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.