"You're pulling my leg"

July has been another busy month for everyone at Aycliffe Tri Club, kicking off hte month in style were Danny Shoulder and Graham Atkins who competed in the Castle & Derwent Sprint Triathlon on 7th July. This was a 750m swim in Derwent Reservoir followed by a 20km cycle, a single lap of the reservoir, and a 5km run along the shoreline. Graham finished in 7th place in the veteran age category with a time of 1:23:56 and Danny finished 11th in with a time of 1:27:49. Great racing by our vets!

On the 11th July Danny Shoulder and Brett Lambert represented ATC at the Elvet Striders Willow Miner Trail Race. A 5.4 mile 'undulating' trail run. Out of the 175 runners Danny came in with a time of 44:38 52nd overall and 27th in his age group, Brett’s time was 46:05 which was 63rd overall and 30th in the same age category.

At the Washington Sprint Triathlon on 14th July ATC members Den Dale, Jim Wilson & Mick Casey; a this was a 400m Swim, 21km bike and 5.5km run. Mick came 2nd in his age group with a time of 1:24:02, in the same category Jim finished 4th with a time of 1:32:19 and Den completed in 1:34:03 setting a course pb for him. Well done guys.

Another running event on 19th July saw Trevor Dixon and Ryan Pearson compete at the Sedgefield Harriers cross country handicaps; a 10km undulating course saw Trevor finish in a time of 38:46 and Ryan in 46:48.

Swimming this time; Peter Jarps competed in the Castle Howard 2.5km Open Water swim event on 21st July, Peter finished in a time of 51:25.

Seven ATC members took on the award winning Triology Super Sprint Triathlon on 25th July. Humid conditions saw Zoe Savage place 9th in the Senior Women Category with a time of 56:26.7. In the V60 category ATC achieved 1st & 2nd! Mick Casey was 1st with a time of 53:24.3 and was closely followed by Jim Wilson in 2nd in 54:23.8. Peter Jarps, taking on his first ever triathlon, finished 16th in the V50 category with a time of 55:20.9. Well done Peter. In the V40 category there were some interesting tactics employed during the swim between Ian Readman and Danny Shoulder (“you’re pulling my leg” I hear you say). Ian finished 7th in the category with a time of 45:22.4 (a course pb for him), Danny finished 15th with a time of 48:16.7.
The Senior men saw Tom Graham finish with a time of 51:42.6 coming in 10th position. An awesome achievement by all. A special mention to all of the club marshal crew who volunteered and cheered them all on.

The 28th July was a very busy and emtional day for club members. Zoe Savage completing the Lakeland 50 trail race in treacherous conditions. That’s 50 miles & 9,500 feet in climbing in the Lake District, Zoe completed in 16:04:07.

On the same day Andy Greathead competed in the Outlaw full distance triathlon. This was a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run. Andy started well with a pb in the swim coming in 10 minutes under his predicted time only to be told by a marshal that for safety reasons the bike leg had been cancelled due to torrential rain and flooding on the course. Despite this bad news Andy pulled himself together and completed the marathon. Andy finished the swim / run in a fantastic time 0f 4:48:24 which was 20th in his age category as well.

Also on the 28th July ATC had 5 club members competing in the Redcar Sprint Triathlon, a 750m sea swim, 20km bike and 5km run. In the V60 category Mick Casey finished 4th in a time of 1:31.34 and Jim Wilson finished 7th in 1:39.43. The V50 category saw Graham Atkins finish 11th with a time of 1:22.01. In the V40 category Danny Shoulder was 21st completing in 1:23.36 and the Senior Male Category saw Chris Burtenshaw finish first for the club in a time of 1:20.12 which was 22nd in the category. Awesome effort by everyone.

Another fantastic month as the club goes from strength to strength. Well done everyone.