A few of our local Free Radicals Tribe Family Triathlon Club members ventured down to the Northern Series regional race last weekend in Arlie Beach.
Graham Crawford and Jill Stephenson headed the contingent and organised us all. By the time we all arrived on Saturday afternoon the Tribal HQ (tent) was in situ right next to the finish line: perfect. With Graham injured he took pole position as the Tribal Cheer Leader.
The Sunday morning water temperature was a mild 21C, which meant a wetsuit swim and, with a bit of a light breeze, it did actually become a bit chilly. With overcast skies it meant that the bike and run would be great with no sun beaming down on us.
Nathanial Horne – one of our fastest juniors – was taking part in the Adult Enticer. This boy can move and can be seen at squad training flying on the bike and run. With a 350m open water swim to contend with, he was off like a bullet. Exiting the water like a pro, he was off on the bike with a great transition. Meanwhile, the ladies had just started the sprint distance race, which turned out to be highly contested by the club members (aka ‘Tribal Warriors’). Under the watchful eyes of our club technical officials, David Sterritt and Daniel Horne, the men’s race commenced three mins behind the ladies.
The course is one of the most challenging in the region with little flat ground anywhere – it’s either up or down, and it was very down for one of the team: William (Bill) Guy took a liking to the bitumen and came off his bike as he hit a slippery patch at the turnaround point. He hit the road pretty hard, but – in true grit style – he picked himself up (after checking the bike first!), dusted himself off and was off again.
Sue Price – first female over the line
In the ladies, Pam Pemberton, Jill Stephenson and Sue Price were jostling for position with Dee Flynn-Pittar not far behind. Dee is a gun runner and has the ability to catch all three. It was a similar story with the men’s race with Mat Farmer and I neck-and-neck out of the water. Scott Nielsen is a very strong rider, but going into the race with a minor calf injury, was enjoying the hill climbs.
Jevyn Hyde raced in the mullet…
Jevyn Hyde, one of our young guns, has come on leaps and bounds this season. Jevyn is an excellent runner and is getting faster on all three disciplines. In this sport you can be great in all the individual elements but when you put them all together it’s a different game. Leon was feeling that after T2 (Transition from bike to run). The run was all hills – as soon as you came out of T2 you started to climb and your calves and quads just wanted to scream at you…
The whole Tribe finished very strong and some great tactical work by Jill saw her take Pam about 200m from the finishing line.
The Airlie Beach Triathlon is a fantastic event and one to put on the events list for next year for sure… but get on the hills and train!
Now it’s time to celebrate…
William Guy
Scores on the Doors
Age group 12-16 years
Nathaniel Horne – 7th
Age group 40-49 years men’s
William Guy – 4th (after a fall off the bike)
Scott Nielsen -10th
Age group 40-49 years women’s
Pamela Pemberton – 2nd
Age group 50-59 years women’s
Sue Price – 1st
Jill Stephenson – 2nd
Dee Flynn-Pittar – 3rd
Age group 50-59 years men’s
Mat Farmer – 1st
Graham Pemberton – 4th
Supporters
Graham Crawford
Dan Horne
Chrystal Horne
Kerry Alvis
