From James and Steve
James
The Junior wave which was my wave was scheduled to enter the water at 9am and start, the start was very hectic as everyone was fighting to get that front position, I managed to nestle myself between two swimmers so I was able to jetstream off them, after around 200m I managed to get into my pace and start to really fight to gain some ground. The swim was shorter than I thought it was going to feel so I held back in speed which meant I went slower than I could have. I jumped out of the river and ran to transition my legs felt very odd as I was doing so, due to the very cold water, sadly my transition was a deadly slow 2:20! As I had a clothing malfunction. I then proceed to make up for the time lost in the swim and the Transition by making sure I paced behind two runners I thought had a good 5km pace/time.
The run itself was definitely not my best 5km, my time was 21:17 but still very happy with how I did. The run was hard as the strange feeling in my legs would not go but I fought through. I crossed the line and the sense of joy was great, I came 6th in the Junior boys Category which I know next year I can do better by cutting the time down not only in Transition but also in the swim and run but still happy with my result considering I was racing against as GB representative.
I would like to say a massive thank you to Stephen Feest for not only encouraging me to race but for also taking myself there as he was too competing, but for all the amazing tips and equipment he gave me.
Stephen
The Arun river water was a bit colder than I expected, but I had a fair swim followed by a reasonable transition, out the River, into transition whilst getting my wetsuit off and running shoes on.
I got into my stride and picked a few Age Groupers off (faster swimmers than me !!) to come 7th in the 60-64 year old age group.
The 5k run was on a closed road from the Black Rabbit nearly into Arundel, return and around the scenic Swanbourne Lake and to finish at the pub. My time for the 5km was 21:41
Great camaraderie from the other competitors and a well-run event, would recommend it if they run it again locally.
But, best of all, I beat my mate Glen Parissi of Striders to win a pint!
