Dozens of club members took part in the Cholmondley Castle multisport festival. Team captain Mark Hatton brings us the highlights from the weekend.

The Cholmondeley Castle multi-sport weekend on June 17 and 18 did not disappoint. We had club members participating in a range of events across the weekend.

Triathlons of all distances, Aquathlon, Duathlon & swim races. Not forgetting a big turnout for the mixed relays. Our junior members were also out in force, competing in the TriStar events. 

The fun started on Saturday morning with the Sprint, Sprint Plus and Super Sprint events. The sun was shining, and the temperatures rising, so early on it was announced events would be non-wetsuit. Good news for some, not so much for those of us needing some extra buoyancy. 

On my way to the event, I saw a notification that Lisa Ho had already secured 2nd lady in the Super Sprint and 6th Overall. [1h 17.19]  Well done Lisa. As I arrived on Saturday lunchtime, I caught Peter Panacek, with a big smile on his face following his successful completion of the Sprint Plus race. 12th in his AG. [2h57.29] Well done Peter.

In the Sprint Aquathlon, Paul Marshall took third place overall and second in his age group category with a time of [37m.14]. Great job.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phil Rowley was also in action, taking on the Sprint Duathlon, a smart move to avoid getting a dirty Tri suit. Not only that, but Phil took an age group win for his troubles and 14th overall. [1h 26.25]

As always the Sprint Triathlon was a popular event for members. Despite the heat of the day, all had strong races.

Simon Chubb. 1h24.34 - 4th AG
Rob Garland. 1h 27.16 - 11th AG
Tom Walker. 1h32.10 - 16th AG
Simon Oakes. 1h34.18 - 9th AG
Rose Marshall. 1h45.37 - 9th AG

News was quickly filtering back to those of us gathering for the relays in the afternoon, that the water was warm. However, it was far from clean, by the look of those that had swum. With that in mind, well done to Andrew Henshall for doing the 5k swim,[1h11min] and Kath Henshall for doing the 2.5k swim [56m.12] thankfully, I suspect for them, wetsuits were allowed for that event. Well done, Andrew and Kath.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By this point, the junior racing was already well underway. With great performances across the board. 

Youth Draft Legal 
Murphy Hamilton 2nd Overall – 0.31.56

Tristar 3 - Draft Legal 
Francesca Jackson 9th AG - 00.35.55
Mia Hearson 13th AG – 00.39.21
Harriet Chadwick 16th AG – 00.43.42

Tristar 3 non-drafting 
Jacob Oakes – 7th Overall 7th AG – 00.39.14

TriStar 2 
Shauna Hamilton – Results not available.

Those juniors assigned to relay teams had a quick transition between races, it was a good job they are fast, otherwise, we would have had an issue. Chapeaux to Jake, Mia, Harriet C and Frankie for putting in such a strong effort with back-to-back races, you did yourselves proud. Well done to Becky for managing the logistics registration and childcare with all the family racing simultaneously, most impressive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We fielded seven teams in total – it was such a great turnout. 

NTC Sharks 
Matt J (Team Captain), Emma B, Jason R, Maria H 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NTC Eagles 
Chris W, Eden S (Team Captain), Luke M, Julia B

NTC Lions
John B, Sand E (Team Captain), Mark H, Shell M 

NTC Wolves

Gary P, Lucy S (Team Captain), Tom W, Beth L

NTC Scorpions [Family team] 
Simon O, Becky O (Team Captain), Jake O, Francesca J 

NTC Rhinos [Family team]
Simon C, Sarah T (Team Captain), Paul M, Mia H 

NTC Crocodiles [Family team]
Mark C , Harriet C, Laurence E (Team Captain), Hattie H

Most importantly, everyone completed the course successfully without injury and everyone had a smile on their faces. Maybe I should amend that to ‘most of the time’ as there were some big efforts and red faces. Thankfully Matt Jackson didn’t wear the mankini that was presented to him on the awards night, phew. 

It was hot and frantic but great fun. The team spirit and encouragement of others are second to none. That said, we all love the competition, so did an NTC team win?!  

Well not quite. However, the NTC Lions took a comfortable 3rd place in the championship event, retaining our podium placing from last year. Let’s hope we can go one better next year. 

That wasn’t the only podium either. The NTC Scorpions of Simon O, Becky O, Jake O, Francesca J took third place also in the Family team Non-Championship event. This is a mixed team but could include juniors. Well done all.

A shout-out to John B & new member Gary P for stepping in last minute for injured teammates. Both of you did a cracking job. You’ll be on the list sooner next year I hope.  

Thanks to those of you that put your names forward as reserves for the relays. Also for those members who came along to support despite not racing, it really makes a huge difference to hear a cheer! I really hope that building on the success of this year we can increase the number of teams further next year. I would like to thank my fellow club Captain Michelle Marshall for all her hard work organising and making the relays a success.  

On Sunday myself and Jason R took on the Standard Triathlon. We were both hoping the non-wetsuit rule had been changed, but alas the water was still above the required temperature. Thankfully those of us who camped overnight had survived the lightning storm. Although apparently, Mia had a near-death experience in the tent! But thankfully she was fine. Out on the run course we were cheered on by ‘Frankie and the Hearsons’, which sounds like a sitcom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jason, who had changed his entry on Saturday from the Aquabike, had decided to throw himself back into Triathlon competition following his accident. It’s been a remarkable recovery, not only did Jason complete the race, but he pushed on to finish 13th AG and a time of 3h.29.19. This was a heroic effort, the whole team were moved by his performance. He ran over the finish line with Denz, a fitting tribute for his friend and teammate to mark his return to racing. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My race went well, despite the fact I couldn’t use a wetsuit to keep my legs dragging up the weeds. The bike course was a good mix of fast undulating roads. As we all know it was a flipping hot weekend and, boy did I feel it on the run clambering up to the Castle for the second lap. But thankfully I still managed to overtake a fellow V40 on the second lap of the run to take the win in my age group, and 9th overall. [2h36.02]

Lastly a shout-out Sarah T and Simon C, who did a great job on the gates on Sunday morning as volunteers, registering competitors, and earning themselves a free place next year. Paul T was on the sidelines as photographer and supporting. 

Hopefully even more of you will join us next year. It will be a blast.