The end of March madness
MALLOW 10 MILE ROAD RACE
A dry and mild Sunday morning, 20th March set the scene for the Mallow 10 mile road race. Nineteen members of Blackwater Triathlon Club turned out on the day, Liam O’Connor led the gang home in a time of 57:24. Hot on his heels were Adrian Collins, Dave Bartley, Gina Lyons, Dave Harte, Peter O’Brien, Anne Lyons, Deirdre Morrison, Jayne O’Bric, Ken Steele, Ken Power, Bernard Kiernan, Bill McCauliffe, Kay Quirke, Niamh Fleming, Donal Howard and Rachel Cronin. Personal best on the day were achieved by Jim Crowley 1:23:44, Siobháin Steele 1:25:59 and Niall O’Riordan 1:31:47. Congratulations to all on a good day’s running and a special congratulations to Siobháin Steele and Niall O’Riordan on their first 10 mile race. Well done to Mallow AC for running a well organised event.
METALMAN DUATHLON
From Mallow to Dungarvan, also on Sunday 20th March, the Metalman duathlon event was in full swing. Duathlon can be a favourable race for those who are not too fond of the water. Two races were on offer, a standard distance 10km run, 40km cycle and 5.6km run or a sprint distance 5km run 20km cycle and 3.6km run. The cycle was a rolling course on the famous Copper Coast with a flat run course before and after the cycle. Well done to the three amigos Richie O’Brien, Mike Lyons and Brian O’Hagan who took part on the day. Richie did the Sprint Duathlon, he came 6th overall in a time of 1:16:22 and 3rd in his age category. Mike and Brian did the Standard Duathlon, Mike rocked home in 2:09:02 and Brian in 2:20:37.
APRIL SHOWERS AND SPRING SUNSHINE
The Manchester Marathon is one of the UK’s premier running events, famous for its fast, flat and friendly route. On Sunday, 3rd April four club members travelled to Manchester to take part in the marathon. Over 3000 people took to the streets of Manchester, a cloudy day with only a few April showers which refreshed the runners on their route. Well done to the fantastic four, Clem Leonard 3:44:06, Dave Harte 3:44:07, Martin Feeney 3:22:25 and Mike Feeney 4:27:30.
THE SONIA O’SULLIVAN COBH 10
If travelling wasn’t for you or 26.5 miles just too far to run than the historical town of Cobh is a great alternative. Also held on Sunday, 3rd April, the Sonia O’Sullivan Cobh 10, a popular 10 mile road race through the winding streets of Cobh and the chiming bells of St Coleman’s Cathedral. The sun came out, making race conditions pleasant with a cool breeze from the harbour. Well done to Jayne O’Bric 1:31:19, Ken Steele 1:28:29 and Siobhán Steele 1:28:29. They also made time for a few snaps with some celebrity runners.
CONNEMARA INTERNATIONAL MARATHON
On Sunday, 24th April Gina Lyons headed west and took part in the Connemara International Marathon which took them through the hills and stunning scenery of Connemara - starting at Lough Inagh, passing the Killary Fjord and through the half way point in Leenane and then a tough hilly second half finishing in Maam Cross. The marathon started at 10.30 am, there was also a 39.3 mile ultra that started at 9am and a half marathon started at 12 pm (all finishing at Maam Cross).
They couldn’t have been luckier with the weather, bright blue skies, warm and not too windy. The 2nd half was always going to be tough with 2 very decent climbs so I was never so happy to see the finish line. Gina was thrilled with her time 3:37:19 and was buzzing today when she saw the results - came 6th out of 92 women and 42nd overall in a field of just under 400.
JOEY HANNAN TRIATHLON
On Sunday, 24th April, a large contingent of Blackwater Triathlon Club members rose early and headed to Limerick to take part in the Joey Hannan Memorial Triathlon. This popular event is traditionally the first proper triathlon on the calendar every year. The race is run by the Limerick Triathlon Club on the grounds of the University of Limerick, in memory of fellow triathlete, friend and club member Joey Hannan, who was tragically killed while out cycling some years ago.
There were 4 separate events run on the day, a try-a-Tri/Novice race, a Junior triathlon, a Sprint event and an Olympic distance triathlon. All races had a pool swim meaning that there was no need for participants to wear a wet-suit. Some wore regular swimming trunks or swimsuits, but the vast majority of the participants were in tri-suits. This is a very popular event with nearly 300 athletes taking part across the 4 races on the day. For many people it was their first triathlon in over two years since the pandemic put a stop to most events. The try-a-tri and junior races kicked things off at 9am, followed by two Olympic waves, and two sprint waves.
The bike and run courses were relatively flat and well marshalled making the race fast but safe and largely unintimidating for the novice triathlete. The campus and surrounding area were like a sea of high-visibility vests with over eighty marshals safely guiding athletes through their respective races.
Blackwater Triathlon Club had participants in the Olympic and Sprint races on the day. First off were the Olympic distance competitors. Among the athletes taking on the 1500m swim, 40km cycle and 10km run on the day were Mick McCarthy, Niamh Fleming, Bernard Kiernan, Dave Bartley, Peter O’Brien, Terry Broderick, Mary O’Donnell, Clem Leonard, Brian O’Hagan, and James Fletcher. The 50 metre pool in UL was the site of the swim section of the race. There were two waves with up to a dozen swimmers in each of the 9 lanes. It was really well organised with marshalls at both ends counting laps and making sure that nobody was being held up as they swam the 30 lengths. As swimmers got to their last 2 lengths the marshals told them that they were two lengths away from the end.
From the pool the athletes ran to the transition area in the adjacent car park where they swiftly put on shoes and helmets and jackets for the cycle leg. The Olympic cycle was an out and back route along the old Dublin Road. Conditions on the day were dry and sunny, but a little windy and there was a strong headwind challenging the riders on the 20km outward section. However, once the turnaround point was reached averages started to rise again as the cyclists took full advantage of the wind at their backs. The run section consisted of four laps of the playing fields on the grounds of the University. It was a flat course and well populated by well-wishers and supporters as the athletes made their way around each lap.
One member of the Blackwater Triathlon Club. Dave Bartley, who six years ago completed his first ever sprint triathlon at the same event, has graduated onto bigger things and finished the Olympic event in 2:42:01 followed by Bernard Kiernan 3:10:49, Niamh Fleming in 3:19:36 and Mick McCarthy in 3:20:40 Mick was the Club PRO for the last 9 years and this was his first triathlon in over seven years. He was heard saying that writing about these things is far, far easier than actually doing them!! This was an excellent performance from all of the BTC members, especially Mary O’Donnell 2:27:28 - 2nd in her age group in her first Olympic triathlon, Brian O’Hagan 2:30:47, Peter O’Brien 2:40:26, James Fletcher 2:40:54. Well done to Clem Leonard 2:47:49 and Terry Broderick 2:43:30 who completed their first Olympic distance triathlon.
In the sprint distance event, the Blackwater Triathlon Club was represented by Ken Power, Vincent Guerin, Julian Boeg, Chris Gallahue, Marie MacAree, Donal Howard and Anne Furlong. This race consisted of a 700m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run. Once again the race started in the pool, followed by an out and back cycle and two laps of the playing pitches.
Chris Gallahue 1:17:55 lead the BTC sprinters home and came 1st in his age category, Well done to all of them and especially to Donal Howard 2:00:33 who was doing his first triathlon. Anne Furlong 2:23:14 and Vincent Guerin 1:28:58 were doing their first sprint triathlon.
Conditions on the day were near perfect for racing and all agreed that, once again, Limerick Triathlon Club had organised a really good event. Well done to our members for taking part and, as usual, making BTC proud.
THE EDGE SPORTS BLACKWATER TRIATHLON
Don’t forget we have our own local event happening on Sunday, June 19th, we will be running an Olympic distance triathlon. To register for the race please go Triathlon Ireland website, our triathlon is always a popular event so please register early.
NEW MEMBERS
We welcome new members at any time. You don’t have to be an elite athlete to take part in triathlons. While for some people it’s about the competition for others it’s just about taking part and having fun. It’s also a great way to meet people with similar interests and abilities. So if you’re feeling like a new challenge for 2022 contact us and before you know it you’ll be able to call yourself a triathlete…
More advice and information on triathlons is freely available from your local club. For further information see our club website www. blackwatertriclub.com, our social media pages, email us at btcfermoy@gmail.com or contact Ronan Fox at ronan.fox@spxflow.com.