‘Hi, I’m Mike and I did my first triathlon at Thames Turbo one very stormy bank holiday in 2008 on a borrowed bike and shorts / tee-shirt. Since then I have been hooked and seemed to have got a bit more serious with each passing year. This year I hit 40 and decided to dedicate more time to training with the aim of getting in the GB age group team. Competed in Rother Valley earlier this month and nervously waiting to see if my time is good enough to make the squad. I need some more help and inspiration and heard great things about Viceroys (mainly from Carl!) so decided to join. I am married with 2 little girls so face the usual problems of fitting training in around work/family but so far, so good! Looking forward to meeting you all.’

Good luck with qualifying Mike… are you going to be Viceroys number 4 to buy a plane ticket to Canada?

Hi everyone, my name is Andrea and I’m a new Viceroys member!  I was born and grew up in Australia (but please don’t hold that against me!) and moved to England in May 2004.  I originally only came over for 18 months, but somehow 10 years later I’m still here – it must be the weather that keeps me here!

I was an active kid growing up playing various sports with cricket (so yes you now have someone to hurl abuse at come the next Ashes!) and netball being the favourites. Come university years though at the back end of the 90’s, exercise gave way for study and it wasn’t really until 2007 when I ended up working overseas at a military base that I got back into exercising again, as there wasn’t really much to do outside of work except eat, sleep or go to the gym!

I got quite hooked on both general gym activities and also running, so when I came back to the UK in 2009 I joined the local gym and decided to invest in some personal training while also continuing running.  My trainer was a keen cyclist and as we ended up becoming good friends outside the gym, it transpired that eventually she got me on a bike and I found that I liked it and seemed to be naturally good at cycling. I believe it was her that uttered the fateful words “well you like running and cycling, so why not add swimming and give triathlon a go”.  So in the middle of 2010 I made the leap of faith and bought what has become my trusty steed and as the saying goes, from there it’s all history!
Unfortunately my triathlon debut was delayed due to getting an injury not long after getting my bike that ended up needing surgery in early 2011, but it was a case of onwards and upwards and I made my triathlon debut in sprint distance at Windsor in 2011!  I was immediately hooked but since then unfortunately the injury bug has followed me around which means I have been limited to doing only a handful of few sprint distance events over the last few years, until the weekend just gone where I finally got to make my Olympic distance debut and not only crossed the finish line in one piece (which was the first and foremost goal!) but also smashed the time that I thought I would do by about 20mins!

My ultimate triathlon aim is to do an ironman, so now that I’ve finally cracked Olympic distance hopefully it’s a case of keep going onwards and upwards from here!  Thank you to everyone for the support and advice I’ve received so far and look forward to meeting everyone soon!

Bib 227; FirstName Vaughan; LastName Moseley; Club Viceroys; Category M open; 00:47:27 03:25:52.75 00:01:34.65 01:30:46.95 05:45:41.30; Finish Overall By Category 1; by Gender 1

‘Anyway I managed to pick up a win on the weekend at a weird distance event in the New Forest called The Boskman. It’s a kind of 2/3rds ironman swim and bike with middle distance x country run.

The day before was probably the worst preparation I could have had. I ordered some new tri bars on Friday on an express delivery from Amazon. They arrived at 9am which was great as I was determined to have them on for the Sunday race. I had to register in the New Forest on Saturday in time for the race briefing at 2pm and with new cables bought I made it to the race briefing just in time. That dragged on for an hour – “Watch out for the wandering animals – last year a careless cyclists head got rammed up a cows arse blah blah blah.” I then had 1.5 hours to get my new tribars on and get it racked in T1 5 miles away. 2.5 hrs later i managed to finish and luckily the security guy let me rack my bike ready for the next day. On my feet all day faffing about – not good.

Really early start 3:45. Ellingham Lake was beautiful and clear in the swim. I didn’t feel good to start with – really gassy, was sick a little bit, it took me a while to get into my stroke but was over it coming into T1 after 2.6k and ready to chase. 

It was the moment of truth to find out whether my bike faffing the day before was wise or not as I flung myself upon my eager steed and it felt good. A higher, less aero position but I was able to stay still with less pain for longer even in tuck up the many short little buggery climbs dotted about the place. I had to stop a few times, once to allow a family of ponies across the road, once to walk around a big lorry blocking the road and once to go back and pick up my bidon that had thrown itself out of its holster, but with the Forestman iron man and a middle distance race running on the same day and starting earlier it was great to always have someone to chase down. I didn’t notice passing many Boskmen during the 120k ride but I guess I must have done as I came into T2 without a clue to how I was doing – I presumed I had some bodies to hunt down.

Despite the briefing recommending against running flats for the x country run course I thought I’d take my chances and just be careful not to get a big stone under a heel or other bony bit. With a few KM on the road to get into it the run course suddenly plunged off road and steep downhill, cadence, cadence I told myself as I dodged around the stones and tried not to put the brakes on. Then steep up the other side I ground to a crawl pumping the arms as i realised how hot it was. Up and down like this for 22k – I couldn’t see any other Boskmen coming back from the turning points but I wasn’t convinced after my crappy swim. Only as I passed the last feed station with about 2km to go did they tell me I was in the lead and I skipped merrily to the finish line.’

As raced and reported by Vaughan Mosely

‘On Sunday morning at 7am, along with at approx 1000 others I was led with fellow Viceroys Phil Sumner and Tony Marshall down to the water’s edge of Wimbleball Lake for the mass start of Exmoor 70.3UK……..talk about feeling like a lamb being led to slaughter!

At 0715 the claxon sounded and off we went. I made sure I was at the back and allowed the initial melee to die down and then off I went. It was,as a lot of people have described, like a washing machine…not that I have been inside a washing machine! I got punched in the face but remarkably stayed calm, continued to steadily count to 4, breathe, sight , touch my thigh ,make sure that my hand entered the water by my head and get round without stopping in an impressive ( for me !! ) 51.12. I was delighted to say the absolute least as the one discipline I really feared I had succeeded … I only learnt to swim front crawl a year ago!

So, swimming bit done and dusted, out and up a steep hill for 400m and into T1. The first part of the bike is up hill (no surprises there ! ) The course is 2 laps, so after the 1st lap you know what is coming and can prepare to dig deep. When they say it’s a hilly course they aren’t joking….however what goes up must come down (so I kept reminding myself !) I was feeling happy and confident and momentarily allowed myself to believe that I was going to complete the 56 miles within the allowed time. The local support was great and loads of encouragement given.

As I approached mile 43, travelling fairly swiftly downhill towards a left hand bend with an immediate uphill I changed gears in anticipation . I went round the corner and came out of my saddle to get maximum benefit and I am not entirely sure what happened but somehow managed to fall off – fortunately onto a grass verge. When I remounted my bike I discovered that my chain was well and truly screwed…it wouldn’t budge one way or the other. A marshall came to my aid, couldn’t fix it, so called for the support crew to be summoned .

In the meantime the marshall, me and eventually a member of the public were all frantically trying to sort my chain out, while I became hysterical and sobbed about missing cut off times. Eventually some 10 + minutes later the chain was freed (no thanks to the support crew….a no show ) and off I went again to complete the last 13 miles. I realised at this point that it would be touch and go as to whether I would make the cut off, but I cycled like a woman possessed giving it my all, but sadly missed it by 5 mins which meant that I was not allowed to continue. My chip was removed and I was told to go and re rack my bike….I felt a bit like a naughty child !!

To say I am disappointed, frustrated, fed up is an understatement – but I will get over it . Despite the outcome it was a fab weekend and a fantastic experience – one I would definitely recommend and repeat . Very very well done to Phil and Tony who both completed it in respectable times……and all that is left to say is roll on the next one !! ‘

As raced and reported by Debbie Stewart

When Viceroys take on a triathlon, they do it in style and Windsor was no exception – just a few statistical highlights: Mark Yeoman 1^st place Sprint Distance; Scott Forsyth 3^rd place AG (Olympic) and PBs in all disciplines; Carl Fisher 13 minutes off last year’s time; Carla Gilbey 11 minutes off previous Olympic tri and swim PB; Lloyd Cosgrove PB by 10 minutes; Rachel Hall PB by 5 minutes; Lara 5^th AG on bike; Andrea 3^rd AG on bike; James Turner first sub 2:20 Olympic; Peter Bell 2:22 Olympic; Karen Clarke-Hoffman and Andrea Whelband first Olympic Triathlon.

Whilst Mark was crossing the finish line 2 minutes ahead of his nearest competition, the rest of the Viceroys were looking at the Thames current with trepidation – people were going backwards in the strong current! Rachel explains: ‘The swim is usually my favourite bit, I say usually! This was a very different swim for me. There was a sense of panic and urgency in the air as the flow was pretty strong. It was chaos people shouting, panicking and generally grabbing on to anyone to help them.’ Lara adds, ‘I felt comfortable on the swim and started to overtake some stragglers from the wave before. I was keeping close to the bank to avoid the grade 3 rapids in the centre of the river and was really enjoying it. That was until the turning buoy. All of a sudden I found myself in a swarm of different coloured hats, arms and legs everywhere, and canoeists with people hanging off every available space – there were people all around me with grabbing flailing arm.’ Even Carl’s tactic of adoping the same swim strategy as Mark did not help him avoid a ‘tough’ swim.

Lloyd seemed to be the only Viceroy who enjoyed the swim: ‘I managed to get into the front group of my wave in the swim and held my position to the turn around point, two of us broke away on the downstream section and I managed to be first out of the water(a first for me!!!).’

Prize for the most dramatic swim goes to Peter Bell though: ‘I had a little chat with the coach as I headed down to the swim start (he’d just come across the finish line in 1^st place of course) – he gave me some excellent advice for the swim start. The swim was tough – strong current and everyone heading for the far bank where the shallow waters caused many to stand up and walk…however, I pushed hard and managed to stay near the front of our wave – plenty of “argy bargy” going on fighting for the line close to the bank…luckily our Shepperton coached session had prepared me for that sort of eventuality! Catching up with the waves in front near the swim exit made things very hectic and in the melee, I dislocated my toe trying to get out of the water.’

The bike was much calmer, with Carla particularly loving the experience as she was privileged to use Charlotte Hanson’s (Pro) TT bike which took her to 8^th in her AG. Kate and Lara were enjoying their bike ride, but both equally surprised to find that the course was 30k as opposed to the expected 20k! Rachel was happy to maintain her target pace all the way round and Andrea was placed 3/56 in her AG for a strong ride.  ‘Conditions for the bike were perfect,’ explained Carl, ‘and soon found myself chasing down the stream if riders in front. It was really hard not to appear to be drafting particularly with the guy on the Cube bike who traded blows with me throughout the course. Fair play to him, he came up to me post race and thanked me for the great racing. I had a creaking ride followed by a perfect dismount then a T2 from hell. Completely lost my place, thank god for the Marshall’s.’

Pam and Kate had been chasing each other on the bike, which was just as well for Kate who got lost in T2 and had to be guided back to her kit by Pam; second transition was all good for Rachel, but wants tri laces next time to speed it up!

Colin Hinsley and Tim Ferguson headed to Rother Valley Sprint Triathlon – World and European championship qualifier –  this weeknd.  Colin Hinsley was looking forward to this race, as, ‘Rother Valley is a course that has, treated me well over the last few years due to the longer than usual bike leg (25km+) and being very close to home!’

Tim’s swim started well: ‘I rose through the field at the first turn. Unfortunately the second buoy wasn’t a turn and the swimmers that got cut up by my fantastic corkscrew turn probably failed to appreciate the quality of my turn. Back on course, I continued to push through  the field, at the final turn feeling strong I attacked hard, passing a few more swimmers. T1 was pretty quick 53secs, then out on the bike, the first hill just hurt, several kms up hill, several painful agonising km. then a slight plateau then two challenging laps, that felt almost entirely uphill.

It was great to see the motorcycle referees breaking up the packs of drafters (not including Colin this week!), and penalising those who persisted. The bike leg should have finished with what should have been a fast descent. The descent, wasn’t quite as fast as it should have been. First a group of cyclists going uphill, delayed my descent, then cars trying to pass a horse slowed me down, before another car turned right slowing everything down again. Arriving at the park, traffic was queued up for yet another, unbelievable delay. T2, went ok, however I focused too much on my landmarks got a little lost and paid the price with a 52 second transition.

The run hurt, a lot, my legs needed to be forced to push through the first km. and the second. My pacing was so good that at the end of the third Colin, having a very impressive race, swept past me with a word of encouragement, this was the spur needed to up the pace and try to keep up with him, the fourth km was hell, but then as the fifth km started my legs felt light, strong and quick, runners who had passed me earlier were being reeled in. In the last 50m there was one more runner to beat, (for 28th place), the noise of the crowds was  inspiring.  As I passed him, he attacked, but my legs find some extra gas and I take him on the line. Incredibly, the run in 20:13 is my new 5k PB. Overall a good race and a better time than last year but finishing 28th in the AG and 177th overall was a touch disappointing.’

For Colin, it was a  a great result (qualified for both Championships) but a disappointing performance (much slower than last time): ‘The awful part of the race was my, now customary, panic attack on the swim and the highlight was catching up and over taking fellow Viceroy Tim Ferguson on the run leg.  Sadly, it was  desperately short lived.  He hung on my shoulder, puffing and panting like a steam train, then to come surging past me in the last few hundred metres – gnash!    Now time for a bit of a break after 6 weeks of back to back races.’ Another Viceroy qualified for both Championships… cause that’s how we roll!

With no small amount of nerves and the rest of the club living it up in Windsor, Ian Talbot snuck under the radar to the wilds of Norfolk to make his first ever attempt at an Olympic distance tri after having tasked Coach Yeo (last October) with getting him in decent enough shape to: ‘wangle my way under the 3 hour mark. At that time my best individual, one-off times for the 3 disciplines would have seen me doing a 3 hours 10 so you see the size of the task !
Having hosted a super sprint and a sprint on the Saturday the venue was still buzzing come Sunday’s sparrow’s fart as I eased the bike etc into some very full racking with no little amount of nervousness at what lay ahead. The swim was a straight rectangle in a clear, perfect temperature lake mixed with some enthusiastic, amateur martial artists due to the somewhat slim starting gate which saw me lose my goggles after about 50 metres (don’t worry, I got them – and him – back !)

Viceroys Lisa Yeoman, Alexa Docker, Pam Winstanley-Fisher, Theo Petronokolis, Mick Tumilty, Paul Mayer, Andrew Hedges and Kyle Young all headed for Thorpe Park Triathlon at the weekend, to get in their first practice run before Viceroys Triathlon Club Championships in September.

Lisa reports: ‘I was excited to take part in my first triathlon in about 4 years. Apparently I looked amazingly calm prior to the swim. I think I resolved to the fact that I wasn’t going to win it so just to get round in one piece and have fun was my aim. I was really pleased with my over performance. I came 8th out of the female age group. Have to say I think I’ve got the bug again and looking forward to my next one which is the Shock Absorber Women Only in July. On a closing note all I can say is ” Mark Yeoman” move over … Ha ha.’

Andrew Hedges reported: ‘It was a beautiful morning at Thorpe Park and the water looked really inviting. For the first time ever, I had a controlled and calm swim (unlike at Dorney two weeks prior where the time between arriving on site and the start gun going was 10 minutes) – a new PB for a 750m OW swim of 14 minutes. ‘

Mick Tumilty meanwhile was enjoying his first open water triathlon ever close behind Andrew: ‘ It was eventful and a lot of fun. At the beginning of the swim I couldn’t help myself from shouting “charge!!!” A second before the hooter went. While those around me were laughing, I put my head into the water and started racing.. My cheeky tactic had worked. No one swam over the top of me! 😉 and 14.38 later I was out of the water’kyle

Kyle meanwhile was still trying to get over the brutal tritahlon categorization which put him in the veterans wave at 39 and amzingly only having learnt to swim in January got through this tough discipline to quick transitions and a ‘fun’ bike and run: ‘I came in at 1 39 in my third triathlon this season’ – great achievement Kyle.

After their first season of triathlons last year and some very close races, Nicola and Kate returned to Blenheim on what was the triathlon’s 10^th Anniversary for another enjoyable triathlon on closed, undulating roads in the beautiful grounds of Blenheim Palace.

Blenheim is a genuinely friendly triathlon for triathletes of all abilities and both entered the lake slightly less nervous than normal. Nicola had a strong swim, beating Kate, who set off a little too enthusiastically at a pace she could not maintain – but Blenheim’s 400m uphill trail from swim to T1 worked to Kate’s advantage as she overtook Nicola on the way to T1; but Nicola’s speedy transition meant she was off on the bike first. Kate then chased Nicola for 10k, the competition of chasing and being chased meaning that both Viceroys improved their previous year’s cycle time – Nicola by an amazing 6 minutes and Kate by a creditable 4 minutes. Kate finally caught Nicola and then the second 10k of the bike course was spent playing cat and mouse, chasing and overtaking each other and reaching T2 together.

Kate set off first from T2 and narrowly managed to maintain her lead for the run duration, the two finishing just minutes apart and both improving their overall performance from 2013 – Nicola with a 5 minute improvement and Kate 3 minutes.

‘It was an early start in beautiful Chester for the 2nd ITU qualifier at Olympic Distance. Before I start about the race, I would say that this was the best organised triathlon I have done – Age group waves, with 15 minute staggers meant there were no issues with over-crowding that affect most triathlons nowadays. Every marshal clapped as I went past, with most calling out first names, which were printed on our numbers. There were even toilets in transition!

My swim was off at 8am with a 900m swim upstream in the River Dee, followed by 650m downstream after the turn. I managed to get some feet on the upstream leg, remembering the drills we have been doing at Shepperton, and was hauled out of the river by 2 nice guys 24 minutes later in 10th position. An uphill run and some steps led to T1 and we set off on the bike, heading into Wales. The downside of having a good swim was that there was no confidence booster available by taking anyone on the bike…Instead I was hunted by other Canada hopefuls. Those damn Christian names printed on our numbers that I had thought were great, suddenly became annoying as I began to recognise rivals from the BTF website easing past me. A tough first 15k, undulating, on some rough surfaces soon flattened as we headed onto a dual carriageway. A fast back 20k led to an overall time of 1hr 06 mins.

The run was a pretty 3 lap course utilising 2 bridges over the Dee. A gel was needed at 4k as the legs started to feel detached from my body, but 43 mins later I shuffled over the line in 2 hr 16mins. No automatic qualification, but still in the hunt for a roll down….’

As raced and reported by Mike Armer