Rob Jones 03/04/2024 Rob Jones 03/04/2024

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.

Rob Jones 13/03/2024 Rob Jones 13/03/2024

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.

Rob Jones 29/01/2024 Rob Jones 29/01/2024

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.

Rob Jones 26/11/2023 Rob Jones 26/11/2023

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.

Rob Jones 21/10/2023 Rob Jones 21/10/2023

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.

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.

Rob Jones 04/10/2023 Rob Jones 04/10/2023

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.

Rob Jones 17/09/2023 Rob Jones 17/09/2023

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.

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.

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.

Rob Jones 03/09/2023 Rob Jones 03/09/2023

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.

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.

Rob Jones 06/08/2023 Rob Jones 06/08/2023

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.

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.

Thames Turbo Triathlon Club