Accommodation was in 2-person tents, although I had decided to pay a little extra to get a tent to myself. My ability to faff before a race is such that I can even annoy myself, so I thought it best not to inflict this on anyone else. It was also helpful to have plenty of space for sorting kit.
Saturday, 1 March 2025
Ultra X Tanzania - Race Report
Accommodation was in 2-person tents, although I had decided to pay a little extra to get a tent to myself. My ability to faff before a race is such that I can even annoy myself, so I thought it best not to inflict this on anyone else. It was also helpful to have plenty of space for sorting kit.
Saturday, 30 November 2024
Club Champs 2024 - Final Results
Just one amendment to the provisional results shared last week: Neil Jackson's Glentress Half was his first half and so a bonus 10 points for him for upping the distance. Well done Neil!
There were no changes to the podium positions, so Carol Moss is the Club Champion for 2024. Congratulations to Carol. Second is Gillian Carr, third David Carter-Brown and fourth Coreen McGovern. (See provisional results for more detail)
The 16 Championship Medal winners are:
Thursday, 21 November 2024
Club Champs 2024 - Provisional Results
Provisional Results coming up but first a recap of the weekend's racing...
A bumper Moorfoot turnout in the Glentress 10k & Half:
Gillian Carr, Neil Christie, Scott Gourlay, Pete Hall, Mathew Horrocks, David Jackson and Coreen McGovern all completed the 10k. Particular congratulations to Mathew Horrocks [1st Male Senior], Gillian Carr [1st FV40] & Coreen McGovern [1st FV50] who all picked up 15 bonus podium points.
In the Half, Sarah Burthe, Alex Campbell, Neil Jackson, Kerry Law, Samuel Laydon and Katie Walling all completed the tough course. Well done folks.
These were the final designated races of the champs, but the final day of the Champs was Sunday, providing opportunity to bag the Tweed Valley Ultra for those wanting a longer but local run. David Carter-Brown and Thomas Jones both opted for the longer 65k course and finished in very respectable times. David was 3rd MV40 and crucially bagged 10 bonus points for the step up in distance to 65k having not raced beyond 50k before.
Well done all!
With the deadline for declaring results now past (midnight yesterday) we can now announce the Provisional Results for 2024*....drum roll....
Congratulations to Carol Moss who is the 2024 Club Champion. Carol has had a superb season's racing, consistently hitting the podium both for age category and overall. Some international standard performances in the Age Graded Time-Trial illustrate that Carol is a very worthy winner of the 2024 Champs.
In second place is Gillian Carr who pushed Carol hard and again has had a great season of racing, making several podiums including the Leeds Half and Edinburgh 7 Hills. Well done Gillian.
The battle for 3rd place was very close and went down to the final day of the Champs. In the end David Carter-Brown with his 65k Ultra (with podium and personal distance bonus points) managed to claim 3rd narrowly edging out Coreen McGovern who finished 4th.
We have had a total of 60 folk taking part in the champs this year. For the first time we had Club Championship Medals on offer, and a total of 16 people, (listed below) managed to reach the requisite 125 point threshold. It has been great to see a wide variety of different strategies used to reach this goal. Well done everyone on bagging the medal, no matter how you did it. A particular well done to those who have pushed themselves a bit further or harder than before to hit this goal. You know who you are!
Sunday, 3 November 2024
Club Champs Update No 19 - Sunday 3rd November
Just 2 weeks to go now in this year's Club Champs!
First up - well done to Neil Jackson on completing last Sunday's Jed 10k and in doing so picking up 10 bonus points to make him the latest to reach the 125 point threshold.
Well done to David Carter-Brown, Andy Cox, Brian Smith, Jen Misak & Scott Gourlay for completing the highly competitive Tinto Hill Race yesterday. Ten points a piece to each of them.
Overall Standings
Baring something dramatic, it looks like Carol Moss will be taking top spot and Gillian Carr second. Third place is currently occupied by Coreen McGovern just 10 points ahead of David Carter-Brown with Jen Misak a further 10 behind David.
The final designated races are on Saturday 16th November at Glentress with 10k and Half available. Currently 12 Moorfoots entered and entries for both are still open. The Champs run to Sunday 17th inclusive allowing the option of counting the Tweed Valley Ultra if you wish.
Anything to declare?
- If you have any results you wish to include but have not yet declared, then now is a good time to let me know.
- I am going to put a deadline of midnight on the evening of Wednesday 20th November for declaring any results
- I will then put out Provisional Club Champs Results on Friday 22nd November.
- At that point I will accept appeals for any inaccuracies on my part, poor maths etc up to Friday 29th (but not "oh I just remembered I did a Park Run in May"😉)
- The final results and winner will be declared on 30th November.
Prizes and Bling
As in recent years, the intention is to award prizes and Championship Medals at the Christmas meal on 18th December.
Martin
Monday, 21 October 2024
World Sprint Triathlon Championship report by Mike Goddard
World Triathlon Championships (Sprint distance) 2024
Torremolinos, Spain
17 October 2024
Mike Goddard’s Ramblings
Introduction
This was my 9th world triathlon championship representing Great Britain in the age
group team, some Standard distance, some Sprint distance. I prefer and seem to do
better at the Sprint distance which is flat out the whole distance (hence racing at
threshold level) and is more technical (drafting allowed, transitions more important
etc).
This was also the first time I achieved the gold position and could claim to be ‘World
Champion’! And together with winning the European Championships in September,
this has been a bumper year. The closest in the past was 4th in 2012 at Aukland, New
Zealand.
The Race
Swim
My swim wave comprised some 100 swimmers of which around 30 were in my age
group. The conditions were challenging with a strong cross shore wind producing a
significant swell and difficult sighting of the buoys. The course was nearer 1000m
than the normal 750m of a sprint triathlon distance. I came out of the swim in 15 th
position and somewhere in the middle of the field. The sighting was difficult,
particularly on the outward leg with no sighting buoys for more than 400m and the
swell pushing us to the left of the optimum line. Breathing was every second stroke
due again to the side on direction of the swell. Felt a little stressed with the
challenging conditions but managed to settle down to a rhythm which got me through
this, my weakest discipline, without losing too much time.
Transition One
There was long run in from the swim to the bike in transition one, around 400m. This
suited me and with the second fastest transition I overtook several competitors. The
transition to bike went to plan with a rapid removal of my Yonda wet suit and rapid
bike mounting with the bike shoes pre-fixed to the cleats with rubber bands. Getting
the feet into the shoes while cycling could have been better though.
Bike
The 4th fastest bike time was good. The 2 lap course had one long hill and a number
of technical 180 degree turns. I only managed some sporadic drafting mostly on the
first lap. Lesson learnt here was to be in the middle of a pack, not at the back, since
if you fall off the back you will rarely be able to make up the lost distance. Felt good
but a little lacking bike fitness which can be improved.
Transition Two
Again second fastest with a good dismount and bare foot run into the transition area.
No problem finding the bike (among over 1000 bikes!) which was well marked with
my pink running shoes! Some fiddling with putting the shoes on since they are not
designed for the triathlon, however on balance a top of the range short course run
shoe (which mine are) will more than make up any lost time putting them on.
Run
The run has been my strength in recent triathlons and this one was no different being
some 30 seconds to 3 minutes faster than the nearest rivals, and allowing me to
overtake all the remaining participants and finish the overall race in gold position.
However, I was not really aware of my position only that I was overtaking fellow
runners rapidly and this in itself generates the adrenaline! Slightly worrying was my
real exhaustion in the last km of the run and I felt I had nothing more to give. Luckily
and unknown to me I was already in the lead and could perhaps have relaxed a little!
Summary
To win a World Championship, especially after winning the European Championship
four weeks before, felt amazing. The competition is fierce and there is no easy win,
so to win both major championships in the same year felt really special, an almost
surreal and once in a lifetime achievement. There is major respect from fellow
competitors and the public at large but I don’t think many really realise just how
much work goes into it! I am lucky to have a superb team of coaches and
supporters.
Thanks to Moorfoot Runners, especially our Seniors Coach, Gillian Carr, and runners
Dean, Pete, Alex, Jen, Tim, Carol and many more who have all had a massive
influence on my running fitness. This has been absolutely crucial in the above
results and it is not an exaggeration to say that being the fastest triathlon runner in
the world in the M75+ age group this year has been ‘the’ most important factor which
cements together all the other many aspects of a successful triathlete.
Thanks hugely also to Colin Hill of Ullswater Swim Place who has quickly recognised
that swimming is not my forte and identified that learning to relax in the water, as well
as swim technique at his endless pool and in Ullswater itself, are the keys to a
successful triathlon swim. I may never win a swim race but finishing without losing
too much time is important. Thank you Colin.
Crucial for any successful triathlete is to stay injury free and a major part of this for
me has been the weekly pilates with Ross Grieve. It is no coincidence that since
taking on the pilates with Ross some 2 years ago I have (touch wood!) not had any
injury, no not one, for those years, and prior to that I cannot remember such a length
of time in my 14 years of triathlon training when I have been injury free. So thank you
Ross for your skill and patience.
All triathletes, no matter their background, need a coach who can look at the bigger
picture. And Alan Cardwell of TriathlonworkX does that for me. He has known me
for most of the last 14 years, provides me with a weekly schedule, is an expert in
everything triathlon (particularly the bike), and puts up with my endless vicissitudes
of training and racing. Of course we may disagree at times (I am older but not
necessarily wiser) but he understands and we get on with it. Thank you Coach.
So that concludes my 58th triathlon in 14 years of competition and it is going to be
impossible to better it!
Club Champs Update No 18 - Monday 21st October
Congratulations to everyone who took part in Lilliesleaf 10k on Sunday. Looks like podium points go to David Carter-Brown (2nd M), Dean Carr (1st MV50), Carol Moss (1st FV5) and Coreen McGovern (3rd FV5). No takers for the Devil's Foot Half this year - clearly the lure of the Lilliesleaf soup proved too much!
So the overall standings have Carol Moss in the lead by 85 points, from Gillian Carr in second, who is 55 points clear of Coreen McGovern in 3rd. It is close after that though with David Carter-Brown, Jen Missal & Dean Carr all within touching distance of 3rd place. Special mention to Kerry Law for reaching the magic 125 point threshold this week - that's another piece of precious metal for the elves to hammer out!
Club Champs SpreadsheetJust two events to go in the champs; Tinto Hill Race on 2nd Nov and the Glentress Trail races on 16th Nov. Last day of the champs is 17th Nov so Tweed Valley Ultra on 17th offers a potential 25 points bonus points (with an extra 10 available for anyone who is moving up a distance from their previous longest run) - just flagging that as it could be a close race for the final podium spot, or in case anyone is making a late effort for the magic 125 points.
As always, if there are any errors, omissions, park runs or anything else to declare then => MoorfootRunnersSecretary@gmail.com
Martin
Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Club Champs Update No 17 - Wednesday 16th October
Firstly, well done to everyone who took part in last night's age-graded time trial & big thanks to Gillian and the team of marshalls, timekeepers and results calculators! For the seniors the podium points went to (1) Carol Moss (2) David Carter-Brown (3) Dean Carr.
So this leaves the Championship standings as Carol Moss in first place with a lead of 70 points from Gillian Carr, who herself has a 70 point lead over Coreen McGovern in third. It is very close after that with Jen Misak just 5 points behind, closely followed by David Carter-Brown and Dean Carr.
Some quality bling (pictured) arrived a spreadsheet HQ last week and following last night's Time-Trial, we now have 13 folk who have reached the Club Champs Medal threshold.🏅😎 Who else is going to reach 125 points before the end of the Champs?
Full Club ChampsSunday sees both Devil's Foot Half & 10k (entries open until this Friday evening) and Lilliesleaf 10k (online entries still open, plus entries on the day). After that there is Tinto on 2nd Nov for those who fancy a short sharp hill run and then the final race day is Glentress Half & 10k. The champs finish on Sunday 17th which gives time for anyone who wants to do the Tweed Valley Ultra to pick up some bonus.
As always, errors, omissions, Park Runs or any other events to declare => MoorfootRunnersSecretary@gmail.com
Martin