2024 HIGHLIGHTS | Ocean Lake Triathlon

2024 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

2024 saw another successful and fun season for Ocean Lake Triathlon.

We hosted 4 midweek evening Aquathlons, a summer Sprint Triathlon and were honoured to host a Triathlon England South East Series Junior Event for the second year running.

Then, before the season started.... Two awards!

Next we received the "Tri club of the year" award from the team at Castle Race Series. They said...

Jackie Hunter won "Triathlon England South East Technical Officer of the Year"...

Jackie goes above and beyond in her role as a Technical Officer. Jackie spends time talking to event organisers, understanding and supporting their events. As a Technical Officer she is calm, fair and always looking for an opportunity to be encouraging.

We were overwhelmed by the entries and picking the winner was a hard task. What stuck out the most to us was their inclusivity. Here at Castle Race Series, we are all about a "Race For All" so that hit home for us!!

As a club we have a wide range of members - young and old, new and experienced. Everyone is welcome to join our club and train with us. Newcomers to the sport have the opportunity to train alongside athletes representing their country at age group level - learning and sharing knowledge and experience.

Our coaches offer a range of training sessions throughout the year - and our members often organise social 'coffee stop mandatory' rides as well.

Our Saturday run training is usually combined with a Park Run, as pictured here with various club members.

If you're interesting in joining us, or want to try a session before committing, then reach out to us. We like to think we are a friendly bunch and you would be welcomed.

Quite often our members try to enter the same races. Racing with fellow club members makes for a more fun experience - and wearing the club kit is sure to get some extra cheers. Some of us started the season early with a duathlon.

At the Xterra Matterley Duathlon, Nick Wigston and Simon Carlin entered the Full distance, whilst Tervor and Nicola Wignall raced the Sprint. Both Trevor and Nicola won their age groups.

Meanwhile Martin Ballard, Randolph Burt and Steve Hunter travelled to Ashridge for the European Standard Distance qualifier.

The conditions at Ashridge were 'not the best'. Part of the underside of Randolph's car fell off whilst driving through the flood water on the way to the event! Then the race was delayed by an hour due to the conditions. However, once the race got underway the rain mostly held off.

Next up a large contingent of our members took part in one, or both, of the Hell Of The Ashdown and Kentish Killer Sportives. Incredibly both rides pretty much avoided the rain, but we certainly needed to dress for the cold.

Then, heading into the Spring, Claire Lowe earned a great looking medal at the London marathon - and Steve Wright took on the Boston marathon finishing with an incredible time of 02:59:32.

Although the season changed, the weather did not. Horrendous conditions at the end of April for the Sevenoaks triathlon. Despite this, there were some great performances. Lizzie Leggatt won her age group and was third place female overall, whilst Jim Wilmshurst finished second in his age group and sixth overall. With over 10 Ocean Lake Tri members racing we cheered each other on and scored a lot of points for the club in the South East Series club competition.

The season gets going...

Escaping the British weather Martin Ballard travelled to Italy for IronMan Venice. Martin's race report reads as follows....

The weather couldn't have been better. By 7am, the temperature was a comfortable 15c and the sea temp was 16.5c.
I wandered down to transition which was only 100m from my apartment to check the bike and add nutrition. It then took 15 minutes to walk down to the start. I got into the water straight away for a warm up and then made my way to the starting pen.
I have never experienced a beginning of a race like it. The Italian national anthem played, the tunes began to belt out and the airwaves were filled with rousing words about getting to the starting line and this being our special day.

After 20 minutes had passed from the race starting, it was time for me to charge into the water.

The swim took me north up the beach and I got into my rhythm, implementing all the advice and coaching I've been getting at the club swim nights. This was a steady effort but also my quickest. I exited the water in around 37 minutes but this was extended as I helped a fellow competitor undo his wetsuit. From here, I ran across the beach through the cheering crowds and into transition.

I took my time to eat a banana, ensure I had everything I needed and took a good drink of water. When I got to the bike, my family were on the other side of the fence cheering me on.

It felt like an eternity trying to clip in, but I was soon on my way. The bike course overall is very flat and fast, and my pace quickly increased finishing with a 34.4kph average. This slowed towards the end due to a deteriorating road surface and a strengthening head wind. By the end of the ride, I had finished my bottle of race pro, electrolyte and consumed 3 32GI gels and an energy bar.
Into transition and I took my time again, eating a banana and using the loo. I stayed steady on the run using my final 2 gels, walking the aid stations to take on water and took one iso mix. I had targeted a 5:15 and came in 3 minutes under to finish my first ironman event 💪

Also in May, a group of us took on the Huntsman 70.3, in what turned out to be a scorcher! Stuart Hall's race report follows...

The Huntsman 70.3 was my first event of the year and the first race in what feels like forever.
What an amazing place to race, having to slow down and stop on the bike leg for wild ponies was a first, but wow this place is stunning, especially in the sun.
The race went well, I was nervous about the swim with the cold weather leading up to the race and getting in the lake at 14 degrees last week left me concerned. Thankfully the sun had warmed it up to nearly 18, getting in the week before though really helped to prep me, if you've got an open water swim, get in the lake! You'll be glad you did come race day.
Swim went without issue and was better than I expected, my fear was a panic attack or shortness of breath brought on by the cold water, thankfully avoided, I kept myself to myself and out the way, but did start drafting for the second part of the race which was a goal of mine on my race plan.

Transition, possibly the longest I've seen, just over 600m to get to from the lake and across a main road, followed by 250m to get to the mount line. This was a surprise to us all as it wasn't in the race pack, but you adapt and deal with it.The bike course was beautiful but hard, some very fast bits but a lot of lumps and very tight roads, really tough to get momentum and with all the short digs destroying the legs and an unfavorable head wind on the high point of the course, you also had to navigate the ponies and cattle who make it quite clear they own the roads.

After another long transition it was on to the run. The first part was a 1km straight road out to the first turn and through to the grass banks by the stream lined with 100s of athletes and spectators from the sprint and standard event, really supportive and cheering everyone on, you don't get many events outside of challenge and Ironman where this is possible, made for a great atmosphere especially on the first lap.
A two lap out and back, which was brutal in 25 degrees, I don't remember racing in such heat in the UK, typical plenty of exposed sections without cover.
A solid run for me off the bike and no issues. Walked the aid station on the run, one cup over the head to cool down, one to drink, then reset and run. Legs felt good and nice to see some friendly faces on the final corner.

Great group from the club to race with and good preparation personally for Challenging Roth.
Lesson - Race the conditions on the day, if it's hot take extra fuel and stay hydrated, equally if the weather is bad on race day take the extra precaution you need to get round.

IronMan Lanzarote

Next up, Lucy Tomlinson in Lanzarote....

All Ironmans are tough. I was told this one is probably one of the toughest & for those that know me, you know I love a challenge! I was prepared for a long, tough day but nothing quite prepared me for what happened. As someone said, ‘when it goes wrong in an IM, it can go spectacularly wrong’.

The Swim (3.8 km) - loved it. Crystal clear water, lots of colourful fish. Despite a rolling start, got bashed about a bit (l should’ve gone in a faster wave!) but finished with a PB (even with the exit up/ down the beach between laps!)
Time: 1:07:53
The Bike (180 km, c. 8400 feet elevation) - kept it consistent. 90% of my training has been on a Wattbike in the garage (thanks to our wet/cold winter!) so I knew I wasn’t really prepared for the miles of climbs, getting wet at top of a climb & feeling cold on the fast descents (Lanzarote is meant to be hot right?). Being over taken by virtually everyone was slightly demoralising but I stuck to my plan & just kept pedalling.
Time : 8:07:31

The Run (42.2 km) - the plan was to run & then walk through aid stations. Felt good off bike & stuck to plan for first 3 miles, but then...

Every time I tried to run I’d start retching. Who knows why? 🤷‍♀️ I couldn’t keep any foods or fluid down so started to feel a bit delirious. It was a case of just hanging in there.

Pure grit, determination & yes, stubbornness got me to that finish line plus the encouragement of my number one cheerleader Richard Tomlinson ❤️ and the hundreds of holidaymakers/supporters lining the pavements. I was humbled by their support. They knew I was suffering. I knew I wasn’t going to stop. I paid for this privilege (be it a painful one!), though walking 23 miles wasn’t part of the plan. Frustration & disappointment are my overriding feelings at the moment but life goes on & at the end of a long day, it is just an event! I did what I set out to do. To finish. I got the medal & T-shirt to prove it😂
Time: 6:32:14
Ironman Lanzarote 2024 Overall time:16:03:23
Time to hang up the Ironman trainers & find a different challenge, preferably in water🏊‍♀️💪

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European Success

Claire Lowe raced in the Duathlon European Sprint Championships in Coimbra Portugal...

Here goes for my first ever race report!
European Age group sprint duathlon, Coimbra in Portugal.
This is my 6th year and 10th time representing GB and they don't get any easier. I suffer badly from nerves which is progressively getting worse so I decided before going, just go and enjoy it with many GB friends I have made along the way, this will be my last. Along with 6 years of commitment financially and physically, that was my decision.
Successfully made it to Coimbra with luggage and bike box. Always a challenge to get from airport to race location with a bike box, seems such an inconvenience to most. Coimbra is a lovely old vibrant small city with the Mondego River running through it. And it was here that they set up registration and transition, start and finish.
I was racing on Saturday which meant briefing and racking your bike on Friday. This is the first time I have locked my bike to the rack and I saw many others doing so. Sad sight to be honest but last year a friend of mines bike was stolen whilst racked overnight so please note... take a lock, the officials were fine with it.
Friday night arrived and so did the Festival of Sardines right outside our apartment. By 10.30pm, I decided I couldn't beat them so went and joined them! An early night was not going to happen.
After a brief sleep, down to transition I went and then couldn't unlock my bike, nerves had set in and so had my ability to remember the 3 coded number! Eventually after a sit down and talk to myself all was not lost. I had 1.5 hours after transition closed to panic and make many trips to the loo, before the horn to go!
First run, I just focused on running as hard as I could, 2 laps, bridge to bridge so very flat and fast, 5k 22:16 for me. Into T1 in 7th, no dramas, found my bike which did help being red and next to a tent. Transition was loooong, two racks either side of a blue carpet approx 200m long to a mount line on an incline cobbled area immediately followed by a sharp 90 degree right hand turn. So glad I decided to leave shoes on bike and run in socks through mount line, through the 90 degree turn and leaving the crashes behind me. Next job was to find a pack to draft but couldn't so spent the time picking off cyclists and no-one wanted to stick with me and work 🙁 Lovely fast flat out albeit lonely and back 20k in 37 mins.
Dismount line was on a cobbled road, every bone rattled, how cruel can you get! I had taken out my feet beforehand but could only manage a lady like dismount on the cobbles.

T2 now in 4th unbeknown to me, no dramas again just run along the long blue carpet and onto one lap bridge to bridge for homeward bound. 2.5k in a very slow 12.20, I had suffered with no drafting, hammering the bike and the sun was getting hot! But crossed that line for the final time for GB or so I thought!!
Results took forever to come through, think I was on my 2nd pint and pasteis de nata's before they did only to be told from a friend in the UK, I was 4th in 50-54 cat, one minute off 3rd and 2nd GB. Those that know will know what that means, a PQ, auto selection to next year - no!!! I purposely hadn't done any qualifiers!
Before going into any race I never look to see who else is in it, I race my own race. Yes we have our age cat on our legs but they were so small this year I needed my glasses to see them!

I actually thoroughly enjoyed this race, that is what its all about. I am happy with 4th (someone has to!) there was a one minute gap to 3rd and honestly if I knew I still wouldn't have made that any smaller. Best position for me since 2019 so I'll take that.As someone said you've earned the right to next year, you are lucky to be able to do so, to that end I shall say watch this space....does the show go on?

Later in the year it was the turn of Alfred Osborne and Agatha Skelton in the European Triathlon Sprint Age Groups in Vichy France.

Agatha had a strong start - third out of the water and then led the bike. However, she was sent the wrong way by an official in transition, costing her over 3 minutes and possibly a podium. Despite this, Agatha still managed to finish in 9th place.

Alfred also had a fantastic race - grabbing the bronze medal in third place!

World Championships

This year's Middle Distance Aquabike World Age Group Championships took place in Townsville Australia. David Taft qualified so popped to the land down under...

So time for a post race review. Obviously a ridiculous way to go for a race but worth it.

Anyway the swim was a 2 lap Ozzy exit totalling 3km. Sea wasn't flat but equally it had been worse. We were set off in waves, rather than have the faster swimmers go first, they went after with a 5 minutes gap. Needless to say a few were overtaking me on the second lap. On the swim we went by a pier twice. I only mention it as the day before an angler caught a 5ft hammerhead shark from there right where we were swimming. To be fair I have never seen so many boats, canoes and paddle boards circling us. On the look out for sharks, crocks and jelly fish.
I timed the swim at 58 minutes so pleased with that.
Onto the bike . Basically 3 laps of the roads round Townsville. A few little climbs and a few dead turns. My first 2 laps went well as I managed to over take a fair few people, more importantly 5 of my age group.
Lap three the wheels came off a bit as I suffered from cramp in both of my adductor muscles. I had to slow down a fair bit to ease off the cramp and then slowly pick up the pace until the cramp came back. First 50km was at 35kph but had to slow to 31.6 average for the 100km.

All in all I was pleased. 15th in my age group and 2nd GB. I was told I was about 185'ish out of the 350 racers - not bad for a 60 year old.Met some new friends who I will be meeting up with in Pontevedra next year.

Fresh from their European successes, Agatha and Alfred were competing in the World Age Group Sprint Triathlon event in Malaga.

Again, some fantastic results racing in extremely competitive fields. Agatha's race report states...

Last race of the season. Late start at 3:45 - hot in a wetsuit - choppy sea but came out 4th. Biggest transition ever running over a bridge so missed the front bike pack of 2. Cycled one lap solo waiting for the chase group to catch up, but never caught the lead two. Hot hot hot run - but happy with my time - 13/49th overall and 2nd Brit 🇬🇧

Lesson learnt - need to practice more on my mounting skills to make sure I’m in the front pack. Thank you all, now for a hard block of winter training 😊

More Race Reports...

Next we hear from Nick Wigston. He travelled to Cornwall to take part in a swim around St Michael's Mount...

Friday afternoon the wind picked up and was quite choppy - and overnight it was quite windy with rain.
Today was almost no wind and bright, until we were about to start when the wind picked up. Not a lot, but anyone that knows the sea will know it doesn't take much before the chop starts to build. The course was changed from clockwise to anti clockwise due to the westerly breeze and the incoming tide.
All the safety crew were on the water in boats, jet ski, sups and canoes and were very well organised.
After a brief briefing we set off - It's not a race but a charity swim for an excellent cause.

At the briefing we were informed about the wind side of the Mount and the backwash from the wind blown chop against the Mount - and they were not wrong - it was hard going. At the furthest point where you bare down wind to go around the Mount it's like going into a shoot as you're going with the tide and the wind. You then enter the wind shadow of the Mount and everything is super smooth, but as soon as you come out of the shelter and head towards the finish you needed to swim into the wind and chop. This again was super tough, but so rewarding to complete the swim.
The event was excellent, really well organised and all the swimmers were friendly, as it wasn't competitive. Downside is you have to book early as spaces are limited. Also it's a bit of a drive and it could be postponed at the last minute due to weather conditions, but combining it with a weekend in Cornwall is a bonus.

We are starting to see more Swimrun events. In September Mark Hooker and Sean Callow took part in the Swimrun at Bewl Water. Mark took on the Solo 10k 'sprint' which consisted of 8k of running and 2k of swimming, split over 7 runs and 6 swims. Mark reports back...

Definitely an ‘adventure race’ with a very rocky water entry, a fair few slippery bits (I ended up rolling down one hill - unintentionally) and a 3-4ft vertical drop to jump down to name a few.
Swimming in trainers wasn’t too bad although it’s practically a pulling race as kicking felt it was making me slower.

The pull buoy helped as did the paddles (at least with a slower stroke rate and getting the heart rate back down) but I’m sure having not trained with them I’ll be paying for using paddles for 2k come the morning (some people practically had shovels on their hands).
Bit different to a tri where there were no buoys and a fairly small flag on the opposite bank to aim for when sighting which was interesting and no transitions made carrying the kit and the logistics a bit different to a tri. The mix of different run and swim lengths in no particular order also made it quite enjoyable.

Spent 12 of the legs following two guys at a distance of about 20m and managed to catch and pass them both on the last run to get second place (1st place was long gone).
Would definitely recommend as something different to try especially if you have a swimming background as the time split swim to run is approximately 50-50.

Whilst Mark did the 'Solo Sprint', Sean took on the 'Team Half'. With 17k of running and 4k swimming you enter as a duo and have to stay together. With a time of 2hrs and 47minutes Sean and partner took the gold medal.

Always a club favourite, many of us raced the Castle Race Series end of season event at Hever Castle.

Imogen raced in the 15-16 Youths category - her first ever duathlon. She was particularly pleased to overtake John Simpson - Imogen was on her bike and John was on the last lap of the Gauntlet, but that's a minor technicality 😉

Well done to John Simpson who managed 1st place in his age group in the Gauntlet - which included winning a free entry for next year.

And a superb result for Monika Carlin. In her first season she finished 6th overall (out of 60) and 3rd female in the starter duathlon.

Midway through the year John Simpson and Randolph Burt entered the Windermere Duathlon European Qualifier event. Randolph's race report is as follows...

The race location is awesome - I love the Lake District. A triathlon was also available starting at the same time - not even so much as a ripple in the lake so would have been perfect for a swim. 👌
The duathlon started with 5 laps running by the lake - pretty much flat. With the first run safely negotiated it was on to the bike. The first 10k or so felt great - The scenery was spectacular - riding by the lake with the mountains in the background - and the road was of a good quality and reasonably flat so it was quick.
After that the scenery remained spectacular, but the roads changed somewhat - much more 'undulating' and not quite the same quality. There were some large pot-holes on the descent into Hawkshead - Fortunately I'd recce'd this part of the course yesterday so I was ready for it.

But I wasn't prepared for the low flying duck that only just avoided my front wheel. Gave me a bit of a shock, but all was good. 🐥
I took a gel just over half way round the bike course, which would see me to the end.
Very pleased with the bike. Overtook lots of people and no one overtook me. (Maybe all the fast people were already in front of me 🤔).
Then there was just the final 5k to handle. This was really about getting round as best as I could, as I'd spent pretty much all my energy on the bike.
Really pleased with the result - I felt I couldn't have put any more effort in. I also managed quicker transitions than my previous race with less faffing about.
Overall I finished 3rd in my age group and guaranteed qualification for my first ever European age group championships next year!
Also a successful return to racing for John, after being out so long with injury.

Next up, Steve Hunter talks to us about Challenge Vieux Boucau...

It was great to be at a venue with others from the Club - Kevin Barnes, Monika Carlin and Simon Carlin. Simon and I were in the middle distance event on Saturday - it was a cold start but the water temp was perfect and 16/17 and several turns at buoys and an Aussie exit for a bit of fun - the organiser had a sense of humour setting the +18 group off after the +50's. I own up to having a 'wobble' on the swim (not something I'm used to) after the Aussie exit and had to stand up and give myself a good talking to 🤬. The swim venue is perfect and great place to swim sea water without the salt 🏊👍. Exit straight off the beach into the tent and an overly long T1 wrestling with my octopus of a wetsuit not wanting to go in the bike bag 😆. It was funny at the time and still is - lesson, practice this.
Onto the bike, shoes elastic banded in for a speedy 🤫 exit. 90km on the bike with a 300m elevation on silky smooth fast roads. Not been feeling the best on the bike and quite under par for this course but managed just under 3hrs, so I treated myself to another extended period in transition 🤷‍♂️. Successfully reduced my hydration and nutrition input which I had planned and trained. This made me feel better for the run than I did at Roth.
Run was 4x loops around the beautiful lake and seldom without there being a member of the public or a supporter cheering you on. I felt more confident each lap and just nudged in under 2hrs and close to chasing down 3rd in AG. Was surprised to find I qualified for the Challenge Family Champs in Slovakia, but I was more confident I could have done better times. All in all a great event and course in its 2nd year - I will go back and give it justice.

We've already heard from Stuart once, however a race at Roth always deserves a write up. Stuart Hall and Steve Hunter both entered this bucket list event. Stuart reports back...

What a show! Can't put into words how awesome this race is as an athlete.
I always said I wouldn't do a full distance triathlon, a few reasons primarily put me off, the time to train and the stress it puts on the rest of the family. Mainly though, it just scared the 💩 out of me.
Having had no real expectations I'm blown away with the time, and what a place to do a first full distance. A truly amazing experience.
Looking forward to some 70.3 races for the rest of the season, but for now a nice relaxing recovery 🍺

Will I do another...
...yes, but I think I'll find a flat bike and run!

Our final race report of the year comes from Kevin Barnes who entered the local Midnight Man race...

Yesterday evening I took part in the standard version of Midnight Man over by Dartford Bridge.
I arrived early and made sure I familiarised myself with the ever changing route and general surroundings. This was my first standard in over 2 years so I wanted to get it right and feel ready.
Swim - no wetsuit. All distances set off at once and despite the low lying sun, I managed to navigate well to the buoys and get round. Not my quickest time but i felt strong and put that down to the lack of wetsuit. Greeted by Steve and Jackie which gave me a much needed boost.
T1 - Im getting goof at transitions and deciding to go without socks helps. A quick banana and off I went.
Bike - very technical course of 6 x 7km laps and I was informed there were 36 dead turns. This certainly prevented a higher average but still managed 32.5kph in very warm and breezy conditions.
My family had arrived back at this point and seeing them and the continued support from Steve and Jackie spurred me on to push on each lap.

T2 - another quick changeover and again, opted to not wear socks.
Run - two laps of just over 5k through a mixture of industrial and residential buildings, again, with lots of turns. The first lap went went, decent average and overtaking quite a few people. The second lap felt a lot tougher but I resisted the urge to walk. I even crossed the finish line like I was in the olympics!
My official time was 2:22:57 which is a distance PB for me by almost 10 minutes and was enough to secure 7th overall and 3rd in my age group.
Despite being an evening race, I thoroughly enjoyed the different format and it’s great being rewarded for the recent training I’ve put in.
Thanks to Steve for helping organise my plan and provide encouragement and to all the club mates who I’ve trained with. Long way to go and lots of improvements but looking forward to the next one.

More Achievements

Some of our other achievements this year...

Age Group Qualifications
- Claire Lowe - European Sprint Distance Duathlon.
- Martin Ballard, Steve Hunter, Jordan Lockett and Randolph Burt - European Standard Distance Duathlon.
- Stuart Hall - European Middle Distance Triathlon.
- Agatha Skelton - World Sprint Triathlon.
- David Taft - World Standard Distance Aquabike.
- Jim Wilmshurst and Sean Callow - World Standard Distance Triathlon
- John Simpson - World Middle Distance Duathlon.
Mollie Hall and Holly Calvert - Represented Triathlon South East Juniors helping win the Juniors Inter Regional Duathlon.
Imogen Burt - Third place female youth at Steyning KidsTri.
Bridge Duathlon - Podium finishes for Claire Lowe and Agatha Skelton.
Monika Carlin - First year as a triathlete grabbing 2nd female at the Woking Sprint Tri.
Matthew Love - Completed his first 70.3 at the Vitruvian half.
Jim Wilmshurst - smashing IronMan Tenby.
Michelle Fountain - Leybourne 3km charity swim - in skins making it more challenging.
Sophie Galley - Completing her first Ultra Marathon - The Ladybower Ultra 54k.
Nicola Wignall - 1st female super vet at East Grinstead Aquathlon.
And finally, well done to the club - 2nd in the open category of the South East Series.

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