Wight Tri was well represented at the Needles XC Half Marathon on Sunday (9th June), with many 1st and 2nd claim members taking the start line of the 21.5km (13.3m) race. The quickest member, disguised in the colours of Vectis Academy, was Chris Till. He came 3rd overall and 1st senior male, in a rapid time of 1:33:11. There were plenty of other Wight Tri-associated athletes throughout the field, but nine members donned team kits to represent the club on the day. First back from that group was Jack Elton-Walters in 7th overall, 3rd senior male, in a time of 1:35:24 – having chosen the picturesque but tough course as his first race at this distance. Dean Pike, continuing his return to competition from a serious bike crash last year, put in a solid time of 1:44:01 to finish 16th overall and take 7th in the male veteran 40 category. The next Wight Tri runners in were Mike Kimber (48th, 1:57:37, 9th MV50) and Loic Le Floch (56th, 1:59:11, 11th MV50), continuing their unofficial season-long 2-man competition for the best Wight Tri 50-odd-year-old man. Between them was another incognito member Daniel Morgan, pretty in bright pink, who covered the distance in 1:58:53 to finish 55th overall, 22nd MV40. Leading in the Wight Tri women was Lucy Doorly, finishing strong to take 61st overall in a time of 1:58:46, which earned her 5th in the VW40 category. New member Addy Swann, surprised by the terrain he found himself taking on, pushed on to finish in 69th place over, 17th SM in 2:02:49. The final 3 team members to complete the race in Wight Tri colours were Caley Teasdale, Lizzi Elton-Walters and Arielle Elton-Walters. An injury to one of the trio in the closing 2km put the brakes on what had been an excellently paced run to that point, but in true team spirit the trio stayed together to get the race finished. For Caley, Lizzi and Arielle, making it across the finish line also marked the completion of their conquering of the Wight Tri Long Weekender. Jack Elton-Walters, 7th, 1:35:24, 3rd SM Dean Pike, 16th, 1:44:01, 7th MV40 Mike Kimber, 48th, 1:57:37, 9th MV50 Daniel Morgan, 55th, 1:58:53, 22nd MV40 Loic Le Floch, 56th, 1:59:11, 11th MV50 Lucy Doorly, 61st, 1:58:46, 5th MV40 Addy Swann, 69th, 2:02:49, 17th SM Caley Teasdale, 182nd, 2:47:44, 25th SF Lizzi Elton-Walters, 183rd, 2:47:45, 26th SF Arielle Elton-Walters, 184th, 2:47:46, 27th SF
On Sunday 9th June, Wight Tri member, and IW Talent Award Athlete Jan Fletcher competed in the Royal Windsor Sprint triathlon to get a qualification spot for the Age Group World Triathlon Championships taking place in Australia in 2025. This was Jan’s first race of the season and her race prep was not ideal, having not run for 4 weeks due to a calf injury and also picking up a cold just days before the race. Despite still feeling unwell, Jan took the last-minute decision to race to just try to get to the finish line to give her the chance of a qualification spot. On a very cold morning with a 06:00 start, her race started with a 750m downstream swim (into the rising sun) in the River Thames. The water was 17 degrees and given that the air temp of 14 degrees was much lower, there was steam rising from the water. Jan initially struggled with her breathing and had to adjust her pace to manage it, but completed the swim in a very swift 8.47, assisted by the strong current. A very long run up into T1 on a cold concrete path resulted in very cold and numb feet, in addition to cold hands on top which didn’t help as she struggled with her grip. The bike leg was one 22km lap on open roads to traffic. Apart from a couple of sneaky inclines the route was open and flowing and Jan knew she had to push as hard as she could on the bike as she wasn’t sure how her leg would fare on the run. Jan completed the bike leg in a solid 40.37, but was still suffering with cold hands and feet as the air temp was still very low as she swapped over from her bike to her trainers. With a slower than normal T2, she set off on the 2 lap 5km run route which went along The Long Walk in the grounds of Windsor Castle, encompassing a nasty climb up to the castle but the run course was well supported by locals which helped the runners. Jan was very anxious at the start of the run due to her calf injury; unsure how that would fare and given she was also struggling to breathe she settled into a slower run pace than normal but one she felt she could maintain. However her racing instinct kicked in as she dug deep to prevent being passed over the finish line to complete the run in 23.10. Having made the decision to race had paid off as Jan finished a fantastic 3rd place in the 45-49 age group in an overall time of 1 hours 22mins 18 secs, taking the second automatic qualification spot in the 50-54 age group, as she moves up to this age group for next years World Championships, and was the 21st female out of 225 overall. Jan would like to thank Amanda Buggy Soft Tissue Therapy & Nutrition, Wightlink in the Community and the Isle of Wight Council Sports Development Unit Talented Athlete Scheme for their continued support.
