Family tribute pays off in New Zealand

November 15, 2012

TRIATHLETE Chris Treacher flew halfway around the world to take to a camper van, raise money for charity – and compete in a World Championship!

The 52-year old Team Kennet Athletics Club member from Wash Common had made it his quest to qualify for the Barfoot and Thompson World Triathlon Grand Final at Auckland, joining the Great Britain team amongst some 5,000 competitors and officials.

But another big target was to raise money for the Rarer Cancers Foundation as a tribute to his inlaws, both of whom were afflicted by the disease.

“I did it out of respect for my inlaws,” he said.

“We lost both in the last four years to cancer and they always dreamed of going to New Zealand.

“It was a bittersweet scenario because it was their legacy that gave us the financial ability to go and do it.”

So Treacher, his wife and nineyear-old daughter made the trip and took to a camper van to see the sights before taking on the gruelling competition which meant tackling a 1,500-metre swim in open sea water off Half Moon Bay, a windy and undulating bike ride over 25 miles and a final 10 kilometre run.

The result was a creditable 83rd place in the 100-plus field in his 5054 age group, clocking an aggregate time of 2 hours 50 minutes 29 seconds.

“It wasn’t my best time,” he said. “But my ambition was to get there and finish and get a medal, and a lot of things can happen on the way.

“The conditions were tougher than I’ve had to do before,” he added.

“It was a bumpy sea swim out of Auckland Harbour.

“The main triathletes swam inside the harbour walls, but we had to swim in the open sea, which was a bit more exciting,” he added.

“It was hard work. You could see the massive buoys that were the markers, but every now and then a big wave would cover them and you had to look up again to renavigate yourself.

“I got there, finished, got the medal and the t-shirt.

“And it was fantastic just being a part of the GB team.

“It was the biggest thing as far as triathlons go and the biggest mass participation of the age groups. “There were 5,000 athletes in Auckland and you couldn’t move without finding a T-shirt or a bit of lycra!”