success in the form of a gold medal!!  It is worthy of note that Vernon surpassed his closest competitor by over 3 minutes and raced a 40km bike in 1:05:11!  Vernon has consistently been competing at the top of his age group for years, again topping the best at both the Oulton Park and Dambuster Duathlons in March this year!  A big congratulations to you Vern, we have a lot to learn from you and are in awe of your inspiring successes.

Sunday was a sweat of massive proportions with the temperature rocketing up to 17 C.  Right from the start, the annual London Marathon was going to be a hot and humid day for our 10 strong crew of Tritons.  Though difficult conditions with the heat contributed to some disappointing results for some athletes, Keith Sanders sailed through the burning conditions with a very comfortable 3:04:05 with energy enough to spare for a long cycle ride when he returned home!  Steve Wood was not far behind with a very fast first half in sub 1:30 coming home in 3:17:34. 

The crowds were en mass this year as were our Tritons!  I don't think that any of us racing could have been more proud and thankful of the strong crew of Tritons, family and friends we had supporting, standing behind us all and cheering our successes.  Joining the sub 3:30 club was Rob Baker, looking spry and feeling fine for a 3:28:27!  Debbie Coyle had a fantastic marathon, literally bouncing back from a plaguing injury finishing in 3:29:24.  

Mile 5 was our first mass of Triton supporters for which we were all truely greatful-none as enthusiastic as Miss Jane who's encouraging screams spurred us forward!  In a relaxed stride, with time for a pitstop kiss of encouragement from family Walker at mile 5, Steve secured a comfortable 3:42:33 despite his shortened prep phase for the 42.2km distance.  Martine Nield was brought down by a bug earlier in the week and despite this blip in her preparation still managed a very solid 3:44:43.  Rounding out the last of our sub 4 hour crew was Andrew Gwynn in 3:52:25, a fantastic time early on in the season.

The surge was on and the day was getting ridiculously hot, enough so that run through showers were a necessity, jelly babies were the nectar of the gods and each passing mile a mental tick mark that we were nearly home.  Carl Botten and Juliet Brown (notably her first ever marathon!!) finished within 9 minutes of eachother with the wheels still on in 4:50:58 and 4:59:10 respectively securing a sub 5 hour marathon in the bag! (Carl its called the Ironman shuffle after 2.4 mile swim and 112 mile bike)

As for yours truely, Lorie Penner-4:21:23, well it wasn't the best of days, but it wasn't the worst of days (the culmination of despair being passed by an oversized beer bottle) however, the best things we can all take from this difficult race is the enjoyment of the day, the sun and the comraderie of good friends.  A wise friend reminded me that the marathon is a strange beast and that crossing the finish line is an achievement in itself-so BE PROUD TRITONS!!   You kicked some serious a***!!!!

The sun is out, and so are the runners and cyclists!  The last two weeks have seen Tritons springing forward and grabbing some amazing times in sportives, time trials and road races. 

The Kentish Killer Sportive started on a 'blustery' day with five Tritons braving the elements putting another 70 miles in the bank in preparation for the season ahead.  Malcolm Davies was the first of the five to cross the line in 4 hrs 19 min followed closely by Jamie Beecham and Mitch Dann in 4:22:20 and 4:28:50 respectively.  Adding another ride to prepare for a voyage to European and World Long Course Championships, Steve Walker posted a speedy 4 hrs 45 min over the 113km course.  Diane Purton was our sole Triton female taking part in the sportive and pushed her way through to a very strong finish and 5th in her AG.  Considering the weather and conditions all Tritons performed admirably and should be proud of their efforts. 

The Hell of the Ashdown followed on the weekend of the 27th of February with Ed Simpson and Bruno Mahsoudi braving the elements and hills of horror over the 110km course.  Ed was 39th soul to cross the line, a fantastic ride and Bruno crossing over the top of Star Hill and across the finish in 4:22:33.  Well done boys!

On the same day, in the same county, 5 other Tritons were testing their fitness at the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon.  Some high profile competitors and one Dame Kelly Holmes to start the runners off made for an interesting day celebrating the 25th annual Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon.

Keith Sanders had a smasher finishing in 1:18:45 in 23rd position overall! Steve Walker followed suit with a season's best time of 1:27:25 finishing 19th in AG.  Over a very hilly course on a brisk day the girls were going hard and fast, Martine Neild edging out her other half Simon Carter by 5 seconds, for a 13th place finish in AG in 1:36:41 followed by Louise Walker in her debut half marathon of the season!

Fantastic times had by all and a round of applause to you all for your grand efforts.

.....and the victors are Clive Weston and Sarah Stewart!!

On a drizzly and grey morning with cold feet and wet hands, 8 Tritons climbed Toys Hill to test their hootspah.  John Sheliker led the clan of Tritons and carved the way with Per Jansson only 24 seconds behind, Ed Collinge pushing the pace to grab onto Per coming to the top in 11:10.  Sarah separated the girls from the boys and showed she is the true Queen of the mountain finishing in a punishing 11:31.  It was a closely fought race with Mitch Dann careering up the hill and Gavin Rand hot on the chase, only 22 seconds behind.  Clive pelted up the hill squeezing the gap between him and the boys reaching the peak of the hill in 8:46. 

It was a grey morning, but a great morning, finishing with a cupcake, a smile and a handshake.  Hope to see more of you next time.

On y va!!!