FOUR members of Tavistock Triathlon Club travelled to Klagenfurt in Austria to take part in their first Ironman Triathlon competition last weekend. The tough event consisted of a mass swim start (2,800 athletes) of 2.4 miles in the beautiful waters of Lake Worthersee, followed by a hilly 112 mile bike ride and finishing with a 26.2 mile marathon.
The competition started at a chilly and anxious 7am and progressed throughout all the day and evening; the temperature heating up to 31 degrees on the bike section.
The four athletes have been training since November last year for this event completing up to 20 hours of swim, bike and run training each week. They have competed in several competitions this year, but this was by far their greatest challenge.
Nicky Deane-Simmons completed the course in 13 hours 03 minutes – she was very happy with her marathon time of 4hrs 33 mins after completing the 112 mile cycle.
Liz Vernon closely followed in 13hrs 25mins – she had a superb swim of 1.03 giving her the 10th fastest swim in her age group.
Clare Short was happy with her time of 14hrs 22mins while Mike Gunnell finished in 15hrs 16 mins, much quicker than he'd anticipated.
If you're interested in joining Tavistock Triathlon Club, please contact Clare Short on [email protected]">[email protected] or call 01822 813155 or go to the web site http://www.tavistocktriathlonclub.co.uk">www.tavistocktriathlonclub.co.uk