This year Alnwick Tri sold out in under 3 hours which resulted in no Ponteland Tri members having entered initially.  Chris & Sue Heppell registered on the waiting list and it looked like we didn’t have a place until 2 weeks from the event when a couple of late drop-outs enabled us both to enter the event. So unlike previous years Ponteland only had 2 participants.

As always it’s an early start on the Sunday morning for a tri, and with the 40 minute journey the alarm clock was set at 04:45, once everything was ready we headed up to Alnwick for registration and the event briefing at 07:05hrs.

The expected cool conditions were not as bad as forecast and the sun was out for the event. First swimmers were started at 07:40. The swim was 400m this year with the change in the rules around switching lanes reducing Alnwick from it’s traditional 500m swim. The bike route is undulating and even with light winds it always feels windy, and the run heads uphill for the first 1.5miles.

Results below, with Sue finishing 8th in the ladies vets and 89th overall, Chris 9th in mens supervets and 40th overall. I’ll add a couple of photos when available.

Below is the race report from Kathryn Lawson after a windy outing yesterday…..

Run Northumberland ‘Big 10’ – 10 mile road race starting and finishing at Kirkley Hall.

Having convinced Nicola Matthews to sign up with me for the Big 10 just a few weeks ago, we arrived at Kirkley Hall and were greeted by battering winds, rain, hail stones and a bitterly cold temperature. Great!

‘This is all your fault!!!’ Nicola said as we walked to the start line. We told ourselves how pleased we’d be at the end and that the t shirt would definitely be worth it.  We spotted fellow club member Miv Chahal in the crowd at the start line and wished each other luck. The gun sounded and off we went, out through the grounds of Kirkley Hall and into the countryside.

The first couple of miles quickly went by and a tough climb in the 4th mile lead us into Whalton. The cold, rain and wind hadn’t bothered me too much until we passed through Whalton and then the wind seemed to really pick up. The strong head winds were relentless for the next two miles and I was very relieved when the route finally changed direction. At the 7 mile marker the route once again changed direction and this time the wind was right behind me, just what I needed at this point! With the thought of less than a parkrun to go, the last 3 miles didn’t seem quite as difficult as the earlier miles and soon enough I saw Nicola cheering me on at the finish line.

Just as predicted, we certainly were very pleased once it was all over and we easily managed a smile for the photo. Unfortunately we didn’t see Miv at the end to get a full team photo, he was probably already home and eating his lunch before Nicola and I arrived back at Kirkley Hall.

Chip time results were as follows: Miv Chahal 01:20:59; Nicola Matthews 01:36:57 and Kathryn Lawson 01:41:44.

It was a challenging race but the scenic views and sense of achievement at the end made it all worth it, definitely one for the race diary next year. The only real mishap of the day was Nicola being mistakenly announced as the second placed female, maybe next time Nicola!