"The only limits we have are those we set ourselves"
Lancaster Half Marathon
Sunday saw a strong COLT turnout at the concluding race of the Lancaster & Morecambe AC Race Series. Eight runners from the club the 666 person field to race in the Lancaster Half Marathon. The race went from Salt Aire along the quayside to Condor Green before doubling back through Aldcliffe and back across the Millenium Bridge for a finish on the running track. This flat course has the potential for some seriously fast times, however a 400m long stretch through ice cold ankle deep water did little to facilitate speed, or indeed comfort!
Despite the conditions under foot the Mighty COLT had a great 'morning out' with three of the time completing their first ever half marathons and hopefully putting down markers for a successful step up in Tri distance next year. Louise Kelly led the debutants home in yet another very impressive performance of 1:23:42. Louise took the 2nd Lady prize of the day, after only being caught in the last mile or so. Stuart Foy saw the weeks of early morning runs pay off as he completed his first ever half marathon in a respectable time of 1:58:51 for 482nd place. Sarah Patterson ran steadily, in what for her was a massive step up from a 10k, her previous longest race to record an encouraging 2:13:30. I'm sure that next season we'll see Sarah go under the 2 hour mark. Both Sarah and Stuart have got the bug and are both talking about tackling a marathon next !!
Chris Clarke seemed to get stronger as the race went one, starting conservatively and turning on the speed after the turnaround point to finish 86th overall in a very impressive time of 1:29:20. Just six seconds behind Chris was COLT new boy Peter Sariwee who finished in 1:29:26, Peter will be hoping to coninue in this rich vein of form when he races at the St.Helens duathlon next month. Andy Webster came home in 225th place in a time of 1:39:24, a time he was pleased with after concentrating for most of the past season on his biking rather than his running. Andy Holgate was pleased with his run, after almost 7 weeks of inactivity to record a time of 1:45:23 for 315th place. Andy will be using the race as a starting point for next years assualt on the London Marathon and the Outlaw triathon. COLT veteran John Oldroyd had a very good run to finish in 1:52:50 for 418th place.
Well done eveyone.
IronMan World Championships
John Knapp flew the COLT flag at the Ironman World Championships In Kona, Hawaii this past Saturday. He battled the legendary winds over the lava fields and soaring temperatures in the high nineties to finish in a an amazing time of 10:59:47.
John completed the non wetsuit swim in a very impressive 1:18:22, worked hard on the bike to record 5:45:56 and ran strongly in the furnace heat to complete the marathon in 3:48:49.
Britain's Chrissie Wellington & Aussie Craig Alexanda successfully retained thier world titles.
Awesome performance John, you're an inspiration to everyone at COLT ! Well Done.
Fleetwood Triathlon
Perhaps it was the threat of Cpt Mason being a marshall that saw the Mighty COLT continue their winning ways with another victory at the Fleetwood Triathlon. This time it was young Beau Smith who had just recovered from swine flu that came home in first position. Beau completed the course in a blisteringly fast 55:21.
Hot on his heels was Mark Hammond, proving that after his ironman heroics he can still race up a storm at the shorter distance events. Mark took fourth place in an impressive 56:58. Using the event as a final build up race to the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii in a couple of weeks, John Knapp, raced strongly to finish in 12th position in a time of 1:00:57.
Sam Patterson and Stuart Foy had a close battle finishing just 40 seconds apart. With youth on his side, Sam who'd just turned eighteen just missed out on a prize in his age group, finishing fourth in a time of 1:14:49. Stuart will be pleased with his time of 1:15:30 for 119th place. Stuart has worked hard consistantly in his first season and given a strong winter under his belt will get faster and stronger next year.
New COLT athlete, Tony Jeffery had a great race to finish in a very respectable time of 1:20:00. Team COLT also was represented in the ladies race, spurred on by her little brothers encouraging words from his marshalling point, Sarah Patterson had a strong race to finish in a time of 1:26:05.
Well done to everyone. Full Results can be found here : Fleetwood Results
North West Sprint Triathlon
Stuart Pike travelled to Nantwhich in Cheshire to take part in this popular triathlon. It is well known for his brine pool swim. Stuart had a very strong race and will have come away feeling very content with a time of 1:30:55. Well done.
Tatton Park Triathlons
The magnificant setting of this Cheshire Stately home sees several different distances set out to challenge Triathletes. A strong contingent of COLT's took on the Olympic distance event, and did the club proud.
Louise Kelly continued her great season with a win in the ladies competetion. Louise finished 2:07:05, this time also saw her finish 6th in the overall event.Paul Tynan led the men home in 20th position. His excellent time of 2:11:25 saw him claim 1st prize in the 45-49 age group. Philip Taylor continues to improve as the season draws on. Phillip's time of 2:17:46 saw him finish 64th. Peter Clarkson will be very pleased with a solid all round performance which saw him finish in a time of 2:23:48 for 122nd place. Well done.
Bala Standard Distance Triathlon
Louise Kelly and Chris Clarke travelled to North Wales to take part in one of the most popular races on the calendar. The olympic distance event always fills up every year and the level of competition is high.
Louise had a strong race to finish 6th Female overall in a time of 2:12:30. Chris wasn't too far behind in a quick time of 2:16:55 for 178th place. Well done.
Fleetwood Marathon & Half Marathon
Two great performances from Colt Athletes at this local long distance race. New girl, Sarah Davies, ran very strongly to finish the marathon in a great time of 3:43:34 for 52nd place. Her previous best time for the distance had been 4 hours !
John Carr continued his rich vein of form in the half marathon with a time of 1:36:02. This earned John 31st place. Well done to both COLTs.
Helvellyn Triathlon
The Mighty COLT were ot in force at one of the toughest triathlons around. Never one to shy away from a challenge, "Crazy" Ian Richardson made an amazing comeback from a nasty injury to lead the team home. Ian finished 69th overall in a time of 4:13:57.
Less than a month after taming the tough Embrunman, Tom Phillips was recording a sub 2 hour bike leg on one of the hilliest courses around. Tom finished 83rd overall in a time of 4:17:57.
Two more Ironmen were next home for COLT, showing that they had recovered well from their exploits in Bolton. Andrew McCracken finished in 131st place in a time of 4:26:35 and Mark Procter came home in 4:48:16 for 232nd place.
COLT ladies Valerie O'Donnell and Hannah Marshall had a close battle over the tough course. Valerie finished in 318th place in a time of 5:08:32. Hannah was just over a minute behind in a time of 5:09:46 for 323rd place.
And spare a thought for Alistair Shawcross, who did a full head over heels coming down Kirkstone Pass when the guy in front crashed after a blowout. Alistair survived intact amazingly, though badly bruised!
Well done everyone and recover well Alistair!
Cockermouth Triathlon
COLT tasted double success at this popular Cumbrian triathlon with Louise Kelly and Beau Smith taking both the the womens and mens overall titles.
Beau continued his remarkable season by winning comfortably in a time of 57:09. Louise continued the COLT victory march with a ladies winning time of 1:04:20. Louise was also 5th overall !
Paul Hodgson made it 3 COLTs in the top 10 when his time of 1:06:20 earned him 10th place.
In his first ever triathlon Kevin Lindeque made a brilliant start to claim 45th place in a time of 1:15:49
Continuing the COLT success, Sam Patterson and Sarah Patterson both recorded personal bests. Sam took 4 minutes of his previous time to finish in 1:19:03 for 55th place. Not to be outdone, mum Sarah took 3 minutes off her previous best to finish in 1:29:05 for 111th place.
Well done everyone.
Clitheroe Triathlon
The mighty COLT were represented by Duncan Vavangas, who put in a great performance to finish 21st overall. His time of 1:56:36 on a hilly course was good enough for 2nd place in his age group as well. Well done Duncan.
National Club Relay Championships
The Mighty COLT had two teams flying the COLT flag at the National Club Championships at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham.
The Bright Young Things finished 69th overall in a time of 3:25:51. This was a brilliant performance from the clubs upcoming talent : Daniel McParland, Louise Kelly, Hannah Marshall and Beau Smith. This team is only going to get stronger and faster.
Not far behind the youngsters were the COLT Fine Aged Vintages in a time of 3:42:32 for 170th place. The team of long distance specialists engaged their sprinting muscle fibres for a change and did the club proud. They were led by Cpt Richard Mason, and also included Valerie O'Donnell, Chris Wild and David Haygarth.
And to top a great weekend, Louise Kelly only went out the next morning and won the women's sprint race in 1:09:01 !!
Well done to all, lets get more teams there next year!
Allerthorpe Classic Triathlon
John Towse completed his second Olympic distance triathlon event in 2:09:03. This earned John 20th place in very windy conditions.
Lakeland Triathlon
COLTs out in force on saturday with impressive results
Phillipe Jumeau 2:30:02
Dave Worthington 2:43:31
Mike Cubin 2:44:51
Valerie O'Donnell 2:53:08
Hannah Marshall 3:02:42
Embrunman Ironman distance
Out in France, Tom Phillips (14:32:54) and Alistair Shawcross (15:42:30) conquered the really tough Enbrunman triathlon and survived. Well done guys!
Ironman UK
Name
Swim
Bike
Run
Finishing Time
Position
Richard Mason
1:14:51
5:44:31
3:25:42
10:32:25
48th
Mark Hammond
1:00:29
6:00:28
3:44:09
11:01:11
83rd
Andrew McCracken
1:13:15
6:00:31
3:40:40
11:05:18
96th
Dave Wilson
1:04:38
6:01:30
3:59:38
11:28:14
152nd
John Carr
1:08:25
6:30:57
4:05:04
11:53:28
252nd
Chris Wild
1:23:49
6:18:24
4:26:26
12:19:28
381st
Mark Procter
1:04:35
6:39:50
4:45:13
12:42:23
495th
Paul McQueen
1:24:29
7:07:48
3:54:53
13:03:59
617th
Loz Loxam
1:24:20
6:51:20
4:53:45
13:26:23
740th
Simon Devereux
1:52:08
7:18:28
4:36:25
14:10:44
942nd
Rob Sellers
1:23:28
7:18:55
5:48:22
14:49:34
1066th
Kevin Bedford
1:20:53
7:36:11
5:31:58
14:50:33
1070th
John Gilbert
1:32:14
7:39:49
5:35:59
15:10:16
1121st
Thirteen members of the MIGHTY COLT did the club proud at Ironman UK this past Sunday. There were some awesome performances from the old guard and the iron new boys.
The 2.4 mile swim took place in the chilly waters of Rivington Reservoir, and was believed by some to be over the distance. The riders then took to the roads around Horwich and Chorley for 3 hilly and windswept loops making up the 112 mile bike course. Finally the athletes were faced with a tough 26.2 mile course that meant this was not going to be the fastest of marathon performances.
Leading by example was COLT captain, Richard Mason, who backed up a very strong, determined bike ride with the marathon performance of his life. Richard did brilliantly to finish 7th in his age group.
Mark Hammond in his first ever Ironman race was simply phenomenal, as he narrowly missed out on a sub 11 debut. With youth and enthusiasm on his side, Mark is only going to get faster. Andrew McCracken was next home, despite feeling sick after swallowing water in the swim, he ran Mark very close. Andrew just kept getting stronger and faster on the run, and he smiled all the way round the course.
Dave Wilson was another COLT new to the Ironman, and he reaped the benefits of all the hours he'd put in as he had a strong race to dip under the 11 and a half hours mark. Not far behind him was another new Ironman, John Carr, who started his day off with a strong swim and just went from strength to strength as he headed to towards Bolton Town Hall.
Perhaps the most remarkable performance of the day came from the "Wildman". Chris Wild was on crutches at the begining of July with a torn knee cartlidge, he'd not really ran since and he showed utter determination just to make it to the start line. Amazingly the knee held together and he finished in an Ironman Uk pb of just over twelve hours. Not bad for a veggie !! You can read Chris' account of his Ironman adventure here
Mark Procter followed up his great performance in Lanzarote with another solid race in Bolton. Cheered on by his proud family, Mark followed up his strong swim with a determined bike ride and a gutsy marathon. Paul McQueen was next home for COLT, Paul paced the race well all day and and had enough energy to run a sub 4 marathon, that is some going !!
Loz Loxam not only was taking on his first Ironman, he was also running his first ever marathon. He had a good swim and a solid bike ride. The marathon caught up with him a little but he rounded off an amazing day to become an Ironman in under 13 and a half hours. With a mixture of youth and enthusiasm on his side, and a new found respect for marathon running, Loz is only going to get faster! You can read Lozs' account of his day here
After a nightmare start to the day which saw cramp take hold in the swim, Simon Devereux, recovered well to have a solid bike ride and a strong run. After a four year break, Simon completed the Ironman just over 14 hours and was met by his very proud family. Simon has written a report of his day which you can read here.
The closest COLT battle of the day saw Rob Sellers and Kevin Bedford finish within a minute of each other. Kevin led by 3 minutes coming out of the water but Ironman virgin Rob took an advantage into the run, Kevin gained time back but Rob just held on. Unbelievable to have such a close club battle in such a huge race.
John Gilbert saw all his hard work come to fruition when he became an Ironman in just over 15 hours. What is more remarkable is that John had overcome a fear of the open water in order to compete. Once out of the water anything would be a bonus for John and this allowed him to relax and have a very strong race. You can read Johns personal account of the day on the COLT Ironman Experiences page.
COLT also made the Bolton Evening News with a photo of Cpt. Mason. You can see it HERE
Well done to all our COLT Ironmen, you did yourselves, your families and the club proud!
The Black Sheep Ripon Triathlon
Saturday the 11th of July saw seven COLT athletes compete in another of the clubs designated "championship" races at Ripon in North Yorkshire. The race, over the Olmpic distance is the biggest club organised event in the country and it was a victorious day for Team COLT !
Louise Kelly became the overall champion beating some tough competition to record a very fast time of 2:26:08 on the challenging course.
First home for COLT on the day was John Towse. John was taking part in his first Olympic distance event and it was his exceptional running strength that saw him pip Andrew McCracken at the end. Andrew took a minutes advantage over John into the run but he could match a 40:17 10k performance. John finished in 2:21:04 for 35th place, Andrew was exactly 2 minutes behind him in 2:23:04 for 50th place.
And in another close COLT battle Mark Proctor finished less than 2 minutes ahead of Matt Barnes. Mark recorded a time of 2:29:34 for 106th place and Matt finished in 2:31:06 for 131st place.
Both Tom Phillips and Danny Rogerson put in strong solid performances to complete a great day out for the Mighty COLT. Tom recorded a time of 2:36:42 for 204th place and Danny recorded a very encouraging 2:47:07 for 362nd place.
Very well done to all who competed.
Full results can be found here : Ripon Results
Deva Divas
The COLT ladies all gave strong performances at the Chester Deva Divas ladies only triathlon on Sunday 12 July.
First back in a very impressive time of 1 hr 19 min 55 sec was Emma Shawcross (51st position).
Louise Stevens put in a great performance in her first ever triathlon of 1 hr 28 min 20 secs.
Louise was followed very closely by Sarah Patterson completing this event for the 6th time with a PB of 1 hr 28 min 21 secs.
Jane Patel did the swim and the bike and her relay partner completed the run to give them a strong overall time of 1 hr 31 min 3 secs.
Well done ladies – you did the MIGHTY COLT proud!
Ironman Germany
Andy Holgate travelled to Frankfurt in Germany to take part in Ironman Germany. This would be Andys second iron distance race and his goal for the season was to go sub 13 hours. Andy achieved his goal with a time of 12:57:21.
Andy completed the swim in 1:26, took way too much time in T1 and then had a great time on the bike finishing in 6:15. It was over 30 degrees by the time Andy started the marathon and he died in the heat, but recovered on the last lap to achieve his goal.
You can read Andys first hand race experience on his Blog : IronHolgs The Musings of a Pirate Ironman.
A Day in the Lakes
Thirteen members of COLT tackled this grueling half Ironman distance event. The 1.2 mile swim took place in Ulswater before the gruelling 56 mile bike course took in the climbs of Kirkstone Pass and Shap Fell. If that wasn't bad enough the 13.1 mile fell run was described as "Bloody Brutal".
COLT Captain Richard Mason led the team home in 21st place in a time of 5:19:59, he had to work hard on the bike to catch his Vice Captain, Andrew McCracken who had a significant lead on him going over Kirkstone. Andrew finished 45th overall in a time of 5:36:00. Close on Andrews heels was Tom Phillips who finished 3 places behind in 45th in a time of 5:39:39.
Chris Clarke recorded the fastest COLT swim split with a 30:33, he went on to finish in 78th in 5:53:15. Simon Devereux and Mike Cubin had a close personal battle finishing only a couple of minutes apart. Simon just piped Mike finishing in 148th in 6:18 and Mike was 157th in 6:20:50. Just behind them was Alistair Shawcross, who like Mike was making his COLT debut. Alistair had a great race to finish 160th in 6:22:16.
Peter Clarkson put in a strong performance to finish in 199th in a time of 6:40:06. Hannah Marshall was the first lady finisher for COLT coming home in 239th place in a very respectable time of 6:58:37.
The COLT train just kept running as Andrew Webster, Dave Deason and Danny Rogerson all performed strongly to finish within 20 minutes of each other. Andrew led them home in 275th place with a time of 7:14:42. He was followed by Dave in 291st recording a time of 7:28:31 and Danyy in 299th recording a time of 7:35:01.
Phillippe Jumeau completed a great Day in the Lakes for Team COLT by coming home in 315th place in a time of 7:53:13.
Well done to everyone who completed this tough event, some cracking performances to boades well for good things at IMUK and Embrunman.
Ironman Couer d'Alene
Husband and Wife duo John Knapp and Valerie O'Donnell have been flying the COLT flag in the USA as they took part in the Idaho based Ironman race.
The COLTs long distance coach, the "Grand Master" John Knapp finished in the fastest COLT Ironman time of the year ( so far ) 10:13:56. His split times were mightily impressive: Swim 1:13:06, Bike 5:31:49 and a blisteringly quick marathon in 3:23:16. John stormed his way to 115th overall and 5th in the 45-50 age group.
Valerie O'Donnell had a very impressive race, recording the quickest female COLT time of the year to finish in 12:45:47. Her split times were equally impressive : Swim 1:31:59, Bike 6:24:57 and 4:39:05 for the marathon.Valerie finished 1017th overall and 16th in the female 45-50 age group.
Once again Well done.
The Liverpool Triathlon
Not to be outdone by their club mates competing "just down the road" five COLT athletes took part in 3 different races in the shadow of the famous Liverpool waterfront on a blustery sunday morning.The swim took place in the not altogether enticing Kings Dock before competitors enjoyed a closed road bike course and a run course that took in the Albert Dock, the Liver Building and the new Liverpool Arena.
In the longest event of the day, the Olympic distance, all 3 COLT athletes placed in the top 18 places.
First home was Dave Wilson, who looked particularly strong on the bike, who finished 6th overall and 2nd in the male 25-29 age group in a time of 2:13:52.
Next home in 12th was Martin Boddie who finished in a time of 2:17:00. Martin took 3rd place in his age group, Male 30-34.
Not to be outdone by the "youngsters" Paul Tynan crossed the line in 18th place in 2:18:55. This excellent performance was good enough for third place in the male 45-49 age group.
In the sprint race Stuart Foy took ten minutes off his previous sprint race time to finish in 1:27:52, this gave him 98th place, firmly in the top half of the field. This performance was even more remarkable given that Stuart was riding a borrowed bike!
And finally and by no means least, COLT teenage sensation Beau Smith dominated the Youth Super Sprint event winning by over 2 1/2 minutes in a time of 34:36. He led from the gun and recorded the fastest times in all disciplines.
Well done Everyone. Full results are here
Chester Deva Olympic Triathlon
Five members of the Mighty COLT travelled to Chester early on Sunday morning to take part in the well established Chester Deva Olympic Triathlon. This is a great race with the swim taking part in the River Dee, a technical bike course and a multilap 10km run to finish with. Colt picked up quite a few honours.
The fastest performance came from Mark Hammond who finished 11th overall in a blistering time of 2:09:44, this was good enough to take 3rd in the male 30-34 age group.
Next home for the COLT was Paul Higton, he performed excellently to record a time of 2:37:32.
Dave Worthington continued his impressive season with a strong time of 3:38:22 to take another age group 3rd place, this time in the male 55-59 category.
Not to be outdone by the men, the COLT ladies had a great day. Taking first place in the female 55-59 age group was Chrissie Hewitt in a time of 3:20:55.
In her first Olympic distance triathlon, Sarah Patterson followed her recent pb at Cockermouth sprint, with a very respectable time of 3:22:14 to finish 5th in the female 45-49 age group.It can now only be a matter of time before she follows her little brother down the Ironman route....
Well done everyone. Full results are here.
Cockermouth Sprint Triathlon
Four members of COLT put in spirited performances at this popular sprint triathlon. Matt Barnes was the first club member home in a very impressive 10th place. Matt recorded a very quick time of 1:04:38, all the more impressive as he'd been suffering from a virus.
17 year old Sam Patterson performed really well to finish in a time of 1:23:31 for 93rd place. This was an excellent performance considering Sams cricketing career has recently been eating up his training opportunites.
Not to be outdone by her speedy teenage son, Sarah Patterson smashed her course pb by over 4 minutes to finish in 1:32:03 for 123rd place. Sarah started her race off well by going under 11 minutes for the first time in the swim, and built on it with a strong bike leg. Despite not wearing a watch ( much to the despair of her brother ) she said "I knew I was going fast!".
Kirsten McAteer competed in her first ever triathlon and after a strong performance, it won't be her last. Kirsten recorded a time of 1:45:40 for 156th place. A great performance that should give her the confidence to build on it as she gets more experienced.
Well done everyone.
Morecambe 10k
New COLT member Mike Cubin continued his recent good run of form with 10th place at the Morecambe 10k race on Sunday. Mike recorded a very impressive time of 37:26. Mike will hope to build on this in a couple of weeks at the Day in the Lakes 1/2 IM, his first outing at that distance, and only his second ever triathlon.
Well done Mike
Full results can be found here : Morecambe 10k results
Bolton Junior Triathlon and other races
COLT athlete and member of NW JETS (North West Junior Elite Triathlon Squad), Beau Smith raced yesterday (June 14th) in the Bolton Junior Triathlon (Youth race) which he won convincingly, placing first in all three disciplines. Just what he needed to restore his confidence a bit after a few mixed performances.
Beau had a mixed race at Eton: solid swim coming out of the lake around 10th place, excellent bike making it up to 4th, unfortunately suffered with a couple of stitches on the run (too much breakfast!) so dropped down to 9th overall, but the race included first-year juniors as well as youths so when they were taken out he was 5th. A reasonable result, but he was disappointed not to place higher.
Blenheim was a bit of a disaster! After the stitch problem at Eton, and a much earlier start at Blenheim, decided not to eat breakfast at all and had a protein shake instead. Fantastic swim, coming out of the lake in 5th, long run up to transition, out on to the bike in about 7th, but ran out of steam before the end of the first lap (not like him at all, bike is usually his best bit), then had an almost crash situation just before T2 losing a bit more ground, what can best be described as a steady run to finish 15th. He was not happy. More breakfast needed!
Next up for him in the National Series will be the National Youth Aquathlon Championships, taking place at Parc Bryn Bach, South Wales, on 18th July alongside the British Elite Sprint Triathlon Championships. (Bad planning on the part of British Triathlon here, because he was also offered a start in the Elite Sprint race, but unfortunately doesn't think he is quite up to doing both on the same day!) He is hoping to put his bad races behind him and finish in a much higher position in the Aquathlon.
Next Sunday he is racing in the Youth Supersprint at the Liverpool triathlon, and is hoping to do well there.
Coniston Olympic & "Old Man" 1/2 IM Triathlons
Coniston,Saturday 6th of June saw wind and rain lashing the Coniston olympic transition area as the COLT contingent thought seriously about rehydrating in the Sun inn rather than the lake.
It wasn't an inviting course. A short 1500m out and back swim with the wind beating the waves into your face on the return. 'Beach yourself like a whale' was the prerace advice to avoid the stagger on frozen feet over the pebbles to the shore. Bike 42 hilly and wind torn wet kms. The race best was 1.15. The run, 9.8km on shale track and gravel trail included a significant climb to the turn.
And all this was just the warm up for the real racing on the long course on Sunday.A very tough event with a fierce bike leg over Hardknott, Wrynose, Ulpha Fell and Kirkby Moor (1500 Metres of ascent in 73 kms) Then straight into a fell run around Wetherlam and Coniston Old man with 1100 metres of ascent, with a long rocky ridge run and a steep fell runners descent. All this preceded by a cold and very choppy 2km swim (strong Northerly breeze made the return leg very tough)
Respect to Tom Phillips for being the only COLT to compete the full course, 7th in a magnificent 6:01. Tom pushed the bike leg hard, and picked up 10 places, then worked hard on the run to pick up another 2 places. Finishing strongly taking just 25 mins to get from Coniston Old man summit to Coniston Village.
In the Olympic event Valerie O'Donnell showed fine pre IM form as first vet woman in 3:03.
Laurence Loxam demonstrated his return to swim fitness on his way to 26th in 2:43.
Dave Wilson had a day to remember showing great speed for all the endurance work he's been doing in 10th with 2:30.
John Knapp rounded out a good day for the 'Nappy Valley' team with 5th overall in 2:26 and the fastest run split of the event.
Well done all and thanks to John and Paul who came to support.
Cheshire Sprint Triathlon.
On Sunday 31st May over a 1000 athletes descended on leafy Nantwich to do battle in the Cheshire Sprint Triathlon. COLT were represented in the mens race by Stuart Pike and Andy Holgate. The course consisted of a 500m swim in a brine pool, a fairly flat 20km bike course and a four lap cross country course making up the 5k run to finish.
In unseasonably hot conditions Stuart had a great race making his triathlon debut to finish 478th in a time of 1:36:24.
Despite a near miss with a tractor on the bike leg that saw his back wheel leave the ground and prove that there was nothing wrong with his brakes, Andy recovered well to beat his pb by over 3 minutes. He finished 89th in a time of 1:11:23. Well done to both Stuart and Andy.
Full results can be found here : Cheshire Sprint Triathlon Results
ETU European Duathlon Championships
Louise Kelly raced superbly to finish in strong 6th place at the ETU European Championship this past weekend in Hungary. Louise was part of a Great Britain Team that dominated proceedings.
Well done Louise.
Ironman Lanzarotte
With it's sea swim, desolate larva fields, biting winds and unforgiving heat many consider Lanza to be the toughest Ironman race in the world.
Four members of COLT stepped forward and asked themselves to dig deep and face the challenge.Well done Chris Wild ,Mark Proctor,Mark Buckley and Club Captain, Richard Mason,you did us proud !
They all raced fantastic times at the toughest Ironman in the world ,Lanza will remember and respect the mighty COLT.
Mark Buckley 13:04
Mark Procter 12:46
Chris Wild 11:27
Richard Mason 10:47
Etape Du Dales
Seven Riders from COLT took on the leg busting Etape Du Dales this past Sunday. Riders battle over 111 miles and 3540m of climbing taking in some of Yorkshires biggest peaks.
First home for COLT was Ian "Crazy" Richardson in a very quick time of 6:45:56 to take 36th place overall. Next home was Vice Captain Andrew McCracken, who despite a puncture, and some dodgy spare tubes rode admirably to finish in 7:04:12 for 82nd place. Some 9 minutes later Paul McQueen completed a strong day in the saddle to finish in 7:13:41 for 107th place.
The COLT Peloton of Dave Wilson, Mark Hammond and Loz Loxam rode as a strong unit all day and finished together a few seconds apart at 8:15:01, 8:15:04 and 8:15:09. Four minutes later Rob Smith completed a great performance for COLT with a strong ride to come home in 8:19:05.
Well done to everyone. Full Results are here : Etape du Dales Results
Keswick Mountain Festival Triathlon
Four COLT athletes completed this tough triathlon despite some showery weather.The morning held out for good weather and roads that were just a bit damp in places. Even though the sun came out just before the swim the water was chilly, just 11C.
This is a great event, very well marshalled and a scenic and interesting course, with a killer hilly 10km fell run to finish. Gold Medal Rower and adventurer James Cracknell got around the course in 2:14:37
Tom Phillips - (vet) 35th overall - 13th in category - improved on bike leg from last year to post 10th fastest bike time. Thanks to COLT for some hard training runs!
overall 02:21:13 -splits - 00:16:20 - 01:09:03 - 00:55:50
Chris Clarke (senior) 82nd Overall - 41st in category - great swim coming 17th on the swim
overall. 02:29:53 - splits - 00:12:59 - 01:18:57 - 00:57:57
Peter Clarkson (vet) - 118th overall - 50th in category
overall 02:36:41 - splits - 00:15:11 - 01:18:23 - 01:03:07
Kevin Bedford - (Vet 50) 145th and a great 8th in category
overall 02:42:08 - splits - other times not yet published?
Well done everyone.
The Distillery Challenge
COLT athlete, Kevin Bedford, raced in the The Distillery Challenge this past Sunday. The 100 mile ride went from the distillery at Dalwhinney to the distillery at Rosisle - 68 riders in total, Kevin was 3rd finisher in an impressive 5h23mins.
Well done Kevin.
Kendal Sprint Triathlon
COLT Athletes were out in force again at the Kendal Sprint Triathlon on Sunday with some impressive performances . Well done to Andy Greenwood 69th, Dave Worthington 25th, Paul Tynan 12th, Martin Boddie 10th, both following up strong performances at Skipton. But the male performance of the day came from Paul Hodgson who finished 8th overall & 1st in his age group.
COLT lady, Louise Kelly continued her comeback from injury with overall victory in a time of 1:15:41. Louise will hope to build on this performance as she gears up for the European Duathlon Championships in Budapest later this month.
Full Results can be found here : Kendal Sprint Triatahlon Results
Well done to all who raced.
Dalton Charter 10k
Andy Holgate had another strong run on Friday night in this very hilly race. Andy came home in 42:50 taking 2 minutes off his previous best time for the course.
Full race results can be found here : Dalton 10k Results
The 3 Peaks Fell Race
COLT athlete Tom Phillips took on the tough challenge of the 3 peaks Fell Race this past Saturday. The race takes in Pen-Y-Ghent, Ribblesdale and Inglebrough and every little hill inbetween !! Tom had a great race finishing in a time of 4:23:36. Tom finished 276th out of about 700.
Well done Tom
Skipton Triathlon
17 COLT athletes travelled to Skipton this past Sunday for one of the first races of the season. The sun finally came out & the later starters were treated to glorious sunshine unlike their team mates who started earlier in the dull & cold wind . The only glitches of the day were when Andy Holme and our vice captain missed a turn on the bike leg and got lost in the middle of Skipton. Andy recovered but Andrew McCracken unfortunately recorded his first DNF.
The BIKE leg was slightly longer than last year with a long drag up from the roundabout to finish you off in the last mile with a tricky decent down to the dismount & run across the main road into transition,very interesting ( all the same for everybody tough).
There were some serious athletes racing yesterday & although it was disappointing not to get a COLT athlete into the top ten ,we didn't do too badly considering the quality of the field.
Best placed from COLT were
20th Richard Mason her mines 29secs
35th Martin Boddie her 11mins 44secs
37th John Knapp 1hr 12mins 18 secs
Fastest Splits
SWIM 6mins 25secs Paul Higton
BIKE 40mins 34 secs Richard Mason
RUN 18 mins 10secs John Towse
COLT athletes also dominated the 40-49 old gits age group with Richard Mason , John Knapp, John Towse & Paul Tynan all making the top ten, well done fellas.
Special mention must go to first time triathletes Sam Patterson,Stuart Foy & John Towse all racing for the first time & by the looks on their faces after the race I'm sure they will all be back for more ,good efforts by all three. And very well done to our only Female athlete, Sarah Patterson, who had a good race to finish 89th lady in a time of 1:48:31.
Full COLT results:
20th Richard Mason 1:08:29
35th Martin Brodie 1:11:44
37th John Knapp 1:12:18
41st Ian Richardson 1:12:42
42nd John Towse 1:12:43
43rd Paul Tynan 1:12:47
46th Chris Wild 1:13:40
61st Phillip Taylor 1:16:42
68th Tom Phillips 1:17:13
112th Danny Rogerson 1:21:44
135th Paul Higton 1:23:58
209th Sam Patterson 1:29:40
237th Andrew Holme 1:31:42
318th Stuart Foy 1:39:49
324th Andrew Turner 1:41:44
89th Female Sarah Patterson 1:48:31
There are photo's of this event on the gallery page
And full results can be found here : Skipton Results.
Lancaster 3 Bridges 10k
Whilst their COLT club mates were battling their way round the course at Skipton, Matthew Barnes and Andy Holgate raced in the Lancaster 3 Bridges 10k. A fairly flat 10k that takes in 3 of Lancasters bridges, including a leg cramping climb upto the aqueduct at just after the half way point.
Matt had a brilliant run to finish 5th overall in a very quick time of 38:02.
Andy finished in 25th overall with a time of 41:32, this was Andy's fastest time for 5 years and only 10 seconds outside his pb.
There are photo's of Matt and Andy on the gallery page.
Full race results can be found here : Lancaster 3 Bridges 10k Results
Lakeland Loop
Easter Sunday saw three COLTs take on "The Lakeland Loop" a 75mile cyclesportive with over 400 riders taking part . The conditions could not have been better & apart from the traffic there could be no excuse for not posting a fast time .
Valerie O'donell was 6th lady home in 5hrs 25mins placing her 190th overall , a great ride .
Andrew McCracken & Richard Mason shared the work for the majority of the ride , McCracken hammering on the flats & Mason taking the lead on the undulations & fast decents but as the pair approached the first real test "Hardknott pass " 60 miles into the ride, those famous words were uttered "LAST MAN STANDING" .The final ten miles are the hardest part of the race but the pair didn't fade & rode strongly till the end, Mason finishing in 4hrs 10mins 7th overall & McCracken in 4hrs 17mins 17th overall a great result for both showing that the Saturday morning "A" rides do pay off .
Ampleforth Triathlon
COLT athlete Dave Worthington had a great race this past Saturday to finish 4th in his age group at the Ampleforth Leg Warmer Triathlon .
Dave finished in a very respectable 2:23:21 on quite a tough course. He finished the 750m swim in 14:58 before heading out onto the 39km challenging and technical bike course. Dave completed the middle leg of the event in 1:19:29 and had a strong run around an offroad 10km course to finish in 46:11.
Well done Dave.
North West Biathlon Championships and National Qualifier.
City of Lancaster Triathlon (COLT) Club’s juniors had their first racing experience on Sunday in the North West Biathlon and Open Triathlon Championships which were held at Salt Ayre. The event incorporated trials for the National Championships which are to be held in Macclesfield next month.
The club’s youngest athletes ran 1000m on the track and followed this with a 50m swim. Olivia Clinton won the bronze award overall and also won the medal for the fastest swim time in her category. Together with Joshua Banks who was placed 5th overall in the corresponding boys’ event, Olivia will now compete in the National Championships.
The U13 and U15 teams also ran 1000m but needed to swim 100m. The U13 girls ‘A’ team, consisting of Mary Hodgson (3rd), Kirsty Fairhurst (4th) and Georgia Hannam (8th) were placed first team overall and have all been selected for the National event. Such was the strength in depth in this age group that COLT were able to enter three teams.
The U15 ‘A’ girls’ team were no less impressive winning outright with Sarah Hodgson 3rd, Lauren Sharkey 5th and Lauren Munro-Bennett 8th. The girls are all off to the Nationals together with the U15 boy’s team consisting of Alasdair Fairhurst (3rd), Luke Saul (8th) and Isaac Scott (12th) who were placed 2nd. Alasdair also won the medal for the fastest swim in his age group.
The distance stepped up again for the U17 teams with the athletes running 2000m and swimming 200m. The girl’s team, comprising of Isobel Rawlinson (2nd), Robin Goodfellow (4th) and Reanne Harvey (7th) won the gold medal and in doing so booked their place at the National Championships. Isobel also competed in the triathlon which included air pistol shooting and was placed 3rd in this event. 2nd place in the U17men’s event was sufficient for James Bale (4th), Bill Timpany and Dylan Stewart to book their places to Macclesfield.
Paul Hodgson was the club’s sole entrant in the U20 class but with first place in the 3000m run and 3rd place overall he also joins the squad for the Nationals. Masters entrant Jennie Hodgson was placed 2nd overall with 1st place in the swim.
Other results U15 ‘B’G (Paige Clinton, Hollie Tuer, Katie Howard)5th; U13G Jessica McCracken 12th , Eve Simpson 14th, Amy Burns 17th , Elizabeth Goodfellow 19th, Shannon Perry 21st, Chloe Banks 22nd U13B Raffi Scott 11th.
COLT would like to thank Lancaster and Morecambe AC for providing sponsorship for the athletes to travel to the National Championships. Together with Helm Hill running club, Dallam AC, Lancaster City Amateur Swimming and Water Pool Club, Carnforth Otters Swimming Club, Garstang Swimming Club and Troutbeck Swimming Club they have also helped prepare the athletes for this event. Junior athletes who are interested in competing in multi-discipline events can find out more about COLT at http://www.cityoflancastertriathlon.co.uk
Ironman New Zealand.
COLT athlete Steve Stretch travelled to the other side of the world to take on the Ironman course at Taupo in New Zealand. Steve had a great race and improved on his time from last year which was 10:25:42. This year Steve tore around the course to finish in a very impressive 10:17:15.
Steve was competing in his sixth Ironman distance race, and finished in 151st position out of 1,600 competitors.
Steve finished the swim in the crystal clear waters of Lake Taupo in 61 minutes, and was out onto the 112 mile bike course after a quick transition.
The bike ride went smoothly, with Steve achieving an average speed of just over 20mph and a split time of five hours 33 minutes. After a change into running shoes, the hard work really started for superfit Steve, who completed the a marathon run in three hours 35 minutes.
Stretch finished 11th in his age category (45 to 50) and sixth from the UK, a group which included several elite athletes.
Well done Steve.
The Great North West Half Marathon.
The Great North West Half Marathon took place on Sunday in Blackpool, and despite the blustery conditions COLT couple John Knapp and Valerie O'Donnell had gone strong runs. Putting down early markers for the coming season John came home in 1:24:23 and Valerie crossed the line in 1:46:23.
The Lune RCC Coal Road Challenge.
Sunday also saw a band of intrepid COLT athletes tackle the tough Lune RCC Coal Road Challenge, a 67 mile hilly ride through the rolling hills of North Lancashire and Cumbria. The club was represented by Loz Loxam who finished in a very resptable 4hrs 26 mins, Dave Wilson, Paul McQueen, Vice Cpt.Andrew McCraken and Cpt.Richard Mason. Richard finished in a very quick time of 3hrs 47 mins, despite puncturing at Bentham.
Triathlon England
City of Lancaster Triathlon Club, COLT, is an affiliated club of Triathlon England
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