Leeds WTS Triathlon

“I’m just going to go and enjoy it and make sure I don’t do anything stupid before IronMan Canada”

Now then, where’s my bike?

My famous last words before this weekend’s Leeds Triathlon. As some of you may have seen on BBC2, the annual UK round of the World Triathlon Series was held in Leeds this year and gave “age groupers” like me the chance to swim, bike and run the same course (well almost) as the elite athletes. Logistics for the event were a bit cumbersome as you’d expect with well over 5000 entrants but an early start in Wave 10 meant I was away without too much trouble. The water was downright warm so I was pleased to take it steady and still be out of the 1500m swim in just under 28 minutes. Unlike the elites, our transition involved a 600m run and packing our wetsuits into bags which we then had to carry to the bike mount line so my normally slow T1 transition was for a good reason this time. Then it was out onto a great bike course with some fast downhill sections as well as tough(ish) climbs.

Need to work on my IronMan shuffle

After a fairly good 40km bike leg I managed to somehow do a somersault over my handlebars at the dismount line. Having paused for a few seconds to count up my arms and legs (all still attached) I set off on the run – adrenaline clearly masking the damage to my wrist and the various other cuts and bruises.

The 10k run was a great experience as even though it was only 9:30 am, the route was already lined with noisy spectators cheering us on. Each lap took us through the grandstand area and we finished under the same clock as the elites (albeit with a much higher time on it). Thoroughly recommended event to all club members if it returns to Leeds next year especially as there are beginner and sprint distance races too.

Medal and also my special prize of genuine Leeds gravel rash