Mike Armer is one of our 5 proud Viceroys who qualified to compete at the ITU World Championships in Edmonton, Canada – he tells us how he got there
WHAT/WHEN ARE YOU RACING AT THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS?
Mon 1 Sep – Olympic Distance
HOW DID YOU BECOME A GBR ‘AGE GROUPER’?
I got organised early for once and identified the 3 qualifying races for the Standard distance. This was my 2nd year of triathlon and with a 2013 pb of 2hr 28, I was more wanting to do these races to see how good the competition was – qualifying was a long way off. I was unable to run at all in 2013 and always had to hobble the 10k and then have 3 weeks rest to let the calves recover, but this seems to have improved in 2014 – concentrating on shorter strides on Yeo’s advice seems to have lessened the pain. I travelled up to Shropshire and Chester and performed well with 2hr 14s which we thought was enough to get a roll down place. It turns out I should have done Dambuster as this was the same day as the ETU champs so the fast boys were absent. This nearly cost me a place in Canada, as some slower athletes gained automatic slots, and the all important percentages were enhanced. Lesson learned – I should have realised Dambuster would have been an easier path – do more homework!
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN INVOLVED WITH / INTERESTED IN TRIATHLON?
I was a 10 stone county standard 800m runner as a teenager, but somehow morphed into a 14 stone bored office worker, with early signs of a mid life crisis! I was always too scared to try a triathlon, but finally plucked up the courage and did Newbury in Sep 2012 – I was awful, but hooked! I wasn’t hooked on trying to win, I was hooked on trying to get faster whilst my body was supposedly in decline! I spent 2013 racing the big triathlons (Blenheim, London etc) and just enjoying the learning experience. Joining Viceroys has just fed that desire – it’s great training with some extremely good athletes, who spend hours in a day job and yet are still competing at a great standard.
ANYTHING ELSE?
Next year the ITU Champs are in Chicago – look on the BTF website each week, and note down when the qualifiers are. They are usually well organised events (especially Deva in Chester). Lots of people qualify and then choose not to travel, so roll downs are a real possibility assuming you can finish within 115% of the winner. It’s worth a try as what better way to sneak a holiday in by masquerading as a GB triathlete first!
