Lesley Pymm reports: My final triathlon this year – I have not done as many as last year – was at Dunchurch near Rugby. I really do love this event as it is so friendly.
I still get quite nervous before a tri. I don’t know why as I am fine before running events. All the marshals and officials at this event are so helpful and they, and other competitors, do their best to put us at ease. The event starts in a private school, so we have use of their swimming pool. The pool swim is 400 meters. I have not yet seen the final times, so don’t know how I did. Suffice to say that I did it!
Then a swift transition and out onto the bike route (20k). This is mainly undulating, with some pretty fast downhill stretches. There is, however, one road where it is mainly uphill and some of the hills are tough. We were warned about slippery roads during the race briefing, so I slowed down where advised. I think my bike time was a bit faster than last year – there is a computer on the bike which I used as a guide.
Then it is two laps of a grass course to get the 5k run done. That went off without any problems.
The marshals all seem to go that extra mile and, where possible, they check runners names against the entry list and then call us by name. It really does make such a difference.
I hope to be able to both events that they hold at this venue next year. They do a women’s tri earlier in the year and then the open one in August. This year they changed the date for the earlier one and it clashed with a run I was doing, so I hope things fall into place for next year.
Lesley Pymm
Results should appear here at some point: http://www.rugbytriathlon.co.uk/races.htm