Event: The ROC Scotland
Date: 5th October 2024

Out of the 3 races, this was the unknown, the adventure one and boy did it deliver! Below is a recap of the 3 musketeer’s (Lara, Lance and Marit) adventure in Scotland.

Day before the race: None of us are mountain bikers so those heavy beasts and unfamiliar terrain can be daunting so we decided to go and check out part of the course. 15 minutes in, Lara came off the bike, smacking the handlebar in her face and bending the rear derailleur. Off to the bike shop we went to get things sorted (thank you Nevis Cycles for being amazing!) while trying to convince Lara not to pull out of the race. Bike fixed, we went for a little spin and spent the evening putting together a game plan for the race.

Race day: Announcement comes “water temp is 12C and the swim is on”, 1000m cold water swim, here we come! Lance had his game face on, Lara looked a bit more terrified and I was ready to get this show on the road. No turning back now!

We get in the water and it is cold, like really cold. A few calming breaths, a few more “wise” words to Lara and we are off. Dark, cold but stunning views, sum up the swim. As I got out of the water Lance’s trainers were gone, he clearly had a great swim, and as I was putting mine on Lara came out, off for our run to T1 we went.

First bike leg was tough, it starts with a long road climb and then takes you on to the West Highlands Way. Lara and I planned to ride together and we managed to catch Lance on the climb but then as we hit the gravel section he was gone, flying! Mountain biking West Highlands Way is tricky for a road cyclist and way more undulating than expected but no way as tricky as people who were on gravel bikes! I was looking forward to the road section but that was hilly, I was not expecting that.

We got to T2, laughing and joking because we already knew we were not going to make the Ben Nevis cut-off but planned to tackle it regardless and in a positive mood. I might have said Ben Nevis is the easiest climb, out of 3, but mistakenly I forgot the zigzag and never-ending steps. Sorry Lara and Lance! Lara and I high fived Lance on the way up and after an hour + a few Percy Pigs for us, he cheered us on as he passed us on the way down. We were told cut-off was moved to 12:30 while on the mountain, slightly annoyed as we missed it only by a few minutes and maybe if we had known earlier we would have pushed harder but oh well! Doesn’t matter, the climb was a great chance to chat with some amazing people (@EmmaWhysall you are an inspiration!) and gave us a chance to take in what we were doing and how amazing the views were!

T3, legs didn’t want to get on the bike again and we knew it was going to be tough but there’s no other way back, 2nd bike leg here we go. Best part was the feed station where we had peppers, carrots and cucumbers… yes that was amazing! With more confidence on the bike, powered by peppers and with a massive mood boost, we hit the offroad section. As we navigated the gravel section and eventually waved bye to the stunning views, it was all downhill to T4.

We had the biggest grins on our faces, we had done it! Well almost, just the final 1.5km run to go. Trainers on, let’s see what those legs have left. Not much was the answer but knowing the end was near we somehow had smiles on our faces! I can see the finish line, quick check that we do not have snot on our faces, Lara and I crossed the finish line together, teamwork! Not long after Lance came in and was welcomed across the finish line with massive cheers and huge hugs. We did it!

So proud of all of us and happy we all managed to push through the tough parts and get to the end in one piece (well almost!) Glad we are all as nuts as each other and support one another by signing up to races together. What’s next team?

Catch up on all The ROC Race Reports:
– The ROC Wales
– The ROC England
– The ROC Scotland

Event: Vichy European Sprint Triathlon 2024
Date: 21st September 2024

What a difference a year makes!

The day started early just as the sun was rising over a calm flat Allier River. Bikes had been racked the night before, all that was required was to set out my transition space and then make our way to the start!

The swim was a deep water start with one hand on the pontoon, rhythm of heartbeats blaring over the speakers…. With only 3 mins between each wave, there was very little time to acclimatise, I was still swishing some water into my wetsuit when I heard – “On your marks, BANG!” and we were off into the river reflecting the golden sunrise.

The anticlockwise course was a massive help as I’m a left side breather. I have worked hard this year on technique and focusing on relaxing. Not only did I swim an efficient route, (usually I get my money’s worth on the swim visiting all sorts of attractions on route to the exit), it felt comfortable. Surprisingly I came out of the water further up than I could ever have hoped for.

The first 3 waves (F50, F55 & F60+) went off with nearly an hour gap before the next waves, which was perfect as we didn’t suffer the red mist fuelled younger men overtaking on bikes, as I had experienced at the 2023 Worlds.

T1: Not a lot to say, I knew exactly where my bike was and went straight to it – helmet, glasses and shoes on, run to find the mount line….did I say the mount lines were not in place before our wave!?

Cycle was 3 laps, despite this being a drafting race, I came out onto the course on my own working hard to catch and overtake cyclists. Eventually, I had another Brit for company, who initially took turns. It became apparent I was the strongest cyclist and on the final lap was left to lead (possibly they had a good race strategy, but annoying for me).

T2: I overshot the entrance to T2 and the two cyclists behind me entered transition first…doh!

I came out of transition on the run, chasing and overtaking, it felt relaxed and a good pace. This continued until I reached the river with 300m, and three right angle bends to go, when I discovered I had to find another gear in a sprint for the line. Dipping at the line but I wasn’t convinced it was enough. The official results were not published until the evening, so it was a long wait to discover my dip had done the trick!

9th at the Europeans – I’ll take that!

The very best thing about triathlons is the people and with multiple elements, you can usually find a positive… whether the run was good or even that your transition was faster than your competitors – and yes there is usually an element or two you think you could improve on. But I can honestly say this time I had an absolutely storming race, achieving way more than I thought could. One very happy Granny!

Worth noting, my planned pre-race fuel of fish pie and peas was a bit of a linguist disaster, for future I now know nothing complicated is required as all I need is a pile of mashed potato and peas!!!!

Special thanks to Rob the bike butler and my 87 year old Dad who walked many miles around Vichy to support his mad daughter. Thankfully this year didn’t include a visit to the local A&E!

Event: Hever Castle Triathlon | Castle Race Series
Date: 29th September 2024

When I booked in late summer, I thought Hever would make a nice finish to the UK race season, but torrential rain in the lead up to the event had me questioning the wisdom of my decision. Thankfully, the sun was forecast to return for the weekend of the races and, even though it was never likely to make a difference to the bracing 17 degrees water temperature, it was great to be racing in the dry especially as I’d recklessly signed up to the Olympic distance so was expecting to be out on the course for quite some time.

As it transpired, I needn’t have concerned myself with the water temperature as the wettest September on record at Hever resulted in the swim being cancelled. Disappointing, but the flip side was an extra hour in bed as my start time was also pushed back.

The event was well organised and, despite the still wet conditions underfoot and some changes to the race format and route, there was a fun and friendly atmosphere throughout. The course is very picturesque, meandering through the undulating Kent countryside and the beautiful grounds of Hever Castle. A bit over my target of 3 hours after my 11:00 start, I’d soon enough finished the 5km run/40km bike/10km run.

In all, a good day out but lesson learned that you’re taking a chance with the weather in late September. After the race, I didn’t hang around to check out the merch or food stands, but if they were anything on par with the photography (£15 for a single digital print) then it would have been pricey. And as a consequence, you and I will have to make do with this rather bad selfie.

Event: UCI Gravel World Series – Ruthin, Wales
Date: 22nd September 2024

How it started
Whilst in the final weeks of preparation for my 100km Ultra I received a message from a friend asking if I was doing the UCI race the week after my run. My initial reaction was not printable but then after a few moments of thinking time, I agreed to go if he wanted to do it!
So, a new challenge was born!

Clearly, the aim was to get round this year rather than qualify for an AG World Champs place. Would my body recover enough from the previous week’s Ultra to make this possible? I wasn’t sure, but I was up for giving it a go!

The course
The race begins around Brenig reservoir, where the initial ascent, a 1.2km climb at an average gradient of 4%, awaits after 6km on the reservoir’s north side. The initial climb is designed to fragment the peloton. Subsequently, at the 14km mark on each lap, riders encounter a second comparable ascent, stretching 1.3km with an average gradient of 6.2%. Nestled between these climbs is a brief 100m incline, boasting an average gradient of 28%. Throughout the course, elevation fluctuates between 300 and 470m above sea level and is never flat. With a cumulative elevation gain exceeding 2000m, this course presents a formidable challenge to all participants and at 112km, adds up to the official qualifier distance for the UCI Gravel World Championships.

The race
The weekend before the race our campsite booking was cancelled due to a flood, this proved to be a sign of things to come! Luckily, we found alternative accommodation in an Airbnb in nearby Ruthin that wasn’t fully booked. After arriving on Saturday afternoon, we went for a walk to stretch our legs and found ourselves in a thunder and lightning storm. Everything was pointing towards a very wet race! The weather forecast for race day was rain, rain and more rain and led to many entrants not even making the start line.

6:00 – Time to get up, pack the van and sort the Airbnb out. No rain!

7:00 – 30-minute drive to the venue and then 30 minutes looking for a layby to park in.

8:00 – Spin down to registration to sign on and check out the first few km of the course, find the bag drop location and time for a coffee before cycling back to the van to get kitted up.

10:00 – Final kit choices made. Is it going to rain, rain or rain? Then spin back down to the start to get into our pens to await the start.

11:00 – Race starts with the usual frantic dash up a gravel hill before a 5km road section where groups formed before we hit some single track and things spread out a little. One ambulance with 2 crash victims already! Still no rain.

13:30 – After a steady 2.5 hours I’m feeling ok, fuelled with a 40g carb gel every 30 minutes washed down with a bottle of water, I get to the end of lap 1 and it’s still mainly dry.

13:35 – RAIN!! Finally, the scheduled rain came just after I had passed the start/finish area. I have never raced in rain this heavy before. It was character building for sure and never stopped for the rest of the event!!

16:00 – Another 2.5 hours of grinding, sticking to the same fuelling strategy, battling through the rain/mud and the end is in sight (kind of, as not much to see through my muddy Oakley’s!) so I sit up and cruise whilst letting a rider catch me up only to find he is in my category so I get to do a sprint (for a lowly 37th) at the end. Just what I needed to bring an epic race to an end!!

17:00 – Back in the van for the long journey back.

22:30 – Home after a long, challenging, but enjoyable day out!

How it ended!!
To summarize, I had a great weekend away with friends and even though I wasn’t in any fit state to perform, I really enjoyed the race from a slightly different viewpoint. It’s amazing what the body can do when you focus on getting something done!!

Event: Bacchus Wine Half Marathon & 10km
Date: 8th September 2024

Fancy dress 10k with wine stops, live music, cheese and biscuits along the route plus a hog roast and party at the end…? Sign me up!

The Bacchus Wine 10k/half marathon is THE place to have the funniest day out wearing your best fancy dress outfit. A bunch of us decided to sign up and make a day of it…I was due to go as Little Bo Peep but not only had I lost my sheep, I had lost the outfit as well. So I ended up doing my best to recreate an 80s fitness instructor with a few items I had lying around.

We made it to the start line just as the rain started (that didn’t help with my bright pink heart shaped glasses!). But we giggled and laughed as we made our way through the beautiful vineyards, rolling hills, and a bit of mud before we reached our first stop.

The rain had stopped and the sun shone brightly on us. A tipple of red or white wine, a selection of cheeses (including vegan) plus a handful of crackers were on offer so we tucked in! With a few sips whilst enjoying the view we then made our way once more. A few more (steep) hills later, we reached the second stop. More wine and snacks!

A few more even steeper hills and we had made it to the top only to find a wonderful sign saying… “all downhill from here.” We flew down those hills and made it in one piece to our third and final stop where we danced for a bit to the live music, having another tipple with some sweets, donuts and chocolate eclairs! Yummy.

With only 500m to go, we were cheered across the finish line, each with our name kindly read aloud by the MC. What a lovely finish to a fab “race.”

After collecting our medals and T-shirts we cheered on the remaining group before heading to the party tent. We gobbled down our complementary tipple of choice (wine or beer) with a hog roast burger then raved our way around the party tent to the 90s old skool Ibiza classics! What a bangin party!!

I can’t recommend this enough if you’re looking for a fun filled event with loads of dancing en route and at the end. Who’s joining me next year?!

Event: Thames Path 100km Ultra Run
Date: 14th September 2024

Whilst doing a smaller challenge to run 5km a day for 50 days at the end of last year, I got inspired to step way out of my comfort zone and signed up for a 100km Ultra Marathon!! Apparently, you have to ‘run it’ rather than ‘jog it’ if you do it in less than 14-hours.

Having been a cyclist for many years, running is not something that my legs appreciate but I did manage a marathon at the end of my Ironman last year so how hard could it be, right?

Training diary as told by my social media posts!!

April
230km
Safe to say that converting from a cyclist to a runner is not going to be an easy journey! 20 weeks to go…

May
240km
The conversion from a cyclist to a runner seems to be getting harder as time goes by!! 16 weeks to go…

June
265km
Injuries to back and both legs, another back injury from a running fall and wrecked toes. Hopefully, July will be smoother and get me back on track! 11 weeks to go…

July
240km
Massive improvement to back and leg injuries by replacing some runs with walks. Catching Covid whilst finishing the 100 Cycling Climbs challenge didn’t hinder the plan too much! 6 weeks to go…

August
260km
An injury free month so all set assuming that my back holds out on the big day!! 2 weeks to go…

September 14th
100.75km
11 hours 36 minutes
6:55 / km
Challenge completed! That was one tough day out, but thanks to lots of support from friends I got it done. 49th Male solo runner from 709 starters so very pleased with that!!

Obviously, the challenge of running 5km a day continued up to the event and I ended up with a 319 day streak and over 2,000km of running in 2024!!

What’s next?! Ideas for next year’s challenge welcome!!

Event: The ROC England
Date: 7th September 2024

1.5km swim Lake Windermere > 46km cycle > 18km run/walk Scafell Pike > 46km cycle > 1km run

We knew exactly what was coming and mentally it made this race very difficult because after last year, we said we would not do it again but here we were, back in the Lake District ready to face up the mountain…again!

This time was a little different as we were missing 2 of our original ROC crew but Lara and I knew we just had to get it done. Game time!

Race morning wasn’t as smooth as one would have hoped with Lara’s cold not getting any better and instead of coffee she had to have Lemsip, and me panicking at the race start because I forgot my cycling sunglasses and had to borrow Chris’s (Thank you!) for the bike leg.

Swim started the same as last year, ouch ouch ouch over the stones but the water temp was good and we were pretty much high-fiving each other all the way to the second buoy when for whatever reason people decided breaststroke was a cool stroke to do during a race. Lara got bashed about a bit and we lost sight of each other but as I got into transition she was swiftly behind me and ready to hit the first bike leg. Quick fist pump and positive reassurance that we are in it together, off we went!

All was good until I dropped my chain on a climb, lost Lara, and wasn’t sure if I could continue because the chain was stuck. After a bit of bashing about, and a few swear words, I got back on the bike. Arriving at T2 and seeing Lara smile I knew she had a good bike leg and managed to avoid the discomfort and pain she was in last year.

Trainers and mountain bag on, off we went to summit Scafell Pike. It was hot, insanely hot in the valley, and as we started climbing Lara started to feel worse with her cold and my stomach felt like it was going to explode. One foot in front of the other and Lemsip washed down with electrolyte water (for Lara), we got to the first flat bit and thought we wouldn’t be too sad if we missed the 6km cutoff and couldn’t summit. That didn’t happen, we got to the checkpoint with 20 minutes to spare which meant it was time for Percy Pigs to help us power through what was to come.

The last 2km is HARD! but we got to the summit. A quick look up to take on the views, photo, smile, and off we went back down. This is where my mind struggled because I knew I could do the mountain and be okay but the 2nd bike leg broke me last time so instantly negative chat started in my head and the feelings I experienced last year rushed back. Powered by positive chats with Lara and a few other people who overtook us, we made it down. Got to T3 and I said, “Oh Lara look, there are other bikes here as well, we are not the last this time,” followed by a response from her, “Let’s go and catch the others, come on!”

On the bike, final push, and my goodness me what a push it was! Grateful for Lara’s power bum and legs, dragging me all the way from T3 to T4. It was hilarious, whenever she saw another competitor she just said “Let’s go, we can catch them, one more” and she would put her head down and I would try to hold on to her wheel as if my life depended on it. Even though there were times when Lara soft-pedalled (I know you did :D) we overtook so many people on our way back it was insane!

Utterly exhausted but empowered after getting to the end of the bike together we dismounted to the cheers from Chris and other people there. Last transition, trainers on and off we went for our 1km trail loop, chatting away and laughing at what a rollercoaster of a day we had had.

We started together and we finished together! It wasn’t the same with Laurence and Lance not being there but I was super chuffed with our performance (and for me not crying this time!)

Two down, one to go! Scotland and Ben Nevis, we are coming for you!

Catch up on all The ROC Race Reports:
– The ROC Wales
– The ROC England
– The ROC Scotland

Event: VTC Club Relay Woking Sprint Triathlon | Fullsteam
Date: 15^th September 2024
Team Members: Anna Bartholomew & Sarah Riches

Pre-Race

I was excited and a little nervous going into my first-ever triathlon, particularly because I was part of a relay team and responsible for the final leg—the 5km run. I knew the pressure would be on to finish strong after my teammates swam and cycled, and I wanted to make sure I gave my best effort for our team.

The morning of the race was a mix of adrenaline and nerves. We arrived at the race site early, Anna had already checked us in, so we were able to set up in the transition area and chat about our plan of action. Being new to the club and given that it was my first ever experience of a triathlon event, it was nice that it was as part of a larger organised club event and I was able to meet so many friendly faces from the club which calmed my nerves for sure!

Race Start: Swim and Bike Legs

As the race kicked off, I watched through the window into the swimming pool as Anna started our relay team off in the water. As swimmers started making their way to T1 the buzz and the cheering were electric. Anna swam a solid leg, and as she came running to us, I could feel my heart rate rising. The transition from swim to bike went smoothly, and soon, Sarah was off on the bike course. During this time, I tried to stay loose, stretched a bit, and made sure I had everything ready—running shoes tied, race bib in place. I had been pacing nervously, waiting for Sarah to come in from the bike leg. However, during this period I was able to observe all the solo triathletes setting up for their event, which made me realise all the planning and preparation needed to do so so that your transitions go as smoothly as possible.

The Run Leg (5km)

Finally, we saw Sarah approaching the transition area. Anna removed the timing chip from Sarah’s ankle, transferred it to mine and I immediately took off. The first few hundred meters my adrenaline had spiked from the handoff and my legs seemed like they had forgotten how to run but once the feeling wore off, I was able to find a sustainable pace.

The course was relatively flat, barring one slight incline which became more prominent as the laps went on. I could feel my legs start to settle into a rhythm around the 1km mark. The support from the club and volunteers along the route was great—it really helped keep me motivated. At one point, I passed a few other relay runners, which gave me a confidence boost.

By the halfway point, I was feeling strong but knew I needed to save something for the final push. My teammates were out there cheering me on, which made me dig even deeper. The last kilometre was tough, but I could hear everyone at the finish line, and it gave me that extra energy to push through.

Finish Line and Team Celebration

As I approached the finish line, I could see everyone from the club there cheering loudly. I gave everything I had in the last stretch and crossed the finish line with a huge sense of accomplishment, especially after doing a PB. We had done it—completed our first triathlon as a team!

We gathered near the finish area, congratulating each other and sharing the excitement of what we’d just accomplished. It was an amazing feeling to be part of a relay team, knowing we each played a crucial role in our overall performance.

Post-Race Reflection

Looking back, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience in my first triathlon relay. The camaraderie, the atmosphere, and the shared goal of crossing that finish line together made the whole day unforgettable. The run leg was tough but manageable, and I was proud of the effort I put in to help our team finish strong.

Now that I’ve gotten a taste of triathlon, I can see why people get hooked! I think I’m now ready to experience my first solo triathlon!

Image credits: Fullsteam