Related Sports

This section covers the many alternate activities e.g. duathlons, triathlons,
orienteering, adventure racing, climbing  etc in which our members also participate.
 

I have just returned from 2 weeks holiday in the USA where I was representing GB at the World Long Course Duathlon Championships in Richmond Virginia in the 50 -55 age group - I travelled to the states with my wife and teenage daughter the main focus of the trip was obviously the race but we wanted to enjoy a holiday as well so we decided to spend the first 9 days at the Atlantic coast resort of Virginia Beach which was within an hours drive of various tourist attractions (i.e. shopping malls!) and it was also a better option for pre race training than the City of Richmond.

I had done some research and contacted the local bike shop in Virginia Beach called " Fat Frogs " and had been invited to join them on their 07.30 morning training rides - which suited me as it meant I could be back at the hotel by 10.30 to take the girls to the days tourist attraction (shopping mall!) I was impressed with the turn out on the Friday morning when 11 riders turned up and we did a hard 40 miles on some quiet country roads I was told that there would be more riders on the Saturday and there was - over 70 turned up!

The cycling was going well but unfortunately the running wasn't - a minor bike spill just before we left the UK had left me with a very sore hip and although I felt no pain on the bike running was out of the question and even walking (around the shopping malls!) was proving difficut. Purely by chance when we were out (looking for a shopping mall!) I came across the Virginia Institute for Sports Medicine and a brilliant doctor there managed to re-align my partially dislocated hip - never has such a painful injury dissapeared so quickly! within 48 hours I was pain free and raring to go!

After 5 days in Richmond and seeing the sites (more shopping malls!) race day came round - the weather forecast was perfect with light winds and 75 deg F. The first run course was 15Km (2 laps) on good surfaces through a mix of city streets and park land which I completed in 1 hr 7 min followed by a 76K (4 lap) undulating and technical bike course that included a bit of everything including some very rough road surface. I was very pleased with my bike split averaging just under 20mph to be back in transition after a 2hrs 26 min ride. The second run was the test but I managed to hold my position and did a pain filled 38 minute last 7.5Km to finish 18th out of the 30 in my age group.

As my objectives had been 1, to finish and 2, not be last - I was over the moon especially as the week before the race I wasn't even sure if I would be able to start.

We then had couple of days to enjoy the beautiful City of Richmond before our flight home and an opportunity to walk-off my post race muscle soreness by visiting yes you guessed it - some shopping malls!


Regards

Tony Rees

www.duathlonworlds.com/duathlon_richmond.htm

There's no shortage of adventure seekers in our club and here Bob Worth recounts his recent trip to one of the least accessible mountain ranges on earth namely Mongolia’s Altai Tavan Bogd (Five Holy Peaks) which lie on the border with both Russia and China, almost 2000 kilometres west of the capital, Ulaanbaatar.......

"We had mixed weather, as soon as we arrived at our high-camp on the glacier a storm hit us and it snowed and blew a gale for about 15 hours non-stop. The 2nd guide had to take 3 people back down the following day as they decided that it was a bit too serious for them.......(more)
 

 World Triathlon Champs - Lausanne
2nd-3rd Sept 2006

We were suitably impressed to have one of our members namely Paul Figg taking part in the recent World Triathlon Championships.....

"The 2006 Triathlon World Championships took place in Lausanne, Switzerland over the weekend of 2nd and 3rd September and still to my amazement I had managed to qualify to represent Great Britain as an ‘age group’ athlete in the 35 – 39 yr category, (essentially ‘age group’ athletes are non ‘elite’ or not professionals).

Competing in the British Championships in June I hadn’t done quite enough and was placed on the reserve list but after a long nervous wait I luckily got the call up just before going on holiday to the Pyrenees, not ideal preparation but it was too late to change anything and hopefully the altitude may do me some good......(more)

Tony Rees, Graham Tyreman along with Stockton triathlete Darren Moody recently travelled to Klagenfurt to compete in Ironman Austria. The day before the race the temperature in Klagenfurt was very high with the car dashboard display indicating 41 deg C and similar temperatures expected on race day. After the usual formalities of registration, race briefing, bike check in and transition bag drop off we were ready for a quiet meal and an early night, although sleep proved to be difficult due to the high temperatures and a lack of air conditioning and of course pre-race nerves !

Breakfast on race morning was at 0400 then a bus picked us up to take us down to the race venue, the lake side “ Stranbad”. We had parked our hire car very close to the transition area and this proved to be a good move as it provided us with a base for changing etc before and after the race.....(more)
 

Nigel Cairns competed in the annual 'La Marmotte' cycle race in the French Alps in July, as part of the Cyclists Fighting Cancer (CFC) fundraising team. The race typically attracts over 7000 entrants over its 174km route, and has some 5000 metres of climbing as it traverses over some of the Tour de France's toughest ascents, including the Croix de Fer, Col du Telegraphe, the Col de Galibier and Alpe D'Huez.

Cyclists Fighting Cancer was established as a charity in February 2006 with the aim of promoting cycling for those undergoing and recovering from cancer treatments to aid both short and long term outcomes, and to provide support for cyclists who have been diagnosed with cancer and who wish to have contact with other survivors.

Nige adds: "The official time on my certificate says 11:28...however, my time in the saddle was just over 10 hours I believe - the reason for this is that most riders (inc. me) were held up for between 1 and 2 hours at the top of the first Col (de Glandon). The Police had closed the road after 2 riders missed the first hairpin on the descent and were killed as they flew over the edge and landed on the hairpin below. I also believe that another rider was killed at the end of the race after he'd finished; descending Alpe D'Huez he collided with a spectator on a bend......."

Nigel is pictured above with the other members of the CFC team (good looking chap, 6th from left) and on the right on the Col de Glandon.
 

Sunday 16 October 2005 saw NYMAC members Paul Thornton, Chris Wright and Dave Spence together with local orienteers Andy Conn (Skelton) and Karen Heppenstall (Whitby) travel to Blanchland at the top end of Derwent Reservoir in Co Durham to take part in the North Pennines ‘Open5’ Adventure Race.

Adventure Racing takes many forms (some people even include Mountain Marathons in AR) but they are usually endurance events covering two or more disciplines from running, mountain biking, canoeing, climbing, abseiling etc. Many are team competitions, some have solo categories, and towing is allowed! The common element to all AR is some form of navigational challenge.

The ‘Open5’ series of races are Northern England based, comprise score orienteering on foot and mountain bikes, have a time limit of 5 hours before penalties kick in, and allow only one transition! There are categories for pairs and solo competitors. Two maps, laminated back to back, are issued at registration, one with 20 run controls and one with 20 bike controls.

Only after competitors start do they get to know the points value of the controls, and if there are any dummy sites, so only then can an optimum route, picking as many points as possible, be planned. Execution of the plan within 5 hours comes next!

Paul, Dave and Chris all elected to run first, whilst Andy and Karen (who have both recently represented Team GB at the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships in Slovakia) chose to ride first. Paul and Dave, who are strong bikers, passed through transition after 1hr 45 mins, whilst Chris kept going for 2hrs 20 mins before getting on his bike. Meanwhile, Andy rode back into Blanchland after 3hrs, and Karen (with her partner) stayed out for 3hrs 20 mins before attempting to gather some run controls.

At the end, Andy was the overall winner with 570 points, Paul was 2nd with 550 points, Dave 5th on 530 points and Chris 9th with 500 points (all in the male solo category) whilst Karen and her partner were 3rd in the Mixed Pairs with 465 points.

All in all, a smashing day out, exploring in detail a little visited part of Northern Britain whilst taking part in a fun competition. The next local event in the series is planned for Hamsterley Forest on 12 March 2006. Give it a go – you might like it!

Open 5 North Pennines Results

For further details, visit www.openadventure.com or www.sleepmonsters.co.uk

Chris Wright

Image swimming a mile in open water elbow to elbow with 300 other competitors then immediately climbing on a bike, cold, dripping wet and cycling 38 miles over some of England’s most testing mountain passes. Imagine you have finished the cycling, you are tired, your legs are like jelly and you’ve had enough. You try to resist the temptation but you can’t, you feel compelled to look up towards the 3118 ft summit of Helvellyn shrouded in mist - that’s where you must go if you want to finish The Helvellyn Triathlon.......
 

"For those of you seeking a bit more of a challenge than a straight forward fell race put the Helvellyn Triathlon in your diary for next September. This year’s race on 10th Sept was based in Glenridding and started with a one mile swim in Ullswater - which was not that cold and you were allowed a wetsuit, in fact the biggest problem came from finding open water amongst the 300 odd competitors. Jonathon Skidmore exitted transition after ditching his wetsuit in a quick 22.46 min with Paul Figg slightly slower in 25.35 min. Once on the bike, the 38 mile course took us North on an undulating route to the A66. This can be disappointing as all the slower swimmers but fast cyclists fly past you at great speed. It's whilst on the bike that you hope they can't run and you might make up a bit of ground on the climb up Helvellyn, how little did I know.
The bike route headed west along the A66 before turning back south through St Johns in the Vale and the fast and flat road along Thirlmere. You tell yourself to make the most of it as once Ambleside is reached the hard work really starts, this road isn't known as 'the struggle' for nothing. The road goes on and on and up and up. Down the gears and up out of the saddle but it doesn't get any easier. Last year I managed to ride it all but this year the steep zig-zags approaching the top get the better of me and I decide to get off before I fall off. The descent down Kirkstone Pass back to Glenridding passes quickly and without incident as drystone walls zip past and the thought of crashing doesn't bear thinking about.
Once off the bike the pace slows dramatically as the long climb to Red Tarn and Swirral Edge begins. I tell myself this should be no problem, two weeks earlier it wasn't, but the bike has drained my legs and I plod on and up into the mist. I didn't seem to make much ground on those fast cyclists - I hope they're not quick descenders. At the top of Swirral edge I turn right and eventually head for home. The terrain under foot eventually gives me a slight advantage and I wind in a few runners on the steep descent down the zig-zags to Whiteside Beck and back to Glenridding, 4hr 19 mins sec after setting out, finishing in 51st place. Jonathon finished some 5 minutes ahead of me iun 39th place while Diane and Paul also successfully completed the event in just over 5 hours.
Don't be put off by the swim and put it in your diary for next year, it makes a great change from running up Roseberry Topping.

Paul Figg"

318 finishers / 331 starters

Photos courtesy of John Howells of Northern Pulse show Jonathon Skidmore, Paul Figg,
Diane Jobson and Paul McGough undertaking the 'easy' run up Hellvellyn.  More photos from the event

 1420Km in 110 hrs! - The LEL 2005
23 - 27th July 2005

If that's a webcam on Nige's helmet then look out for his LEL DVD in the shops....

Many of our members seem to enjoy multi-day endurance events and member Nigel Cairns is no exception. Every 4 years, the UK’s long distance cycling association, Audax UK, organises its flagship event, the London-Edinburgh-London bike ride (LEL) so Nige decided to dust down his bike and give it a go.......

"This has been my first year of Audax riding, the goal was always to complete the LEL in my first year, and apart from the week in-week out training (the round trip between home and North Tees of 36miles helps), long rides through the Yorkshire Dales at weekends, I completed a 400km and two 600km rides to prepare myself for the long days ahead.........."

Read the rest of Nigels LEL report here 

 Ironman Tyreman
3rd July 2005

Graham Tyreman became our first member to complete a full Ironman, finishing a creditable 896th out of 1963 starters in the Austria Ironman.

His total time was 11hr 34min 33 secs which consisted of:

3.8K Swim    1 hr 7 min 40s
180K Bike     5 hr 44min 02s
Marathon      4 hour 30min 45s

Total time     11:34:33 (which means he spent about 12 mins in transition). Well done Ironman Tyreman!

Photo shows Graham crossing the finish line.

Austria Ironman 2005 results
 

 Kirkby Killer Duathlon
19th June 2005

Photo courtesy of Lydia Dietrich shows (left to right) Steve Libby, Caroline pollard, Chris Wright, Rob Pollard, Ian Glover and  Ian MacPherson. (Lydia forgot about her husband Martin when taking this photo)

In North York Moors AC we don’t just run – we’re jacks of all trades (any many would say “and masters of none”!). Despite our "du" and "triathlon" specialists being away on other duties (or were they just scared?) we still had seven members taking part in the Kirkby “Killer” Duathlon. This consisted of a 4 mile multi-terrain run around the Kirkby / Great Broughton area, immediately followed by a demanding 23 mile bike ride using the moor roads around Kildale, Hob Hole and Commondale. Finally just in case anyone had any energy left competitors were then asked to complete another 4 mile multi-terrain run by climbing up to Kirby Bank and then contouring below Cringle Moor before returning back to the finish. Just to add spice to the event the day was hot and humid with the temperature eventually rising to 29'C.............

Kirkby Killer Duathon Report / results / photos