Wight Tri Member, Kevin Read took on the Outlaw X Half Ironman event held at Thoresby Hall in Nottinghamshire, raising over £800 for Isle of Wight Defibrillators last weekend.
Due to the cold lake temperatures, the 1900m swim was shortened to a 750m; the temperature was just 1 degree off of being cancelled altogether.
With the air temperature being very cold, Kevin was not looking forward to this, and even though he is a confident swimmer, he struggled in the swim but managed to complete this stage in 22 minutes.
He then made the 400m run to transition, collected his bike and set off on the 56mile bike ride. The course was a mix of country lanes and main roads, but due to the surface being very bumpy, there were a number of athletes with punctures along the route. Kevin didn’t have any issues and returned to Thoresby Hall with a bike leg of 3hrs 16mins.
Onto the run, which is Kevin’s strength. The run went through the estate of Thoresby Hall 3 times on a 7km course. He started strongly until about 3km when he got a twinge of cramp in his quad and then his hamstring. However, he managed to power through, and the cramps thankfully went, and he completed the half marathon run in 2hrs 14mins.
This was Kevin’s 1st triathlon in many years; he was happy with his overall time of 6hrs 5mins.
After the event, Kevin said:
“Overall, I was satisfied with my time. I would highly recommend the OutlawX Triathlon or any of the Outlaw Triathlon. Great location and amazing support throughout the whole weekend.
Article continues below this advertisement “I entered the triathlon to help raise money for IOW Defibrillators, which is a charity close to both my and my family’s heart. You can still sponsor me. Below is a link to my Just Giving Page.”
