Turbo Highlights - Kona and Christmas
Xmas is fast approaching and we’ve almost come to the end of the competitive triathlon season – although over as far as the Club Champs are concerned. We’ll start on the social news.
Social news & events
Firstly, it gives me enormous pleasure to welcome a new member to the Turbo, and more specifically, Ian’s family - Lochlan Black. Lochie was born at the weekend weighing a healthy 7lb 14oz – both he and mum are doing well. Huge congratulations & love.
The Halloween relays at track didn’t disappoint for fun & silliness and for getting people together.
Next, just a further reminder of the AGM, starting at 19:30 on Monday 18th at the Anglers. A great chance to socialise and celebrate the year’s numerous successes. We also need to fill the roles of treasurer and senior/junior membership secretary – if you think you can help & give back to the club, please get in touch with Alan.
Finally, we’re looking at potential options for our Xmas party. A number had voiced a preference for a more formal dinner. We have looked at one potential option at Bushy Park Sports Club (private function room & bar, with multi course Xmas dinner, <£30/head) and two likely dates (Fri 13th or Sat 21st). Please can you respond on the club’s WhatsApp poll so we know whether we have sufficient interest to warrant booking; or whether we need to look into other options.
Kona review
It was 10 years since a Turbo had competed at Kona (Roger Barr, 10:53), so this year, sending 3 of the 138 Britons was a great achievement for the club (incidentally, we finished 67th of 800 represented clubs, 4th UK club and 1st physical UK one).
Arriving a week early, allowed us to enjoy the race build up and fun (the Kona Town Fun Run, the Ho’ala practice swim / race and the Underpants Run), as well as starting to acclimatise to the heat & humidity and experience parts of the course. Without question the highlight were the swim practices, in the gorgeous turquoise waters, often encountering dolphin or reef tip shark or just stretching out the 300m to the coffee boat.
On the bikes we learned pretty quickly of the heat reflecting off the lava fields, the cross winds at the north of the island up to Havi, the interminable straight roads, and drags which go on for miles on end, with the summit always in view, just never getting closer. And the headwinds! Urgh! So to discover the experience is so much more mentally challenging and slower on foot!
Unfortunately, on one of those course recces, James suffered a front wheel blowout on a descent, resulting in a heavy impact and leaving a fair proportion of skin and trisuit on the tarmac. The injuries sustained (and having to hire new wheels, not entirely suited to the crosswinds) put pay to his meticulous training and aspirations of a top finish.
The day itself though not quite as sweltering as many in the build up, was still flipping hot & humid and we had a strengthening southerly wind which ground many AGers to a standstill on the return bike leg. Although both Ian and I attempted to maintain out a steady sustainable pace on the run, the heat finally got through to us both in the Energy Labs after 25km of the run.
Ed Buckley 57/409, Swim 00:59:54, Bike 5:18:58, Run 3:46:10, Overall, 10:15:10
Ian Shaw 149/331 Swim 01:02:09, Bike 5:23:54, Run 4:01:11, Overall 10:39:14
James Drake 275/331 Swim 1:19:24, Bike 5:36:18, Run 5:07:14, Overall 12:28:10
It was an awesome and unforgettable race & experience – one which, if future circumstance allows, we would all love to repeat.
James at the Kona finish line
Other events
Meanwhile last weekend, Ryan took on the Madeira 50k Ultra-X race, finishing a fantastic 12th (3rd M30) over a mountainous parcours in 7 ½ hours, in his first ultra event. Meanwhile in Australia’s largest participation triathlon in Noosa, Kester finished 5th in the men’s field (22nd of >5,000 including and beating a number of the pros), whilst Megan was 2nd in the overall in the women’s ranks. Congratulations all.
Good luck to Tom and Lowri heading to Dorney this weekend for their duathlon.
Finally, in a valid reason to miss the AGM, Nicole heads to take on Ironman Arizona. She recently picked up a bronze in the English Swim Masters 1,500m in a time of 20:02 – but was just shaded by Lucy Charles-Barclay’s 16:55!
Turbo Highlights & big countdowns
The countdowns are on. Halloween relays, AGM & committee roles to be filled and of course Kona. But we’re going to start with spectacular success from the World in Torremolinos.
Sprint, Standard and Para World Championships
Torremolinos could hardly of got off to a better start on Thursday, with Turbo, Christian Seymour winning the gold in the 60-64 age group and Turbo friend, Chloe Dooley, not only winning the 25-29 AG, but was the fastest female overall. Friday saw Lauren pick up a gutsy bronze, with possibly her best run of the year, despite illness from racing in Portugal the week before, to turn the page on what has been a turbulent year.
The standard on Saturday saw Jess turn in a stonking effort to finish 4th in the 20-24 (with a mechanical on the bike costing her the chance to contend for the medals). Her consolation is a tie for the Club Champs. Christian shrugged off any fatigue to back up his gold with a bronze whilst Will produced another strong race to finish in the top 3rd of a competitive field, whilst Pier Sidoti finished 13th in the 35-39 Aquabike. Only Christian was in Mixed Relay action handing Australia over with a 1st leg lead, but sadly his teammates weren’t of a similar quality.
Rob was in 70.3 action in Cascais and produced another strong performance in all 3 legs to record a 4:44, in the top 10% of the field.
Lots of running action. Alex & Em ran Amsterdam in just under 5, whilst although Thomas’ 3:14 in the Yorkshire Marathon may look impressive to many, was a long way off his target and what we know he’s capable of – what I do know, is he’ll come back strong to try again.
We had a super contingent brave the wind for the Cabbage Patch, Ian Black leading the team home; the full role of honour - Ian 01:00:30, Mike 01:04:33, Ben 01:05:34, Charles 01:05:43, Gareth 01:05:53, Duncan 01:06:41, Nicole 01:07:43, Sam 01:07:48, Maria 01:09:29, Atish 01:12:07, Sarah 01:18:48, Ani 01:24:59, Naomi 01:29:45, Anish 01:33:24. A reminder, we’re now a UKA affiliated club, so if registered with through the club, you can represent Thames Turbo in official races & receive the discounted entry.
This weekend has Sam Marks taking on the Original Mountain Marathon & Maria, the River Thames Half, but it probably hasn’t escaped your attention that Ian, James & myself are out in Kona. James and Ian start on Saturday at 18:20 (UK), whilst Ed Buckley is off 10 minutes later.
Excitement on the island has been building through the week & we’re about to find out how we deal with the heat (and in James’ case, his newly acquired battle scars) https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18024115097400542/
Social events
It also less than a week to the Halloween relay returning on Weds 30th at track, followed by drinks in the Alexander Pope; Lauren has promised to join; would be great to help her celebrate her Paralympic success. The fancy dress relay is very simple; teams of 3 to be drawn from the cauldron on the night, each runner running 3 legs of 666 yards. Given I’ll only be returning on the Wednesday morning, I’m likely to be dead to the world (less make up required then, I guess). It was a fabulous night last year; it would be great to surpass the numbers this.
Club AGM
Also another reminder of the club AGM on Monday 18th November, 19:30 at the Anglers. I’m re-attaching Rob’s note on the details of the committee roles. It is imperative that these are filled to ensure smooth running of the club. And it’s not just the formalities of the accounts & election of officers, but also a chance to review the year’s highlights and have a darned good social.
Turbo highlights & key dates
Lots of various bits to cover; the AGM & committee roles, HOP weekend swims, Monday night Turbo sessions, a welcome to new members, the Club Championship standings, a Caz Buckland appreciation post & the Halloween Relays.
Club AGM
Please hold the date for Monday 18th November at the Anglers (not just the formalities of the accounts & election of officers, but also a chance to review the year’s highlights and a darned good social). We do have a few key roles to fill to ensure smooth running of the club; please take a few moments to read Rob Hart’s attached note on the role details. Hopefully there will be a few of you with a little time & energy, who’ll volunteer to help put back into the club.
Weekend swims
These have now transferred from Shepperton to HOP. If you haven’t already, download the YMCA SPG app & register; this will give you a Member Number (accessible via Account). To link you to Turbos, we need you to enter this membership number to your Spond membership details. Very minor one time set-up. Thereafter in the YMCA app, there’s a Clubs section, choose TTTC Weekend Swims and select the day you’re heading.
Monday night Turbo sessions
A reminder for those not in the WhatsApp chat that the Monday night sessions have started again. Though the session is run around a Zwift workout (with group bounding so everyone stays together regardless of the power you’re putting out), you just need to have a smart trainer to join and Nick will guide you the session via Zoom (so much more motivation to do as a group).
For those on Zwift, make sure you’re following “Nick Cox TTTC” in Companion – to help Nick in sending out the invites, please add TTTC to your moniker & join the Zoom call minutes in advance of the 18:30 start (so Nick can admit you). Accept the meet up request in Companion (or when opening Zwift), join the meetup & then follow the instructions through the Menu > Workouts to select that week’s chosen workout.
Huge welcome to our new members (month of BOGOFs).
Of the recent triallists to sign up, we’ve have Alice Pengilly & her dad, David, who’ve been done triathlons at Dorney earlier in the year, but encouraged to trial by Caoimhe. Katie’s friend (and fine swim / runner) Anna Johns has now persuaded her dad, Gareth, to trial. Very simple, invite a new member who stays with the club 6 months, and on request, you’ll have a month’s membership refunded.
Relatively new to the area, Lowri Crimmins & Tom Savage, the latter who’s already eyeing an Ironman for 2025. And finally, Pierpaolo Sidoti, who’s fresh from the European Championships in Vichy and finalising his prep for the World Championships in Torremolinos, where he’ll be joining Jess Rusby, Will Harding & Lauren Steadman.
Club Championships
We’re into the final weeks of our season, with only Bushy Parkruns, Rob Hart’s Cascais 70.3 and the various Torremolinos and Kona world championships to count. On the women’s side it’s a very simple equation – if Jess can finish within 107% of the Age Group winner in Spain, she’ll take 100 pts for the best Olympic performance and share the title with Nicole on a perfect 400 score (would be a fitting result for two such fine triathletes). It’s a fair indication of how much more active club members have been that we’ve had 20 men & 7 women who completed the 4 required different disciplines (compared to 11 & 1 last year).
Results
Great to see a fabulous Turbo turn-out for Parkrun’s 20th anniversary, with Tim’s 19:10 giving him an 80.87% age grading to just sneak into the lead. At Kingston on Sunday, Oli ran a 1:58 achieving his sub-2 target, but pride of place to Gordon Reid, finishing 4th in the 10k with a big new PB of 36:26 (whenever you’re ready to come fully back into the Turbo fold big fella!)
With the international qualifiers all done, looks like we could be sending a decent Turbo contingent to Istanbul for the European Championships. Caoimhe & Will have qualified for both the sprint & standard distance, Ryan in the standard, with Richie on the waiting list.
It’s been fair to say that Turbos have displayed more than a fair amount of resilience this season; from Thomas completing an Ironman five weeks after appendicitis. Ryan completing the same Ironman after a month of debilitating illness; then having been in an ambulance with hypothermia at Weymouth, ending up in an ambulance again in Almeria (taking on a brutally hot off-road cycle, without his inhaler, the airline having lost his luggage). It would have stopped most, but Ryan got back on his bike & decided to continue with stages 2-4 the following day!
However, I don’t think anyone can touch Caz Buckland. 8.5 days to cross the Pyrenees TWICE, navigating your her route for most, following specific parcours (including off road) for other. The strict time cut-off meant there had only been 3 women complete last year. On the first night she lost 12 hours waiting for the one local bike to reopen to replace a shredded type & playing catch-up on next to no sleep for the remainder. 2,000km with 40km of climbing – ultimately beating the cut, finishing 4th woman, 27th of the 32 finishers from 105 who set off. Just mind-blowingly nuts and awesome in equal measure.
Social events
We have the Halloween relay returning on Weds 30th at track, followed by drinks in the Alexander Pope; Lauren has promised to join; would be great to help her celebrate her Paralympic success. The fancy dress relay is very simple; teams of 3 to be drawn from the cauldron on the night, each runner running 3 legs of 666 yards (approx). Given I’ll only be returning on the Wednesday morning, I’m likely to be dead to the world (less make up required then, I guess), hence looking for a couple of volunteers to help run this & cajole support.
Also, if anyone fancies pre- World Championship drinks in the Beech House after training this Thursday, I hope a number of others could be tempted to join.
Turbo Highlights: Weymouth & Serpentine
Event Review
We’ll start on Saturday and the Swim Serpentine. In the 2 miles - Me 0:49, Angelo 0:59, Charles 1:05, Szymon 1:06, Maria 1:14, Ben 1:20, Anish 1:24, Chloe 1:32 and in the one, Terry 0:36. For Angelo, Chloe & myself it was about completing the London Classics (with London Marathon & Ride London) and the 2nd for Maria. Whilst I’ve snuck inside the top 25 of the 3,000-odd, the real stars were Maria taking over 10 minutes off her time from last year and Chloe, in what was her longest ever swim, coming from novice to completing the classics in the single year. Awesome!
Right, Weymouth, just wow! https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAB0H4vtmu5/
We had 17 Turbos take to the start line. It was an event which built its own momentum with the WhatsApp group, people filling in the calendar https://thamesturbo.co.uk/member-race-calendar and FOMO. Right, the roll of honour:
We finished second in the club competition, based on the performance of our athletes, with only online affiliations around us. The division is based on club size, and says we’re many times smaller than Total Tri, and still only missed out on top spot for one more good finisher.
The conditions were as good as we could hope for for mid-September, but despite the morning sun, was deceptively chilly for the first couple of hours. The sunshine encouraged phenomenal support on the run leg, easily surpassing any previous triathlon I’ve done. The amount of cheers for Turbos and personal call outs were immense.
We had 2 in the top 50 overall (out of >2,000 starters). Sadly James missed out on a podium place by just 30 seconds and with it, seemingly a Marbella spot. Whilst the most likely scenario remains that one of the qualifiers wasn’t able to register and pay, freeing up a slot after the presentations had finished, I’d like to think that Jo Murphy, the announcer, who’d looked up & knew James’ result, had watched him enthusiastically cheering every last winner, realised he’s the sort of person you want at an Ironman event and pulled some strings. I may never know, but I do know his qualification is so richly deserved. The attached photo encapsulates the very epitome of a club man.
We had 5 at 5:00 or below (with Ian, Gordon & Adam), with Adam’s time placing him in 109th overall. Duncan, Atish and Tim all finished in the low 5:20s. Sarah and Nicole both finished in the top 10 in their respective age groups (Nicole’s 5th including the 5th fastest women’s swim of the day, and that despite having to swim head up for a spell to get used to the cold). Nicole's performance lifts her to the head of the Women's Club Championship standings with a perfect 4 x 1st places. It would be fitting if Jess could match her at the top, with a better than 107% performance in the World Championships next month - here's hoping.
John, despite stomach problems, turned in a very creditable performance in his 70.3 debut and is determined to stay with the club to improve on it. Our final finisher across the line, Chuck was our final athlete home in a hugely respectable 6:07, placing him in the top half in what was his first ever triathlon – his transformation in the 3 months at the club has been staggering.
The day wasn’t without mishap. Ryan suffered the worse of us all in the cold & ended his race being monitored in an ambulance for several hours, his core temperature having dropped to a scary 29 degrees. Thankfully, he’d recovered sufficiently to come back to the course to cheer us on (legend). Lewis had 3 punctures, eventually rolling the bike home on a flat (but with his race scuppered), whilst Teresa’s back & Matt D’s calf didn’t allow them to complete / compete on the run leg.
Harshly relegated to footnotes, Alan finished 11th in the Woking triathlon and Turbo friends, Chloe Dooley finished 14th in the British Super Series elite field, whilst Megan & Kester both qualified for next year’s Gran Fondo world champs on the Great Ocean Road out of Melbourne, having finished 7th & 20th respectively in this year’s qualifier on the same course.
Event Preview
This Saturday sees Alex and Nikhil take to the Emilia Romagna Ironman, whilst Will and Lauren head to Vichy for the European Triathlon Champs (Will goes in the sprint on Saturday, Lauren in the Paratri on Sunday).
James P & Martin take on the Giro 100km Gravelfest (I’ll be interested in the route details afterwards), whilst Alan races in the Dorney season finale.
Social events
Pizza Social this Saturday 2pm at the allotments next to the pool – hopefully you’ve all indicated your attendance with Jon, but please contact him directly if you’re now deciding to attend. They are asking for charitable donations on the day - so bring cash!
Then on Weds 25th, we have drinks in the Alexander Pope after track with Lauren, to celebrate her Paralympic bronze (and hopefully additional European silverware).
Given the timing of these, we’re postponing the regular 3rd Thursday drinks for now.
Paralympics, Marathon Swimmers & Ironman Finishers
Event Review
As the curtain falls on the Paralympics, two athletes performances to really celebrate. Firstly, Turbo friend Fabienne Andre, finishing 5th in the 100m & 4th in the 800m T34 events – harshly overshadowed by Hannah Cockcroft. We’re still hopeful that she’ll look to restart her swimming & come to join our track sessions.
The other is Lauren. She is quite simply a phenomenon. In the 18 months she’s been training at the club, we’ve seen the various difficulties she’s faced & overcome. This year, she picked up long Covid following a cancelled race in Abu Dhabi; suffered with calf injuries which prevented her running and struggled to find adequate coaching support. Yet her determination, resilience and unbelievable work ethic got her to the start line. She knew she wasn’t going to retain her title, but still gave it her best go, trying to drop Grace & Claire on the bike. She has the biggest heart of anyone I know. Seeing the pictures of her breaking down after the line, realising the enormity of her achievement, processing everything she had been through & realising it was probably her last summer Paralympics, said everything. And her cheeky smile & grin on picking up the bronze – well, I won’t pretend to hide my admiration.
She’s got a busy few weeks ahead, with her sister’s wedding & then (possibly) the European Champs in Vichy on Sep 21st, but is proposing celebratory drinks on Weds 25th at the Alexander Pope, after track (and hoping to be down early to train with the juniors beforehand).
Right, on the others, where to start?
We’ve had marathon swimmers – Emma Payne swimming the Dart 10k, whilst Julian & Gail firstly at the Henley to Marlow, then the 17km of Windermere (only one way), Julian fundraising for Level Water and subsequently winning Riverside Communicators (Toastmasters) award for speech for his account “The Wooden Spoon” about the Ham Lake Swimming Relays. The Ham Lake relays being another great social evening, with Jimmy Pank & John Taylor being part of the winning team & Ryan, ahem, winning the award for the fastest swimmer on the night – with 13 Turbos enjoying the evening.
Since the last update, Mark Fielding Smith, Chris Scott & Aaron Sells, each overcoming difficulties, completed Ironman Copenhagen, Adam the Outlaw in Nottingham (10:43). John Taylor completed his 20th Iron distance race at the Killarney Hardman. However the accolade for the Killarney Hardman belongs to Charlie Chute, completing the 120km Kerry Way Ultra in 38 hours (and without rupturing any internal organs this time).
Ian completed the Hradec Kralowe 70.3, Eero the Tallinn 70.3, Angelo the Zell-am-See 70.3, Sam Marks & Maria Jovani the Vitruvian, which was the English Middle Distance championships. Maria in her first triathlon season, underlined her improvements in the pool & on the bike, with a fabulous 4th place finish. Alan, Oli, Chloe, Gordon, Steve & Sam have been in triathlon action in the Cotswolds, London & Dorney.
Today at Bournemouth in a qualifier for Istanbul, Will Harding and Caoimhe both secured their spots with Q3 finishes, whilst Ryan is as good as there on roll down, finishing 22nd overall in 2:06. At the British Sprint distance champs, Will finished 6th in the M55s & Jess 5th in the F20s. It’s been quite a few weeks for Jess, with a 24:57 at the Westerley 10 and an 18:32 at the Bushy 1,000. Whilst yesterday at Bushy, Atharv produce a fabulous pb of 16:09.
Next Sunday, we have the biggest Turbo turnout of the year, at Weymouth 70.3. With a strong contingent, we might be in contention for team recognition, but important that everyone has signed up as a Thames Turbo https://my.ironman.com/
Social events
So before the aforementioned celebratory drinks with Lauren, we have a Bella/Porter production of a pizza night pencilled in for Saturday 21st September. More details will follow on Spond. These will replace the regular 3rd Thursday drinks.
Although we’ve had a few sad farewells in recent weeks, they’ve been more than balanced by new members joining and the highest level of triallists in my time at the club. I know you will, but please make an effort to encourage & make everyone feel welcome - and please join in on the club socials.
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Event review
Event Review
Before coming onto relay success & the aquathlon, going to highlight two exceptional results at Gasteiz Vitoria Ironman. Ironman’s 45 day no refund cancellation policy, encourages some athletes put themselves on the start line, when not fully fit. Thomas Snell was still in hospital after an appendectomy five weeks before & Ryan had been withdrawing from sessions due to ill health for the majority of the month leading up. That they made the start line, was impressive enough; their performances up there with the best triathlon results we’ve seen in previous years. Ryan’s 4:51 bike leg put him onto the run in under 6 hours, where he battled shin pain to record 9:51, whilst Thomas paced a fabulously even run to come home in 10:28 (easily eclipsing his 11:36 at Thun last year).
Also, last weekend at Dorney, Lauren marked her return to action with a dominant win (finishing 3rd overall, only seconds behind the lead man), before rebasing closer to Loughborough as she makes her final preparations before Paris. Also at Dorney, Caoimhe & Richie have both given themselves excellent chances of qualifying via roll down for the European Sprint championships in Istanbul next year. Tim Cox was 14th in the British Middle Distance Champs at the Ironbourne event in 5:15.
Gail Edmans continued added to her impressive resume of adventures, joining a channel relay swim, which managed the crossing in just 12 hours 5 mins (the wonderfully straight path a benefit of the neap tide). Two other non-standard long distance events to update on, both completed in just over 8 hours. James Pank completed the 36km (28km coastal path, 8km swim) Hokey Cokey swim run event in Cornwall, described by the organisers as “brutiful” in, whilst Mark Fielding Smith took on the Castle to Coast (swim in Dorney, cycle from Windsor to Hassocks, then a half marathon onto Brighton seafront).
Also a few running times – Nicole finally officially broke 40 mins (39:55) at the Saucony 10k, whilst only marginally slower (40:48 in the middle of a 30km pre-Berlin run) at Elmbridge 10k, where Mike Deevy came home in 39:43. Also on a personal landmark, Tim recorded his fastest Parkrun time for 6 years (18:54), clocking an 82% age grade time (only the 2nd time he’d been above 80%) – this comes as little surprise to those who’ve watched him work so hard and improve at track over the past months.
Next, a small, but crack relay team took to Imber Court last Tuesday. The team of Ben, Ani, Jess & Sam stormed home to take the mixed team prize – some absolutely storming legs run by Ben, Jess and Nicole, running in Stragglers colours & taking home the women’s team prize.
Then last Thursday night we had our reverse aquathlon as a fundraiser for https://dylanhowellsfoundation.org/ Once again, over 80 juniors and seniors took to Bushy Park and HOP in glorious evening sunshine – with huge thanks to all those who helped marshal & time-keep, and particular thanks to Jon, Martin, Angelo & family for manning the BBQ. In the seniors’ event the women were led home by Nicole, followed by Jess & Kayleigh. Very much the youngsters amongst the men, with Spencer cruising home in the pool after building an unassailable lead on the run, followed by Harrison & Atharv.
This weekend sees Adam Wells take on the Outlaw in Nottingham, whilst Jess Rusby, Tim Cox and Sam Holness join the pros on the London streets for the T100. Go Turbos!
Just on a side note, we now have 15 signed up for Weymouth 70.3 on 15th Sept, with the numbers growing, it could be our biggest Turbo event of the year.
Social events
Given the aquathlon was on a 3rd Thursday, we’ll have Thirsty Thursday drinks in the Beech House tonight after training this week instead. Usual area reserved – non swimmers and friends hugely welcomed.
It’s been great to see groups of Turbos gathering socially. Jon’s baking is helping to draw large numbers to the lake on Saturday mornings. And it’s been brilliant to see both the Friday bike and beer and Sunday rides well attended, especially by some more infrequent riders. The best way of gaining confidence cycling in a group or finding others of a similar pace to ride at, is by sticking your hand up & getting involved.
It’ll be groups riding the “paceline” route through Windlesham and Chobham on Friday, but meeting in the pub after. The more who sign up, the more likely you’ll have others of your pace.
Finally, returning to relays, Ham Lake Relays return on Tuesday 20th August 2024. The teams of 3 are assigned to try and balance up throughout (so you’re not swimming with your friends necessarily, but faster swimmers are paired with slower ones, to make the event more even and exciting as a result. The event is primarily attended by members of Wimbledon Windmilers, KitKat club and SOLD, and has had a strong Turbo presence in recent years.
The entry form is attached, but please contact Julian Ward via WhatsApp or by email julian@swimconnect.co.uk if you have any queries.
If you’re enjoying Turbos, please share this with your friends. A reminder that if you recommend someone who stays as a monthly member for 6 months, you’ll be entitled to a refund of a month’s membership.
The Roth edition
Roth
We had 14 individuals and 3 relay teams take to the start line in Roth. This was only possible due to the relationship that Phil has built up and maintained with Felix over the years. It should never be taken for granted; and we should all feel incredibly privileged to have the opportunity to compete. The main entry opens on Monday and will be sold out within seconds – if you’re choosing this route to try and get a spot, good luck.
For me, it was my first visit. There is no amount of videos you can watch to prepare you fully for the reception you receive on Soler Hill, nor the atmosphere in the stadium for the lights displays welcoming home the final finishers. With the whole community getting behind the event (7,500 volunteers, 40,000 spectators for the 5,000 participants), it was quite the most exceptional event I’ve ever done – think the London Marathon on steroids.
Right the formalities:
James 9:27
Rob H 9:44
Ed 9:46
Sam H 10:11
Charles 10:28
Willy 10:58
Simon B 11:21
Phil 11:40
Ani 12:08
Matt B 12:29
Alex 13:21
Steve R 14:20
Nick 14:31
The relay teams:
Julian / Alan / Steve 11:24
David / Sophie / Corin 11:57 & Brett / Mark J / Jon 12:52.
So I’ll start with James – it’s one thing to plan out the race on paper on what you think you should be able to do and delivering it. He targeted <9:30 (having not been under 10 before) and absolutely nailed it (including a 4:48 bike). Then Rob; his improvements over the past year have been superb – but his discipline to hold back on the bike, to have more for the run paid dividends (3:25 marathon). Both just utterly awesome; watching them doing so well gave me a real fillip on course. To achieve these times requires all the hard training, with absolutely everything going as planned; an ill-timed illness, a bike mechanical, missing your nutrition or race conditions not being conducive, could have quickly derailed everything.
All the participating Turbos excelled, but the most impressive achievements aren’t necessarily from those with the fastest times. With a narrower 15 hours cut off, there’s less room to just get round. It’s been inspiring watching Jon’s, Steve’s & Nick’s training efforts to get themselves ready and gave such a buzz seeing them each coming into a floodlit stadium to take their acclaim (the latter two improving their previous Roth times by 20 mins). But extending sympathies to those not able to make it to the start (Ian – Covid) and to the finish (Jonny – broken collarbone, all wishing you a speedy and full recovery).
To have a trio of Turbos under 10 emphasises how much our training has inspired one another. Indeed the Turbo camaraderie was the outstanding theme from the weekend. We’ve all seen how the entire club has become closer and more socially, actively engaged over the past couple of years. But I’ve looked at historic Turbo posts with a little jealousy, believing there had been a greater team spirit (willingness to go on training camps or to continental events together) in yesteryear. But to have Alan describe the current club spirit as the best he’d experienced means a lot. You’re all part of this; you’re all making this club special – and those joining now are lucky to be experiencing such a welcoming, supportive, encouraging, inspiring environment. We are awesome; but please don’t take this for granted and keep getting involved.
Race results and previews.
Roth wasn’t the only show in town last week (just the greatest). We had 4 Turbos at the Outlaw Half Holkham - Lewis 5:26, Julian S 5:47, Sarah M a superb 5:48 (to finish 7th in her AG) and John T 6:09 (2nd in the 65-69s). At the Plymouth Triathlon on a tough course, Ben came home 2nd overall in Ben 5:56, whilst in Sweden, Ian B completed the IM Jonkoping 70.3 in 5:46.
All the results have been entered on the attached Club Championship spreadsheet, with Sarah’s result lifting her into the lead in the women’s standings.
Friday sees a number of Turbos and friends head to Guildford for the latest in the Phoenix Aquathlon series. This weekend sees Jimmy head to Cornish Swim/Run/Swim/Run Hokey Cokey event, Tim Cox to the British Middle Distance Champs in Ironbourne. Finally Thomas and Ryan head out to IM Vitoria Gasteiz – both would have been outstanding sub-10 candidates, but instead are trying to overcome recent appendicitis and illness respectively, with all expectations out of the window, where just finishing will be an achievement.
Go Turbos!
Social events
The DHF reverse aquathlon is next Thursday (18th July). Please sign up via LoveAdmin so we have numbers for the BBQ after. The reason we’re doing this - https://dylanhowellsfoundation.org/
The aquathlon being a 3rd Thursday, an informal group will be heading to the Beech House tonight after training.
We also need a couple more volunteers (preferably women) to run the Imber Court Relays this Tuesday (16th July at 7pm www.26point2.co.uk/imber-court-relays/ ) to fill a second relay team after a couple of drop-outs – a reminder 4 legs of 2.5km (and sufficiently early to make training at HOP after). Please sign up on Spond and let me know if you’re interested.
Finally next Friday (19th), we return to the standard bike and bike format – social Surrey hills ride, finishing at the Hare & Hounds in Claygate (bring lights and warmer clothes). Please sign up on Spond / Strava if keen to attend, so can plan groups / encourage others.
Junior news.
Hopefully the junior parents will have seen Jonathan’s email about the PTO/London Triathlon junior training session at Herne Hill Velodrome, on Thurs 25th July from 16:30 ahead of the London T100 event.
Over 60 Turbos in action
Event review
Three events in the past week have drawn out more than 20 Turbos apiece.
On Saturday, 29 junior Turbos were part of 134 participants in our Junior Aquathlon held at LEH. The feedback received has been resoundingly positive once again & massive thanks owing to Steve and all of his team of volunteer marshals who ensure these events go ahead, make it such a positive experience and help the club attract new recruits.
Before that, last Wednesday, the Thames Hare & Hounds Parkland Relays on Richmond Park. Turbos had their biggest turnout in my time at the club (and possibly ever), with 5 Open / Mixed teams of 4 and 2 Women’s teams, with more coming to join the cheer squad. We not only had the most vocal and energetic support, we had considerable success in the relays themselves. Jess recorded our fastest women’s split (for which there are online records) in leading the women’s team home in 9th, over 4 minutes quicker than we’ve achieved previously, whilst the Men’s quarter of Scott, Ben, Charles and Ian finished 7th with the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th best splits we’ve had (only behind Will Russell). Our Vets team finished 4th, only a minute off the winning time (next time!) https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8FXfa0t9Yd/
We also have an invite to the Imber Court relays hosted by 26.2 on Tuesday 16th July at 19:00. It would be fabulous to replicate the camaraderie. Please sign up on Spond so we know whether we’ll have teams to enter. Teams of 4, running a 2.5km leg (and perfectly possible to make it to HOP for swimming afterwards, if that’s what takes you)..
Then on Sunday, Windsor kindly hosted out Standard Distance Club Championships (oh, it also doubled as the British Champs). Again 18 Turbos took to the start line in the standard distance, with more in the sprint and relay events – with others cycling in from all corners to offer support. Had it been a MOB match, Turbos would have taken the team prize (Evo had more, but we had more higher finishers) – and it certainly felt it, with so many wearing our distinctive trisuits or donning running vests.
The roll of honour, with lots of Top 10s :- Alec & Ian made up 2/3rds of the winning relay team. Ed 2:13 (2nd AG, 20th o/a), Sam P 2:17 (4th AG, 9th o/a on swim), Adam 2:19 (7th), Steve 2:21, Duncan 2:24, Mike 2:27, Will 2:28 (7th), Lewis 2:28, Jason 2:37, Richie 2:37, John W 2:38, Jonny 2:38, Eero 2:40, Sarah 2:42 (6th), Phil 2:46, Mark FS 2:56, Emily 2:56 (8th), Maria 3:06 (12th in her 1st ever Olympic distance) & Ben, after a puncture, 3:26. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8AucrKNTLx/ Big thanks to Corin, Soph & James for cycling over toe add to the Turbo cheer squad.
Also this past weekend, Ani and Charles headed to Chantilly for the 70.3 as part of the Castle Series, finishing 6th woman and 13th overall respectively.
The previous weekend saw the first Turbo Ironman action of the season, with Oli and Eamonn heading to Hamburg. Oli underlined his fabulous improvements in the water with a 1:02 swim on the way to a 12:16; but wasn’t enough to match Eamonn’s overall consistency 11:55. Lots of 70.3 action, with Rob Hart winning his AG, finishing 10th in the Deva 70.3 in 4:30, Guy set a massive distance PB with a 5:12 in the Cotswold 113, whilst Jonny 5:24 and James 6:22 kept me (4:42) company at a decidedly uneven Grafman course.
Event preview
I was chatting with Phil Parnham about the pleasure derived from watching Turbos put in the hours and see their efforts rewarded in big improvements. Oli, Sam, Rob and Sarah fall squarely into this category; two more women in the same bracket test themselves next week.
Firstly, Jess is out in Nice currently for the Nice Ironman, racing on the World Championship course. Also, we have Matt D & Nicole (going in her first IM) in action in Austria, whilst Bonnie & Clyde will be looking for another medal haul at Cairns 70.3. To track on Sunday. Track them here: Jess, Nicole & Matt D, Kester & Meg.
The second is Vicki who joins Caz as part of a 4 woman crew hoping to break the women’s record for the Race Across America. To do this, they’ll need to cover the almost 5,000 km course, with 60km of climbing in 6.5 days, averaging over 30kmph. Had you asked me 6 months ago about their chances of the record, I’d have been politely dismissive – but the progress Vicki has made from cycling novice is nothing short of staggering.
Vicki, Caz and their two American ‘Four The Record’ teammates, start on Saturday. You can track their progress here. Their other challenge is to raise £20k for Inspiring Girls (you can read more about their challenge & cause here – p.s. it’s more than girls they’ll be inspiring). https://www.instagram.com/fourtherecord_/
Also in a busy weekend, Ben is at the Swashbuckler, Atish & Martin are in Eastbourne, John W is at Dorney & Jason on home turf at Walton.
And please don’t forget our annual club ride to Brighton (07:30 start from HOP). https://www.strava.com/clubs/8506/group_events/1657574
Social events
As you’ll have seen from Alan’s email, with a combination of circumstance, including the England v Denmark match earlier in the evening, we’ve made the decision to push back the DHF reverse aquathlon a month to Tuesday 18th July. Please sign up via LoveAdmin so we have numbers for the BBQ after. The reason we’re doing this: https://dylanhowellsfoundation.org/
This means next Thursday reverts to a regular Thirsty Third Thursday, with drinks in the Beech House from 9pm (regardless of whether you’ve been swimming beforehand). These evenings are brilliant for meeting people from across the club and welcoming newer members. However at the end of Thursday’s session, we will be staging the first of a series of 432m swim time trials (12 lengths under the lane ropes), which count for the swim only element of the club championships.
Another reminder that on Sat 22nd June, James (and possibly a few other handy mechanics) will be putting on an Intro to Bike Mechanics, aimed at those less familiar with fixing their own bikes (I’m sure even those more familiar than a complete bike numpty like me will find it useful). https://www.strava.com/clubs/8506/group_events/1663884
I’m hoping the next update will also bring a finalised date for a wine tasting session hugely kindly hosted & organised by Chris Scott. This will be limited in numbers & I suspect quickly oversubscribed – so will be a case of getting your names in early.
A reminder of the new junior BTF supervision requirements
Jonathan wrote to all the junior parents previously to detail the supervision ratio guidelines being imposed. In practical terms, we will need to supplement coach numbers with junior parents to be present at sessions (or seniors with coaching aspirations). If you believe you would be prepared to help the club with this, please contact Jonathan on junior_rep@thamesturbo.co.uk.
Wishing all those racing over the next week the very best of luck & success. Hoping summer returns soon & looking forward to seeing you at training or at the social sessions shortly,
The busiest weekend of the Turbo year so far
Social news – and congratulations
Two marriages at the weekend to celebrate. Massive congratulation and best wishes to Ben & Lizzie and to Emily & Rory – I loved how both managed to shoe-horn a run with guests/family into their big days.
We also had a dozen Turbos at Shepperton to welcome the lake’s re-opening for the season. Whether lured by the swim, Lily’s brownies or Jon’s cajoling, it’s rapidly becoming a social gathering to match Bushy on a Saturday morning.
Dates we have in the diary (and all in Spond):
Weds 5th June are the Parkland Relays, meeting opposite the Pen Ponds café in Richmond Park. We’re in the process of finalising our team entries, so if you’d like to take part, but haven’t got in touch, now is the time to do so.
We then have our Junior Aquathlon on Saturday 8th June at LEH. Again, we will be asking volunteers to help set up on the Friday evening and then to marshal on Saturday morning. The race revenues are one of the reasons we can hold our subscription levels down, hence we ask firmly that you try to make yourselves available to help marshal at at least one of our club races each year. Thanks to all who have signed up so far https://thamesturbo.co.uk/volunteer .
https://thamesturbo.co.uk/our-races Entries close on 2nd June, so if you have children hoping to take part of know of friends’ children who might be tempted, sign up soon.
The following Sunday 16th June is the proposed date for our annual London – Brighton – London ride. One note of caution, we’ve been advised that the British Heart Foundation have a London – Brighton ride on the same day, so it is unlikely you’ll be able to catch the train back from Brighton (and have to cycle back at least part way).
Then (providing HOP don't object) on Thursday 20th June during our regular swim sessions, we have our own Reverse Aquathlon followed by a BBQ as a fundraiser for the Dylan Howell’s Foundation. You’re there anyway, it counts towards the club championships, it’s a fun social evening and for a great cause. https://dylanhowellsfoundation.org/
On Saturday 22nd June, James (and possibly a few other handy mechanics) will be putting on an Intro to Bike Mechanics, aimed at those less familiar with fixing their own bikes (I’m sure even those more familiar than a complete bike numpty like me will find it useful).
We’re also trying to finalise a date for a wine tasting session hugely kindly hosted & organised by Chris Scott. This will be limited in numbers & I suspect quickly oversubscribed – so get your names in early.
Event preview & Race report
This weekend will be the busiest of the Turbo year so far, with at least 20 Turbos in action. Angelo, Lewis, Malcolm, Ryan, Matt, Szymon, Jonny, James, Billy, Oli, Jess, Vicki, James, Eero, Nicole and Rob will join me on the start line for Ride London (you can track our progress https://apps.apple.com/us/app/2024-ford-ridelondon-essex/id1258105015). Elsewhere Thomas is heading to Marlow for a standard distance, but we’re all completely envious of Corin and Soph heading to Vancouver Island for the Victoria IM 70.3.
We’ve seen a flurry of 70.3 action over the past two weekends, with Tim, 5:01 in Samorin and Steve 6:42 at the Outlaw Half, adding to Mark’s 5:59, Phil’s 6:00 and Nick’s 7:35 in Mallorca and Matt’s 6:44 in the Huntsman from last weekend. Also, new joiner Adam Wells finished a hugely creditable 14th overall (2nd in AG) in the Outlaw sprint in Nottingham (like so many of our newer members, has really embraced life within the Turbos, see attached photo).
Adam in Outlaw action
Details of all the recent results and how they contribute to the Club Champs can be found in the attached spreadsheet (best 4 results from the following - Bushy Parkrun, HOP 432m TT, Westerley 10 mile TT, then best Sprint, Olympic, Middle & Long Distance Tris, Aquathlon, Duathlon & Aquabike – remembering the DHF reverse aquathlon & HOP TTs will be incorporated into our regular swim sessions, to make it even easier to rack up 4 qualifying events).
We also seen two absolutely stellar performances on the bike. Caz finishing 9th (2nd woman) in the Wild West Country, covering the 837km in 57 hours! On the much shorter South Down velo 10 mile, Steve averaged a mind-blowing 47kmph to finish in 20:33 for 5th (the 4 people quicker – bonkers). Also over the past two weekends, posses of Turbos took on the 180km Fred Whitton (Steve 7:19, James 7:59, Ryan 8:01, Ralph 9:24, Eamonn & Terry 10:52) and the Hampshire Hilly Hundred (Vicki 6:32, Jess 6:25 & Matt 7:48). And Nicole 1:27, Anish 2:01 and Alex 2:12 ran the Hackney Half Marathon.
New junior BTF supervision requirements
Jonathan wrote to all the junior parents last week, to detail the supervision ratio guidelines being imposed. In practical terms, we will need to supplement coach numbers with junior parents to be present at sessions (or seniors with coaching aspirations). To Supervisor training involves c5 hours of online training & becoming a BTF member (if not already) - the club will pay the involved costs & refund a month’s membership for the junior. This will be imperative for the ongoing running of the junior section – if you think you can help, please contact Jonathan on junior_rep@thamesturbo.co.uk.
Sprint & Super Sprint race
Sprint & Super Sprint race
As you’ve seen us implore, our sprint triathlon is probably the most important single date in our calendar. It’s not just the revenue, but it’s the profile, the potential new joiners and word of mouth from all who’ve enjoyed it.
So we start with a massive thanks to Race Director Steve and his team of Super Marshals, Malcolm, Phil, Richie, Mark, Jon & Ralph. But you were all super marshals – thank you Mark, James, Julia, Vicki, Rob, Teresa, Edward, Gordon, Thomas, Alex, Angelo, Atish, Sophie, Gail, Sandra, Ryan, Tim, Simon, Emma, Kayleigh, Sarah, Matthew, Ed, Kate, Eero, Lizzy, Ben, Rob, Jess, Adam, Charlie, Sam, Jonny, Karen, Michele, Lynne, Ash, Mark & Duncan (who can appreciate the team effort).
Within the race, we also achieved great success. Ryan was the fastest on the bike on his way to taking the overall win and breaking the magical hour barrier. Jess was 2nd on the swim & 3rd on the run (despite not having been able to train) on the way to taking the women’s crown. Honourable credits too to Ian in 4th, winning the V40s, whilst Ed snuck the V50s. Sam had the 2nd quickest swim and Atharv the fastest run.
We had 18 competing; the full results are in the Club Champs spreadsheet, which contains all the collated results we have from any multi-sport or running event we’ve been aware of. But again a plea, please enter the races you’ve entered, for the benefit of anyone who might wish to join into the Member Race Calendar
Other races
The London marathon was a day those taking part will scarcely forget, with record numbers racing and supporting. The course was utterly lined with crowds and both the anonymous and targeted support was incredible. James (PB) and I finished together on 2:55, whilst there were also PBs for Nicole 3:03, Ben 3:09 & Julia 3:38, with Kayleigh 3:34 and Rupert 5:44 completing a hugely impressive Turbo return.
Angelo and Sam returned to the Boston (UK) marathon just 3 weeks after running their last, in quite filthy conditions and cabbage fields. Angelo took 5 minutes off his Brighton time with 3:01, whilst Sam wasn’t quite able to repeat his Paris heroics, with a 3:12. Last weekend also saw Eamonn complete the 225km Sportive in Mallorca, including 4km of climbing, whilst on Saturday, Guy took 10 mins of his previous best Std distance triathlon time, with a 2:22 around Dorney.
Next weekend sees the distances and the gradients pick up. Steve, Ryan, James, Eamonn and Ralph are heading up for the Fred Whitton sportive, whilst Phil, Nick, Mark B, Mark R and Steve are heading out for the Mallorca IM 70.3 – and the season will really feel underway. Good luck all.
Running, socialising and races
The running season is both well under way and also nearing its culmination. The past two weekends have seen Turbos taking on numerous challenges in their marathon preparations.
The previous weekend, on the Jurassic coast, locals described the Grizzly as the wettest, muddiest ever, so particular kudos to Duncan who came home in an impressive 3:31, Corin a creditable 3:55, with Nick in 5:17. Whilst closer to home, the Kingston Breakfest runs also served up some pretty hefty rain. Leading the Turbo pack home in the 20 were Angelo & Sam who came in on 2:15 (comfortably under 3:00 marathon pace ), whilst Julia nursed her blisters to a 2:47. In the 16, Ex-Turbo Ben Hunt finished an impressive 9th in 1:43, Sarah M backed up her form at track, with a superb 2:14, Ani ran a super-strong 2:18 and Jimmy a 2:30. Again the timing of the social club run, meant there were bedraggled Turbos ready to greet them in the café afterwards.
Last weekend saw many settings PBs in the Hampton Court Palace ½ (sadly because it finishes on the muddy trails in Home Park, it doesn’t count on PowerOf10 as an official time). Nonetheless, hearty congratulations to James wining the 45-49s in 1:20, Sam & Thomas home in 1:21, Duncan close behind in 1:27 and Terry 1:47. Meanwhile Rob H also set a PB of 1:24 in the Wilmslow ½ & Charles ran 2:26 on the Riverside 20. It’s been no coincidence that many setting PBs have been ever presents at track. With the clocks going back, we can look forward to training in the light after Easter.
I believe it’s just Gordon in action at the Kew ½ this Sunday, then everything kicks off next weekend. Gail heads to Paris for Paris-Roubaix, with Sam, Steve and Mark for the Paris marathon. Anish stays closer to home with the Landmarks half, whilst a whole clutch of Turbos take to Brighton (Angelo, Ian, Nick, Sarah, John, Alex & Em) Good luck all and hoping the weather is kind (especially the Brighton wind).
Upcoming club events including the Spring Social -
James has already posted Frimley & Chilterns rides for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. With the following weekend being a big marathon weekend, we’re moving the next Parkrun tourism to Wimbledon Common to the Saturday 13th April, hopefully meeting our Windmiler friends. Should be a good leveller, whether recovering or tapering, to all be equally hungover; which leads us on to…
Spring Social Friday 12th April – the Anglers from 7pm - it’s been proposed that we all meet for drinks (and meal for those who want with no triathlon related pretext - although, given it’s light until past 8pm and we can meet outside under the heaters – you might be able to sneak some RP laps in before joining). Everyone should be back from Easter; it’s a week after Brighton & Paris and 9 days before London, so should be lots to celebrate / talk about.
Also on Sat 13th, the rebranded supertri E series kicks off at the London Aquatics Centre (Super League Arena Games as was). Emily Young has offered club members a discount for anyone who is interested and you can find this in the members area of our website (ask if you don’t have the password).
Club races – entries and marshalling
Again, I need to come back to our races. We need entries and marshals (and we do ask of all the senior members that they marshal at least one), so please volunteer if at all possible. Spread the word about our races to friends and feel free to repost the club content on your social media. A reminder that we’re also running a Super Sprint alongside our normal Sprint triathlon event in an attempt to encourage more people to try their first triathlon (now less than 6 weeks away - Mon 6th May). https://thamesturbo.co.uk/our-races
Junior update from Jonathan
This weekend saw the start of the 2024 Junior Race Series with a Duathlon at the Lee Valley VeloPark. The event was new for this season and organised by the London Region. The event was a success with a field of 160 young triathletes and a world class venue. A massive thank you to the parents who helped marshal on the day - we cannot run these events without your support! The weather thankfully stayed dry and the artic winds did not spoil the fun. It was great to see several Turbos competing with performances to make the club proud. Well done to to all the juniors who took part! Huge congratulations to Poppy and Nina who managed an amazing first and second place in the T3 race!!!
The next event in the calendar is the Crystal Palace Triathlon on 12th May. The CPT is a regular fixture in the series and a great option for anyone looking to try a full triathlon for the first time, with it being a pool rather than open water swim. It would be fantastic to have another great turnout from the Turbos. Registrations are open here.
As a Club we really want to encourage and support you all to participate in racing as well as training. We will therefore be holding a Club Champs again this season that will include our own Junior Aquathlon as well as other races from the London Race Series. Like the Winter Series, it is all about building on your training and tracking your progress. We hope we can get as many juniors as possible competing so we can all support each other throughout the season. To take part in the Club Champs just get out there and race as a Turbo in any of the events in the London Junior Series (so you can accumulate points in both the Club Champs and the London League at the same time!). See this link for more info on the London Series.
Socials, early 2024 results and training
Socials - Starting with the dates for the calendar
Saturday’s Bushy Parkrun is celebrating International Women’s Day, with an all women pacing line-up. There are likely to be a fair number of Turbos running & catching up after.
Given that this Sunday is Mother’s Day, we thought it best to postpone the big Social Club run for a week to the 17th March (and we could given the 5 weekends in March). We’re proposing a double meet up at the Anglers 8am for the marathon runners going long, doing a 12km towpath loop, before reconvening at 9am for a Tamsin Trail loop (you can find the Strava route here). We’ll be finishing at the Local Hero on Kingston Bridge to meet those Kingston BreakFesting (will be thinking of Duncan & Nick at the Grizzly).
In the interim, we’ll be saying a sad but exciting farewell to James & Bryony as they leave Twickenham before heading to Adelaide. We’ll be heading to the Alexander Pope after track on Weds 13th – non-runners welcomed.
Advance notice of a date for your diaries.
Friday 12th April - it’s been proposed that we all meet for drinks and a meal with no triathlon related pretext. Nick Cox is currently scouting out potential venues, but mark the date to keep it free. Everyone should be back from Easter; it’s a week after Brighton & Paris and 9 days before London, so should be lots to celebrate / talk about. Given the marathons and Easter, we’re pushing back the Parkrun tourism to Saturday 13th, which will be at Wimbledon Common – and hopefully meeting our Windmiler friends. Should be a good leveller, whether recovering or tapering, to all be equally hungover.
The race & club championship seasons have started. All multi-discipline events count and any Bushy Parkrun. But please make my life easier looking for your results by adding Thames Turbo as your club for Parkrun (you’re not a Worcester or Salisbury junior any more) and filling in the Race Calender - always more fun to do events with friendly company.
Last weekend saw Ben set a PB, dipping under 1:29 to finish 10th in the Thames Meander half, whilst Alex paced Em to 2:12 in Great Yarmouth. Gail & Jim continued the Sportives conquering the Kentish Killer. And a big shout out to Jess, smashing the 40min barrier for the 10km (39:43) at Battersea the previous weekend.
This weekend sees Turbos in action home and abroad. Lauren kicks things off in Abu Dhabi at 07:20 on Friday morning (https://triathlon.org/timing/628665 without Grace or Claire - fingers crossed); Emma Hurdle makes her marathon debut in Barcelona, whilst Caoimhe & Tim C are at Dorney for the duathlon. Good luck all.
I know we bang on about it, but it really does make planning easier if you can sign up in advance to events (on Strava, Spond) and please enter your name on the race calendar. It really isn’t difficult.
You will have seen a number of messages on Spond about discounts available to club members with discount codes which we have been asked to not to distribute beyond. You can find a list of them here but please ask for the password if you don’t have it.
Thames Turbo races
A reminder of the two club organised races, which provide essential revenue to the club. We need volunteers to ensure they run smoothly (well, at all) and request of all senior members that they marshal at at least one. The link is on Spond or you can volunteer here.
We are running a Super Sprint alongside our normal Sprint triathlon event in an attempt to encourage more people to try their first triathlon on Monday 6th May, whilst the Junior Aquathlon is confirmed for Saturday 8th June. Please support this fantastic event. It is a wonderful opportunity for our juniors to showcase their skills in a friendly and supportive environment.
This leads on nicely to an update on the Junior section from Jonathan Ormerod. We are urgently seeking a solution to promote the juniors’ activities on social media, in the same way we have for the senior section (with wide angled, group shot photos, taken by the coach, no names, no tags, for which we will require parents’ opt-in consent) as we seek to increase member numbers across the club.
Update on training
Well done to all the juniors who joined us on Saturday for the bike session in Richmond Park. Despite some fairly unpleasant weather the juniors enjoyed a skills session with coaches Phil and Ralph. Great commitment to training!
This weekend is Parkrun week. Come along to Bushy Parkrun on Saturday for the 5k. Meet at the finish area, adjacent to the car park at the Diana Fountain end of Chestnut Avenue, for 8:30am to warm up before heading to the start. This is not a coached session so under 11s need to be accompanied by an adult (who can keep up!) Alternatively, under 11s can come along to the 2k Junior Parkrun at Moormead Park, Moormead Road, Twickenham on Sunday morning instead.
Junior Winter Series
Over the last couple of months the Juniors have been taking part in our Club Winter Series, an internal race series comprising run, swim and cycle events, and culminating in a Duathlon at Hillingdon Cycle Circuit. The idea is to encourage our Juniors to continue to train and develop their skills during the winter in preparation for the 2024 Triathlon Season. We had over 40 juniors compete in the series. There have been some great performances this year and as always it has been fantastic to see the progress of the juniors with some significant improvements in times between events. We will be announcing the overall Series results and awards at our Club Social BBQ in the summer. The Winter Series is all about training commitment and personal improvement, so we will have awards that reflect this as well as performance. Thank you as ever to the parent volunteers who have helped out with marshalling and timing – we couldn’t run these session without your support.
London Junior Race Series
The London Junior Race Series kicks off this month with the Lee Valley Duathlon at the Olympic Velopark on 24th March. Entries are filling up fast and it would be great to see a strong Turbo turnout! Sign up here.
A reminder for juniors interested in competing in the London League that you must be a member of British Triathlon prior to race day and must have selected London as your region in your membership profile. If you have any questions about racing, please contact Jonathan at junior_rep@thamesturbo.co.uk.
Other Upcoming Events
If you are looking for a friendly local event, Hillingdon Triathletes are hosting their annual family duathlon on 24th March at the traffic free Hillingdon Cycle Circuit at Minet Park. The event is not part of the London League this season, and is being held on the same day as the Lee Valley Duathlon, however it is a fun local event and perfect if you are looking for some race experience. It is also an event that the whole family can take part in. There are categories for Tristar, T1, T2 and T3 as well a Super Sprint suitable for Youth and Juniors, and an adult race. Entries are via the Hillingdon Tri Club website.
Great attendance, race dates and new faces
It might be a group reaction to seeing others sign up on our new session booking app Spond, but we’ve had some fabulous attendances to both regular training sessions and the additional extras meets. If you are a member please download now if you haven’t already and join on the TTTC group.
Our Turbo Races
We have now confirmed the dates for our senior Sprint Triathlon (Monday 6th May) and Junior Aquathlon (Saturday 8th June).
These races are a lifeblood to the club, so please share & advertise the details. A gentle reminder, it is a condition of our membership (and reason we can keep our fees down), that all senior members or junior parents make themselves available to marshal one of these races. Please volunteer to marshal here.
Regular Social Calendar
A reminder of what we’re trying to achieve in terms of club socials outside the regular coached sessions:
- 1st Saturday Parkrun tourism on 3rd February we’re heading to Queen Elizabeth Country Park, past Petersfield on the A3 https://strava.app.link/cVuiE6vv3Fb)
- Wimbledon Parkrun tourism on 2nd March & hopefully socialising with our Windmiler friends afterwards.
- 2nd Sunday - social run
Sunday 11th February, meet at the Anglers for 10am, arrange yourselves into groups of a similar pace and all turn on an agreed time (e.g. 45mins) following this route, then meet back for coffee & cake in Teddington. Those wanting to can get a bike in first; if 90 mins isn’t enough, you can run further beforehand.
- Thirsty 3rd Thursday
Beech House, 9pm after swimming. Come along even if you haven’t been to the pool.
- Final Sunday - an entire club ride.
A reminder, we're not asking you to forgo your gravel ride or 120km IM prep, just that you make an effort to join at the meet café to meet and welcome any new members and socialise with the remainder of the club.
We’ve already seen fabulous turn-outs for our Tamsin Trail run & at the Queen’s Stage today. I think many of us were jealous not to be invited to the post parkrun brunch yesterday, but reinforces the positive contribution Ani’s ladies WhatsApp group is having. We’ve seen the pool packed for cold winter sessions and regularly in excess of 20 along at track. Let’s keep this momentum going.
Of course we have regular meet-ups after Bushy Parkrun (either for coffee or a warm down jog - wearing Turbo tops aids visibility) and our regular Sunday rides (again the greater the numbers, the more different groups we can get out, riding at appropriate paces for you). Particularly for the social rides, please can you sign up in advance on Spond; this will allow us to plan groups & routes accordingly.
New faces
We’re happy to say that we have had a whole host of new triallists and members arrive in the past few weeks. If you have a friend who you think might be interested, please be proactive & suggest a trial. For the club it’s important to bring in a regular flow of new members.
Events
Many of you will be turning your minds to entering events, whether build up races before the marathon season, or triathlons for the summer. We are planning on collating a decent online calendar, so you can see events other Turbos have signed up for (always more fun with friends), but in the meantime, please fill in anything on the Facebook poll.
Turbo Highlights – the Xmas socials edition
Great to see the planning for 2024 events has started in earnest.
Great to see the planning for 2024 events has started in earnest. If you weren’t already aware, we have a poll on Facebook, so you can see which other events Turbos are planning – always more fun to do as a collective. Please add your own events (with a date to help others) on Facebook.
For note, our final senior swim session in on Tuesday 19th November, with our final session, being at track on Wednesday 20th, before we restart in the New Year.
Social dates for your diary
Saturday 9th December – Mob match vs Ful-on-Tri at Bushy Parkrun, see Strava.
We’re looking for a big turnout, with as many seniors, juniors and junior parents as possible in club kit (it creates a spectacle, and can be a great advertisement for the club). As usual, we’ll be looking for volunteers to help with the gazebo, mulled wine, hot chocolate, minced pies and chocolates – you know the drill. As we’re the hosts, people to help offer these to our guests would be gratefully appreciated. (If you are running, ensure that Thames Turbo Triathlon is showing as your primary club here.)
Saturday 9th December – Xmas Party from 19:00 at the Adelaide.
We’ve had a great year, with much to celebrate. I hope to see a large turnout. This is open to Junior Parents as well as Senior Members. Tickets are £15 each and can be bought here.
Saturday 16th December – Santa Run, incorporating Bushy Parkrun & James D’s 45th birthday
Given that many will already have made plans for Xmas by 23rd, we’ll hold our fun Santa run on 16th, with a post Parkrun jogdown in Santa kit, descending on the Pheasantry for coffee & birthday cake (there’s a very high bar been set on these)
https://www.strava.com/clubs/8506/group_events/1521748
Sunday 17th December – annual Santa Ride to Windsor
https://www.strava.com/clubs/8506/group_events/1521751
A festive favourite. Short, flat, easy paced. Riders of all paces absolutely welcomed (and Lauren, maybe even a Cinnamon Bun).
Wednesday 20th December – Beer/Prosecco/Fizzy Drink Mile at Track
https://www.strava.com/clubs/8506/group_events/1521766
This is our final session of the year, and going to round it out in style. After a shortened track set, we’ll move to the main event. All rules / details in the event description. And for those still keen after, we’ll go on to the Alexander Pope for more leisurely drinks.
Sunday 14th January – Tamsin Trail 12km handicap
An early date for your diaries and to keep fit for over Xmas & New Year. We’ll meet at the café at the Petersham Park car park, and set off to roughly finish together. And just to keep things interesting & everyone honest, we’ll set off in alternate (CW / ACW) directions. Meeting back for a coffee afterwards.
Saturday 3rd February – Parkrun tourism – Queen Elizabeth Parkrun
Resurrecting an ambition to get together on the 1st Sat of each month. For this, we’ll be heading down the A3, just past Petersfield. Forget any personal bests, this is a seriously hilly course. But you’ll be doing it with your Turbo friends and picking up a Q.
Other news
An update on the Xmas jumpers, our purchases have helped raise almost £500 for the Dylan Howells Foundation to date. But these aren’t limited to Turbos, please share the link with family, friends and colleagues. There are other colours available here with donations going to the equally worthy Hector’s House.
Also it's been fantastic to see so many club members getting involved with the socials and the highest numbers I’ve seen on the club rides. All our events are being posted as invites on our club Strava page – two requests, please download or be familiar with routes being taken and accept the invite (this will help us plan similar paced groups).
Looking forward to seeing many of you at some of these socials in the coming weeks.
The end of the season is nigh
We’re almost at the end of the competitive multi-sport season, and moving into winter training. Now’s the time to celebrate and have fun with your fellow clubmates.
We’re almost at the end of the competitive multi-sport season, and moving into winter training. Now’s the time to celebrate and have fun with your fellow clubmates.
Wednesday 1st November 19:30– we’re holding Halloween Relays at St Mary’s replacing the regular track session, beforeX going onto the Alexander Pope for drinks. A few have put effort into this, so would be great to reward them with a bumper attendance. Format is very simple. Turn up in fancy dress, be prepared to have some fun, come for drinks – oh and an incidental 3x600m run if you want. At this point we only need one thing for you – let us know whether you’re coming or not, so we know what to book at the pub (currently 20 confirmed, think we’ll at least double this). Please respond on Strava or Facebook or on Whatsapp. Although we haven’t been able to get a joint junior & senior relay, there’s still the opportunity for the juniors to run their own fancy dress relays in their regular track session.
Next, we have the club AGM at the Anglers Pub, on Monday 13th November 19:30. There are potentially a number of key roles to fill, after those who have given long service to the club are deciding to step back a little – hence we’ll be looking for a few to step up to ensure the club’s ongoing smooth running. We’ve also got a great deal of successes to celebrate, so please make an effort to attend – especially as I’ll be celebrating my 50th birthday.
Saturday 9th December – the double header of the annual mob match vs Ful-on-Tri and Xmas party (the Adelaide as last year).
Also we have a date for Parkrun tourism to Dulwich on Saturday 18th November –– a fabulous course for PB opportunities. Hopefully this will kick start more frequent Turbo runs (a handicap Tamsin Trail loop has been mooted) and regular Parkrun tourism. But please get involved with our regular socials like the thirsty third Thursday at the Beech House (19th October being the next) or coffee after Bushy Parkrun on the first Saturday of the month.
Performances & races
The last of the multisport action saw Lauren take a very comfortable win in the PT5 event in Malaga (a test event before next year’s worlds there). A hugely welcome return to the top step before a big 2024 & in the process securing a Team GBR quota slot for Paris. But not before she switches from Summer to Winter even quicker than the British weather, as she heads to Germany next weekend chasing X-Country skiing ranking points to try to qualify for Milan-Cortina 2026. Just wow!
If there was any doubt before, Kester absolutely secured his position as the most improved triathlete in the club, with a superb 6th AG place at Cascais 70.3 (and top 30 overall). He put in a sensational 2:21 (38.5 kmph) split on the bike and had the satisfaction of beating Megan on the swim on his way to a 4:25 – quite the debut. Megan also did what she does, finishing a superb 2nd woman overall.
Last Sunday was a busy day of Turbo action. Helen Smith-Rutt produced a 13:52 at Kona (having concussed herself by swimming into one of the canoes early on!). Getting in early relay preparation for Roth, David 35:28, Soph 3:11:59, Corin 1:52:09 were at Challenge Mallorca. Rounding out the multisport action, Jason Foo turned in the 3rd fastest swim split on his way to 11th overall at the East Grinstead aquathlon.
Sam Hawley & Rachel Brooks both produced massive PBs at the Yorkshire marathon, posting 3:05:17 and 3:50:40 respectively. Whilst at the Cabbage Patch, Ian Black led the Turbo pack home, breaking the hour mark. Ian 59:44, James Darby 1:03:48, Charles 1:05:54, Duncan 1:08:12, Kayleigh 1:08:14, Ben 1:09:48, Neil M 1:17:00, Alex W 1:20:07, Anish 1:27:22, Vince 1:30:56, Bryony 1:32:18 & Sarah 1:34:03.
There’s just one more weekend left for any activities to count for the club championships – including the Bushy Parkrun.
All race results that I know of have been added to the website and with the standings reflecting these. But as always, please let me know of events you’ve signed up to (thamesturboresults@gmail.com) so I can look for results and put you in touch with others.
Also as always, please can you share your photos from events or socials so we can post to social media to showcase the club to anyone looking in?
Just a plea to get involved in the 3 dates above and particularly let us know for numbers on the Halloween relays on 1st November.
Social news & dates
Please keep your eyes peeled for the full details for the Halloween relays on Wednesday 1st November. This will be a rare opportunity to bring the whole club (juniors and seniors) together.
Next, we have a couple of round birthdays to celebrate, which coincide neatly with planned club socials. This Saturday 7th (the first Saturday of the month Bushy Parkrun and Coffee), Angelo will be supplying cake to celebrate his 40th.
And in keeping, I’m choosing alcoholic beverages to mark mine at the club AGM at the Anglers Pub, on Monday 13th November 19:30. There are potentially a number of key roles to fill, after those who have given long service to the club are deciding to step back a little – hence we’ll be looking for a few to step up to ensure the club’s ongoing smooth running. We’ve also got a great deal of successes to celebrate, so please make an effort to attend.
Saturday 18th November – Parkrun tourism to Dulwich – a fabulous course for PB opportunities. Hopefully this will kick start more frequent Turbo runs (a handicap Tamsin Trail loop has been mooted) and regular Parkrun tourism. But please get involved with our regular socials like the thirsty third Thursday at the Beech House (19th Oct being the next) or coffee after Bushy Parkrun on the first Saturday of the month.
Saturday 9th December – the double header of the annual mob match vs Ful-on-Tri and Xmas party (the Adelaide as last year).
And also I’d encourage you all to suggest other activities you’d like to do as a group.
Performances & races
As per Phil’s email yesterday, huge congratulations to Alice Bloch, Tom Mythen & Charlie Brook on winning their respective categories in the Junior London League and to Danielle McGlashan, Henry Mythen, Rachel Riedlinger & Camilla Baluch on reaching their podiums.
On top on the London League success, Danielle won the Tristar 2 Triathlon at Hever Castle outright (beating all the boys, including Sam Wright who was 12th home). It shows our junior section continues to thrive.
Last weekend also saw the World Championships in Pontevedra. Lauren showed how competitive she is likely to be in Paris next summer, leading Claire and Grace on the final lap of the bike, until stomach cramps (following a week of illness) derailed her charge on the final lap of the run. As she explained on the WhatsApp chat, was still delighted with her bronze. Sadly, a disrupted season of injuries caught up with David Barker in the Aquabike and he was unable to repeat his heroics of Abu Dhabi.
Last week saw Gail Edmans, who never fails to inspire, taking on the relentless, ahem, challenge (iyky) that is Mont Ventoux, not once but twice on a cycling holiday with Anne, whilst Oli Hamann completed the Castle to Castle (Buckingham to Windsor via the Surrey Hills) ride in aid of the Prince’s Trust.
Finally, Ryan and I took to Calella for the Barcelona Ironman. It was an unexpectedly, brutally hot day out – with October temperature records being recorded all across Spain – over 30 degrees in the shade. Only there was no shade.
Ryan has the satisfaction of setting the fastest Ironman bike split of any Turbo this year (and probably for many years) averaging a staggering 37.5kmpm over the 184km course. Although the heat took its toll and he faded on the run, he still recorded a very fine Ironman debut time of 10:36. Everyone knows there’s more to come.
I had a proper emotional rollercoaster of a weekend. I had managed to hold off Ryan on the bike until 160km & although the power started draining from my legs, I still averaged 36.5 for a 5 hour split. Unusually for me, despite every effort to hydrate, the heat really got to me and had to stop for long periods to let the dizziness pass. I’d passed up my Pontevedra places for two goals - to break 10 hours & to get to Kona. I thought I was comfortably on course for the former, until I realised from a marker sign that the run course was 42.8km (just rude after the long bike) – and needed to get a wiggle on for the final 3.8km. I needed the sprint finish and my relief was palpable when I turned & saw the finisher screen matched my watch -09:59:55. However my joy was short-lived, when I saw from the results that I was down in 9th, with only three spots available. From chatting to the top 2, knew they were taking their places.
So Monday arrived and was in serious need of some divine intervention. But you always turn up to the presentation and hope. I really did think I was toast when the 3rd place finisher duly arrived to collect his trophy and that I was spending 2.5 hours in a stinky hot tent without refreshments for nothing. When you’ve dreamed & wished on something for so long, I can scarcely explain what I was going through, as one by one, Paul Kaye read out the names of the other 6 finishers ahead of me. There weren’t 6 refusals in ALL the other age categories combined & I’m absolutely stoked to be joining James Drake and Ian Shaw at Kona next year.
With Turbo friend, Chloe Dooley taking over Megan’s 70.3 outright crown, friends Essie & Sammie (part of the 60-strong 10IronWomen crew) finishing 4th & 6th overall and former (and hopefully future) Turbo, Laura Thomson finishing her debut Ironman in a brilliant 12:00 (she’d earned her place for Nice, but couldn’t immediately face committing to another Ironman), it ended up as a hugely successful trip.
Just Lauren heading to Malaga (a Paratri test event ahead of next year’s World Championships there) and Bonnie & Clyde taking to Cascais 70.3 left of the competitive season, both on Oct 21st.
All race results that I know of have been added to the https://thamesturbo.co.uk/club-champs/ and with the standings reflecting these. But as always, please let me know of events you’ve signed up to (thamesturboresults@gmail.com) so I can look for results and put you in touch with others.
Also as always, please can you share your photos from events or socials so we can post to social media to showcase the club to anyone looking in?
Spond, Strava & Whatsapp reminders
You will have seen that we are trialling Spond as a new booking app for Monday’s Turbo sessions (please download it), allowing you to book on at the last minute, but until this goes live for other sessions, please can you sign on in advance via https://thamesturbo.co.uk/booking-management/. It becomes hugely disappointing & awkward for coach and athlete, should anyone have to be turned away.
If not already, please get involved with our club WhatsApp groups:
“TTTC Social & General Chat” & “TTTC Everything Bike”. There is also now a specific women’s only group – for which you’ll need to ask another member for an invite. Also Strava invites & routes are downloadable from our Strava club page.
I’d welcome you to get involved in what we’re trying to do to bring people together socially & not just at training.
Recent race results, social news and dates
As promised, as part of a regular communication through the season, I’ll be picking out various club highlights, whether notable performances, forthcoming races or social news and key dates to be aware of. A very fine day of racing & activities to summarise below, so please read on.
You will have seen that we are trialling Spond as a new booking app for Monday’s Turbo sessions (please download it), allowing you to book on at the last minute, but until this goes live for other sessions, please can you sign on in advance via https://thamesturbo.co.uk/booking-management/. It becomes hugely disappointing & awkward for coach and athlete, should anyone have to be turned away.
Performances & races
Right, lots of fabulous achievements to celebrate, but only one place to start.
Huge congratulations to Ian Shaw who’s booked his place at Kona next year to join James Drake. Ian finished a superb 5th at Ironman Maryland backing up a superb sub-5 hour bike with a 3:40 marathon in 25 degree heat. He may have finished higher up, had the swim not been curtailed to 900m – with the Kona place in the bag, I’m not sure he’ll be that bothered,
Another swim was fully cancelled for the Weymouth 8 amidst grim weather conditions. James Drake finished 7th amongst some incredibly strong Weymouth fields. Steve Hughes suffered a puncture on the bike deflating his charge. James finished in 4:16, Steve in 4:22, Luigi 4:49, Lewis, 4:49, Sarah Moore 5:32 with ex-Turbos Amy Burton 5:13 & Jess Hillard 5:21. Only Corin was a non-finisher on the run, but had been poorly in the run-up. I believe only Steve & Mark’s North Norfolk triathlon didn’t fall foul of weather nor cancelled swims.
Last weekend saw plenty more long distance Turbo action, back in scorching conditions. Tim Cox finished a superb 14th in the European Long Distance Championships (Challenge Almere) in a fine time of 10:45. Hoping no lasting sunburn from the zip malfunction.
Possibly more impressive / insane was Angelo’s Thames Path Challenge – Angelo appears to have smiled the duration of his 100km on one of the hottest days of the year. A big shout out to Ian, Mark and Szymon for heading to join him at various points, epitomising the Turbo spirit. Also Alan Doolan and Matt Denham completed a 15km swim of 4 parts in the Isles of Scilly.
On a more serious note, huge congratulations to Mark, Nick, Glen, Jon, Phil, Matt, Malcolm, Richie, Chris and Sarah for donning their super hero costumes and consuming as much wine as they were allowed as they crawled around the Denbies vineyards for the Bacchus Half Marathon. We’ll be calling on you all to recreate this fancy dress spirit for the Halloween Relays on 1st Nov (see below).
Also lots of junior action to celebrate from the finale of the British Super Series at Mallory Park. Sadly it was just one run too many for Charlie Brook, finishing 33rd on the day & 13th in the overall standings. Whether it’s enough to get into the NextGen program – fingers crossed.
Henry Mythen finished 9th in the Tri Star 2 A final, with brother Tom a fabulous 6th in the Tri Star 3 A final. Rachel Riedlinger was 23rd, having made it through to her Tri Star 3 A final, where former Turbo, Kitty Scott, finished 2nd, whilst Camilla Baluch was 18th in the B final.
Huge congratulations to all.
Now competitive eyes turn to the World Championships in Pontevedra next weekend, with Lauren Steadman in the PTS5 on Saturday & David Barker in the Aquabike on Sunday.
All race results that I know of have been added to the https://thamesturbo.co.uk/club-champs/ and with the standings reflecting these. But as always, please let me know of events you’ve signed up to (thamesturboresults@gmail.com) so I can look for results and put you in touch with others.
Also as always, please can you share your photos from events or socials so we can post to social media to showcase the club to anyone looking in?
Social news & dates
Pontevedra, Barcelona and Cascais aside, most have drawn to the end of the competitive season, so now’s the time we can have more social fun as a club, without the pressure of the next race.
After training this week (21st), we have our Thirsty Third Thursday drinks in the Beech House (our usual area has been reserved) – hoping to see you there to celebrate Ian’s Kona spot and to wish Chris Middleton well on his move to Vancouver.
Weather permitting, we might have one last Friday night ride, but please get involved with the Sunday rides. We’ve had multiple groups out in recent weeks, which means everyone gets a decent ride – and hopefully all meeting for coffee and cake.
A reminder of the key social dates for your calendar.
Wednesday 1st November - a Halloween themed FUN 3-person relay courtesy of Copeland/Drake productions –at St. Mary’s track on, followed by drinks in the Alexander Pope. Full details and invitation to follow very shortly, but if the quality of the flier is anything to go by, it’s going to be good. You’ve got a further 6 weeks’ notice to make yourselves available for this one evening.
Monday 13th November - AGM on at the Anglers Pub, 19:30 – this an important meeting to ensure we have officers in place to ensure the club’s smooth running & a summary of the club’s activity over the past year. Please make an effort to attend.
Saturday 18th November – Parkrun tourism to Dulwich – a fabulous course for PB opportunities. Hopefully this will kick start more frequent Turbo runs (a handicap Tamsin Trail loop has been mooted) and regular Parkrun tourism. But please get involved with our regular socials like the thirsty third Thursday at the Beech House or coffee after Bushy Parkrun on the first Saturday of the month.
Saturday 9th December – the double header of the annual mob match vs Ful-on-Tri and Xmas party (the Adelaide as last year).
And also I’d encourage you all to suggest other activities you’d like to do as a group.
Whatsapp Groups Reminder
If not already, please get involved with our club WhatsApp groups:
“TTTC Social & General Chat” with “TTTC Everything Bike”, There is also now a specific women’s only group – for which you’ll need to ask another member for an invite. Also Strava invites & routes are downloadable from our Strava club page.
Lots of opportunities to get involved on the social side outside of just the training sessions.
Turbo back to school Highlights
Social news & dates
Right, I’m starting proper with the social news on this update & some key dates to ensure are in your calendar. We might be drawing to a close of the triathlon race season, but this shouldn’t mean a drop off in training numbers (note Alan’s email on booking yourselves on) and you should have fewer excuses not to join in on participation for the club social events.
The first is the AGM on Monday 13th November at the Anglers Pub, 19:30 – this an important meeting to ensure we have officers in place to ensure the club’s smooth running & a summary of the club’s activity over the past year. Please make an effort to attend.
The second date is the annual mob match vs Ful-on-Tri and Xmas party (the Adelaide as last year), both on the same date, Saturday 9th December.
The next is a new date and hopefully a fun new addition to the calendar from Copeland/Drake productions – a Halloween themed FUN 3-person relay at St. Mary’s track on Wednesday 1st November, followed by drinks in the Alexander Pope. Full details and invitation to follow very shortly, but if the quality of the flier is anything to go by, it’s going to be good. You’ve got two months’ notice to make yourselves available for this one evening.
Hopefully this will be a pre-cursor to more frequent Turbo runs (a handicap Tamsin Trail loop has been mooted) and a return to Parkrun tourism. But please get involved with our regular socials – thirsty third Thursday at the Beech House (21st being the next) and the 1st Saturday of the month, coffee after Bushy Parkrun.
And also I’d encourage you all to suggest other activities you’d like to do as a group.
Performances & races
As previewed, a fabulous day and lots of racing to catch up on.
We’ll start with a hugely successful New Forest triathlon. Lauren Steadman stepped up her preparations for the World Championships in Pontevedra with a dominant win in the sprint event. In the standard, Kester McQueen was so far ahead of the rest of the field, the marshals assumed he was doing the sprint and sent him round on the 5km loop (which he completed twice) and was blatantly the winner, 7 full minutes ahead of the next “finisher” (who must have been truly embarrassed to be awarded the winner’s prize) – Kester deservedly earning bragging rights over Megan (predictably the 1st woman in 5th overall).
Also taking an overall win was Steve Hughes at the Belvoir sprint triathlon.
In Tenby, John Taylor has just completed IM Wales for the 7th time (his 19th Ironman) in 14:25 (1:22, 7:12, 5:22), finishing a very fine 2nd in the M65s; whether this is enough for a Kona spot – here’s hoping. (But John, didn’t you realise you were keeping me waiting from sending the mail?) Whilst over in Munster, Germany, Julia Snaith produced a beautifully controlled paced run to come home in 3:44, comfortably inside the London GFA time, now just have to hope on a successful application. Turbo friend, Josh, ran 3:02.
Closer to home in Richmond Park, in the London Duathlon, Sam Holness produced a solid 2:20 for 16th, Lewis Vanhinsberg a 2:30 & Mark Gee a 2:31. With 3 club rides to Windsor, the Surrey Hills and the Col de Tourmalet, it’s been a truly successful day.
Last weekend saw another Turbo friend Megan Chapple finished a quite magnificent 5th overall (2nd in 25-29 AG) at the Ironman 70.3 World Champs in Lahti, in a time of 4:28 (a 2:22 bike followed by a 1:26 half – splits I immediately said I’d be happy to match).
Spencer Bateman produced easily his best international result to date, finishing a fabulous 5th in the European Aquathlon in an absolute deluge in Menen, Belgium. I decided to have an altercation with the metal steps coming out of the river, and limped home 6th in the M50-54. Fortunately, I had the middle distance champs on the Sunday to take out my frustrations, duly matching Megan’s 2:22 & 1:26 splits (albeit on a different course / conditions), on my way to a 70.3 PB of 4:25 for 4th – in both races, my times would have had me on the podium in the M45s.
Sara Deakin overcame sickness (wasn’t sure she’d be in a well enough state to compete 24 hours beforehand), to finish 7th in the MD Aquabike – only (like many of us) to succumb to Belgian belly afterwards.
On Bank Holiday Monday, Charlie Brook finished 13th in the Eton Eliminator series of triathlons (possibly one race too many) & stands in 12th place overall in the British Super Series, with just the Grand Final at Mallory to go.
And the previous weekend saw lots of Ironman action. Oli Hammans produced a 12:43 at Kalmar & Simon Beal a 15:43 in Vichy, where in the 70.3 Ben Newman & Willy Duhen came home in 5:33 & 5:38 respectively. Mark O’Brien overcame “interesting” swim conditions at Cork 70.3 to finish in a fine 5:30, where ex-Turbo Elaine Harris came home in 6:38. Whilst Alan continued his racing come back with a fine 2nd placed AG finish at Box End.
Very fine performances all.
Next weekend sees Tim Cox in action at the European Long Distance Champs at Challenge Almere and lots of running action. Angelo Bella takes on the Thames Path 100 on Saturday, whilst others head to Denbies for the Bacchus Wine HM – whilst there’s the temptation of Kayleigh’s birthday brownies for those running parkrun at Bushy (bar set high after last year), whilst Matt Denham heads to the Isles of Scilly for a swim challenge.
The following one sees a whole host of Turbos & (ex-Turbos) heading to Weymouth 70.3 - Sarah M, Luigi, Lewis, Steve H, James D, Jess, Amy, whilst Ian travels to IM Maryland chasing very limited Kona 24 spots, whilst others take on various distances at Swim Serpentine.
All race results that I know of have been added to the https://thamesturbo.co.uk/club-champs/ and with the standings reflecting these. But as always, please let me know of events you’ve signed up to (thamesturboresults@gmail.com) so I can look for results and put you in touch with others.
Also as always, please can you share your photos from events or socials so we can post to social media to showcase the club to anyone looking in?
Whatsapp Groups Reminder
A reminder that the two main WhatsApp groups have been slightly repurposed, with “TTTC Social & General Chat” & “TTTC Everything Bike”, with Strava invites to the rides/routes here. There is also now a specific women’s only group – for which you’ll need to ask another member for an invite.
Lots of opportunities to get involved on the social side outside of just the training sessions.
July performances & races
Performances & races
Again, lots of varied races to update on, many of them featuring Kester, who’s had a very eventful three weeks 😉.
He started his odyssey by qualifying for the Glasgow World Champs, with a sensational 3rd place overall in the Isle of Man Gran Fondo, before demonstrating his bike prowess, posting the fastest bike split overall in the British Triathlon Championships in Sunderland. He won silver in 20-24, qualifying for next year’s worlds in Malaga and finished a quite sensational 15th overall, in what was only his 2nd ever triathlon. His achievements really deserve time to reflect upon.
Sadly a bike mechanical issue derailed his chances of making it a hattrick, and he was arguably over-shadowed by Megan, who followed up her overall win in Sunderland, with a 9th place finish in the bunch sprint at Glasgow.
Sunderland wasn’t quite so kind to Charlie Brook, who wasn’t able to match his win the preceding weekend at Dorney, but still stands 11th in the Super Series with a chance to improve in the final two events. Another whose race didn’t go to plan, was the Cervino Matterhorn Ultra Race for Maria, for whom the previous night’s illness meant a DNF.
Oli Hammans and Gail Edmonds completed the point to point adventure Castle to Coast triathlon (Dorney to Brighton sea front), whilst due to a timing chip issue, Terry Hernandez was briefly showing as the overall winner of the Castle Howard triathlon (reduced to an aquathlon due to adverse weather).
Today saw another busy weekend, less impacted domestically by the weather. Steve Hughes finished 1st vet at the London Triathlon, posting the 7th fastest bike leg on his way to a 2:13. Mark Fielding-Smith posted a 2:50 and Oli a 6:10 in the 70.3 distance, as part of his preparations for Kalmar. We also saw a very welcome return to action for Josie Middleton-Smith in the sprint event, Another making a long awaited return to action was Mike Deevy, who turned in 3 solid legs on his way to a 2:10 9th place (2nd vet) at Dorney in his first race since lockdown. Out in Duisburg, Sara Deakin ignored the thunderstorms to post a 2:31 (35.6 kmph bike) on her way to a 5:06 in the 70.3, whilst husband Tim came home in 4:41.
I think we have a weekend off, before Mark, Oli & Ben head to Cork, Kalmar and Vichy respectively for Ironmen on 19th Aug.
All race results that I know of have been added to the https://thamesturbo.co.uk/club-champs/ and with the standings reflecting these. But as always, please let me know of events you’ve signed up to (thamesturboresults@gmail.com) so I can look for results and put you in touch with others.
Also as always, please can you share your photos from events or socials so we can post to social media to showcase the club to anyone looking in?
Social news & dates
Socially it’s been another good spell, with a couple of groups (and one solo) enjoying our annual Brighton trip, where the weather was never as bad as threatened.
Today’s club ride had one of the best turnouts for many weeks, and a new & to be recommended coffee stop at Velolife Wargrave. Having the numbers for multiple groups meant a better ride for all. Again, the same refrain, please get involved; help welcome newer members and having many of the stronger riders together improves everyone’s riding. On this note, we have another paceline ride coming up on Friday.
Again, as always, if there’s something you’d like to do together as a group, please suggest it. A few have mentioned the return to Parkrun tourism; I think this will have to wait until after the summer holidays, but would be great to get buy in to make it a proper group event.
If anyone is keen to join the Southwater Triathlon Relays teams on Sun 3rd Sept, please let Mark Bateman know, so that he can organise the team entries. It’s a 3 man sprint triathlon relay (each does their own sprint triathlon, before handing to the next team member). We had great success with the 3 teams we sent last year, would be great to build on this.
Whatsapp Groups Reminder
A reminder that the two main WhatsApp groups have been slightly repurposed, with all “TTTC Social & General Chat” and anything bike related (including club rides and Zwift) in “TTTC Everything Bike”, with Strava invites to the rides/routes here. There is also now a specific women’s only group – for which you’ll need to ask another member for an invite.