Aberystwyth Triathlon

The Aberystwyth Seaside Triathlon seems to be going from strength to strength. In only it’s second year and with a limit set at 100 for logistical reasons it sold out and a waiting list was put in place. As I’m on the committee and help with the organisation of it I decided once again not to race but ended up being busy all weekend because of it.

Saturday morning was spent helping to clean the beach with a hoard of other volunteers. I was in charge of the swim section of the race, so the beach was my domain. The recent storms had brought in a fair bit of seaweed, all of which had to be cleared to make sure there was an easy path for the competitors. The swim route incorporates a tough little run halfway through it, out of the water, up the gravelly beach and under the jetty before entering back into the water for the second half of the swim. This is harder than it sounds and meant that this section of the beach had to be cleaned as well as the swim exit area.

As leaders of the 2nd Borth Scout Group, Anna and I were also co-ordinating the Scouts, some of whom had come along to help with the beach clean. It didn’t take too long though with so many hands to help  so after the beach clean we had a coffee in PD’s diner then headed off to pendam while the others discussed putting the signs out for the bike course.

Sunday morning wasn’t too much of an early start but I was on the beach in Aberystwyth for 7am. First jobs were to get the swim buoys out into the water, the course measured and the water temperatures taken. This was made all the more awkward by the fact that I was suddenly on crutches thanks to my big mountain bike crash on Saturday afternoon. That wasn’t part of the plan, but I had plenty of helpers and as team leader of the swim section it meant that I could organise and delegate rather than actually do the tasks that needed doing. I was liaising with the Surf Life-Saving Club, the RNLI and the Kayakers all of whom had turned out in force, offering their time for free to help with the event.

Anna was busy with time-keeping procedures for the event and between us we were also co-ordinating the Scouts once again who were helping with the marshalling. Thankfully a couple of Scout parents were helping too so we could leave them in charge of the Scouts that were marshalling out on the course along with loads of other volunteers.

The race started on time, we counted people into the water and the swim portion went super-smoothly. The Kayakers and Surf-Lifesavers formed a perfect avenue of safety cover around the entire course and all worked well together. There was no chance of any incidents with so many volunteers on hand and many people have already commented on how well the swim went and on the good work done by the kayakers, surf-lifesaving club and RNLI. I had marshalls counting people out of the water as well and all went without a flaw, all 84 starters came out and they were all smiling as they did so.

With the swim section finished and people out onto the bike the on-the-water volunteers cleared up the swim course for me and I was able to relax a little. My knee was now pretty sore having been on my feet for several hours, but there wasn’t much time for rest. The Scouts needed supervising, Anna was about to start recording the finish times and I decided it would be helpful for her if I stood 30m before the finish line shouting at competitors to make sure their race numbers were showing. With the field of competitors now spread out this takes longer than you might think – standing still has never been my forte but there I stood for the next couple of hours encouraging competitors on and reminding them to show their race numbers.

Once the last person had crossed the line, it was time to start clearing up and then my final duty of the day which was to present the trophies and prizes at the medal ceremony – Pete introduced me as ‘European Champion’ and ‘9th in the World’, so I hid my crutches and presented the prizes without them, not feeling much like an athlete, but at least I had my Team GB kit on!

With a few final bits of clearing up done after a successful event, we eventually got to sit down, have some lunch on the seafront and then headed home where I could put my feet up. Although I hadn’t done any training I don’t think a day like that can really be classed as a rest day either and my knee was now quite swollen and sore. It soon eased off after an hour or so of sitting down with it elevated though so I’m fairly sure there isn’t too much real damage done to it. Mind you, my shoulders are suffering as I write this, probably due to supporting my weight on crutches all day long!