Hatton’s ‘Outlaw’ plan scuppered by bike axe
QUORN triathlete Ollie Hatton lost out to the elements at the Outlaw Triathlon in Nottingham when an unexpected downpour forced race organisers to cancel the bike section of the race.
The event was supposed to consist of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride followed by a marathon and Hatton came into the event in good form with a 4th place finish in the JJL Duathlon earlier in the season and hoped the 112 mile bike course would give him the opportunity to make inroad against his main rivals but the weather had other ideas, making the bike course unsafe to ride.
Hatton said: “Training had been going well all year. I was feeling confident about my race target and for the first time ever, confident about my biking ability to take me under the five hour mark for the 112mile course.
“Race day came and it was wet! It was the race’s 10th anniversary so the start was a big deal, drums sounding, chanting and then literally fireworks….all as the rain hammered down on us.
“We were off and the weather was grim. The wind picked up and the lake was very choppy
It was a two lap swim of the lake to cover the 2.4mile distance and I was swimming well in tough conditions. I knew I would be in the second pack but happy to then make a move on the bike.
“We exited the water to be told the bike leg had been cancelled due to the adverse weather conditions making it unsafe and the marathon would start a 9am.
“This was possibly the worst news I could have exited the water with. Pouring with rain and a two hour wait until I had to run a straight marathon.
“I had to think positively but this pretty much ruined the chances of executing a good result but there was still a race to be had so I had to focus on that while other distraught athletes calculated their next steps.
“Due to the course, the organisers set us off one by one at 56 second intervals and I was set off about 10 minutes behind the first athlete.
“I soon settled into a rhythm around the lake and felt good, on to the river footpath and the support on the course was amazing so I just kept pushing on and grinded out a 3:13:00 marathon leg.
“I knew it wouldn’t be enough for a top 10 slot as there were runners capable of sub 3hour runs having not had to do the bike leg and I didn’t have a bike leg to put most of them through the mill but I gave it 110 per cent and pleased with my performance, coming 22nd overall in 4:13:31.”