Party plans shelved but future bright
Tinahely Tri-Club turns ten years old
LAST weekend should have been a very special one for the members of Tinahely Tri-Club. They should have been welcoming hundreds of people to Tinahely to take part in their annual duathlon on this the 10th anniversary of the thriving club but alas those plans were scuppered by the arrival of Covid-19 and unfortunately the course lay silent last Sunday and all plans have been shelved until 2021.
It’s been an amazing journey for the relatively young club that started off a decade ago thanks to the driving force of Tinahely native Stephen Perry.
From a small but dedicated base of members the club has grown steadily with over 70 members currently with many competing regularly in some of the toughest races on the triathlon calendar both in Ireland and abroad as well as ironman events.
The club host the annual Tinahely Duathlon that attracts dozens of runners from around the country as well as keen locals with more than 130 competing last year in a race that sees competitors running and cycling along a picturesque but tough route around Tinahely on May Bank Holiday weekend every year.
Club secretary Jim Dunne says that the club is thriving because of the great people involved and the sense of fun and the welcome that exists for new members who are always welcome.
Plans were in place for a very special 10th anniversary event involving the duathlon but for obvious reasons those plans were ruined but it shouldn’t stop us celebrating what has become a staple part of our sporting calendar in Co. Wicklow.
And it’s not just the Tinahely Duathlon that Tinahely Tri-Club is known for.
Within their ranks are talented and committed athletes who have their sights set on personal and competitive goals in terms of triathlons and ironman competitions with nine club members travelling to Barcelona in 2018
Five veterans at the time, John Dempsey, Darren Mooney, Ray Caulfield, Jason O’Neill and Alex Williams, along with four newbies in Jim Dunne (now club secretary),
Alan Byrne, Damien Tracey and Welsh native Myrrdan Davies all completed the ironman competition that began as a throwaway remark during training somewhere among the Wicklow Mountains in 2017.
Covid-19 has temporarily delayed the growth and the plans of this ambitious and friendly club but they are still out there working away, training hard and preparing their minds and bodies for the tough challenges that await once some sort of normality returns.
Club members are currently linking up via Zoom where some elements of training can be performed and where friendships and bonds can be forged and strenthened as Tinahely Tri-Club look to an uncertain future reassured in the knowledge that they have each other and that they are members of a progressive and wholesome club that has come an awful long way from its humble beginnings back in 2010.
Anyone interested in joining Tinahely Tri-Club can find them on Facebook.
Photos: Joe Byrne