A merry band of Viceroys boys headed to Grafham Lake for the Anglian Water Olympic Triathlon hosting the final 2014 European qualifier: Clarkie, Mark Yeoman, Peter Bell and Matt Storr. All triathletes pushed themselves to their limits, lining up against some of the best age groupers in the country trying to achieve the qualifying standard for the GB team at the Europeans in 2014.

The approach of Viceroys to the race was mixed:  Clarkie had considered not racing as he was still not feeling on top form  from the race the previous weekend, but thought he’d give it one more blast before the end the season; Peter went there with the intention of testing myself against a quality field and seeing just how much he’d need to improve to get to the GB qualifying standard; having limped home last  Saturday, Mark was under no illusions that only having ran 3x 5km in 5 week, a tough 10km was going to be too much for even him.

And so the race began: ‘ The race ended up being a test of how much I didn’t want to have my first DNF rather than how fast can I go and could  I finish in the top 3 in the 45-49 AG,’ explained Clarkie. ‘My swim went well,  I got some good advice from Mr Yeoman about the charge to the first buoy and keeping right as the wind would take a lot of swimmers off course.  I swam well, got lost on the last bouy as full sun in your face meant no one could see where they were going! But I came out the water in second place which was great for me, a PB for the distance.’ Meanwhile Peter was certainly not so happy, claiming a ‘Shockingly bad swim, and worse, I have no idea why. I took Mark’s advice about where to line up at the start and went fast at the gun. However, for some reason I struggled sighting the buoys and I spent a lot of time zig-zagging across the course. I was devastated when I came out the water, only to find my bike being one of the last still on the rack!’ Mark the Shark had a good swim and lead the way but the final buoy eluded him in the sun and he went off course, frustratingly losing the chance of setting the fastest swim.

A quick transition for Mark and he was out on the road and looking to chase down the previous wave. An undulating course was on offer and he tried to build up a gap for the run, but, ‘As soon as I started running I knew that I was in trouble. Manageable pain, but no pace, but my watch was telling me different 3.50ave. However by 3km I was empty. Rather than walk off the course I then jogged and walked the remaining course to make sure that I didn’t get a DNF. Season over, rest rest rest phew.’

For Clarkie, ‘ The bike hurt, but I managed an ok effort swapping places with another rider in my AG every km as we couldn’t muster the power to get away from each other. I dropped a few places to 5th on the bike to then entered the run … . I ran like a man in clogs, got overtaken by so  many people I thought I was doing the moon walk, and plodded over the line in 8th feeling like I’d just run a marathon.

It was good to race but I was a broken man. Great to get a PB in the swim and Mark’s group sessions at the lake have paid off, and hopefully more of the same next season with the added runs and bike sessions  to get down to my target of 22min swim and closer to the 2hrs for a standard race. Now its’ time to eat and be merry.’ 

And Peter? ‘I had a decent bike and averaged near 34km/hr which, normally, would have taken me through the field but in this quality of field it was all I could do to make up a couple of places! Out onto the run – and it was hot! Luckily, there were plenty of competitors “ironman shuffling” round the course and I made up about 50 places, finishing with a fast last km. Overall, I was relatively pleased with my time of 2hrs 21 mins but recognise I need to get that down by 10 mins to be anywhere close to competing with the likes of Clarkie and the other top triathletes in my Age Group.’

So, the season is over, time to start some winter training then!