Good Evening Oxford Tri Family,
I hope that this finds you all well. It’s been a busy old week, with lots of things going on within the club. Firstly, can I say how great it has been to see a number of our tri club family racing at both the XC and Chilly Duathlon at the weekend. There are some race reports below so please do enjoy them. Being the first newsletter of the month, we also have our ‘Member of the Month’ which you can check out below too.
Also, a big welcome to a number of people who have joined the club in the past couple of weeks. We are thrilled to have you on board. Pease do make sure to make yourself known at sessions although potentially rather strange, we are a friendly bunch.
As highlighted in Sean’s Race Report, Newbury Duathlon is just over a month away on the 16th of April. I’m excited to be taking part and I know there are already a number of Oxford Tri members signed up. The distances are a 5km run, 25km bike, 5km run. We will also be having a pub lunch afterwards, especially after its success last year. The entry fee is incredible value so if you can do sign up here. It’s going to be a lot of fun!
Finally, an update on the Oxford Tri Club Triathlon. Unfortunately, we were unable to get any dates in September and as a result we have agreed that we will postpone the triathlon till May next year. We realise that this might be disappointing however there are a number of other things that we are working on as a committee which we are excited to see happening this year.
I hope you have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you at some sessions next week.
God Bless
Craig
February Member of the Month – Catherine Daw
Congratulations to Catherine who is our February ‘Member of the Month’. For those who have witnessed or followed Catherine competing in the XC league this year it should come as no surprise that she is a regular at our Tuesday night runs at Headington Hill and also at the Horsepath Track on Thursdays. Out of 26 Oxford Triathlon members Catherine was the only one to compete in all five XC league meets this season and on top of this was our fastest women representative in the league this year, helping the women’s team gain promotion to the top league. During our discussions here consistency and willingness to work hard were mentioned numerous times as well as just being an all round lovely person. Catherine thank you for being part of our Oxford Tri Family.
XC League Final Report by Kelly
Ten Oxford Tri members travelled to Henley Showground for the final race of the season.
They were faced with a challenging 7.25km course over a sometimes flint strewn track with 240m of ascent; including a steep flight of stairs made from tree roots.
Over the 5-race season Oxford Tri was represented by 26 athletes ….. but only one of us completed all 5 …. Catherine Daw.
Catherine also led our Ladies A team to win promotion into Division One.
In this achievement, she was supported with points won by Hannah Slater, Alice Harper, Hannah Gibbs and Katie McDonald.
Sadly, a lack of participation by the chaps caused the Men’s A team to be demoted to Division 3.
In the Club XC Championship, Catherine, Hannah S and Alice were placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd
Best placed gentleman was Alexander Thorley in fourth.
Thanks also go to Craig Holmes and Stuart Faulkner for fulfilling the Club’s duty to provide race Marshalls.
With a good attendance next season we can cement the Ladies place in Division 1 and get the Gentlemen back into Division 2.
Put it in your diaries now …… the first Sunday of the month from November 2023 to March 2024.
Chilly Duathlon Race Report by Sean
As anyone who stepped outside will attest, it was definitely ‘Chilly’, in fact we decided the event organisers need to change the name of this event, because they seem to be influencing the weather!!! Maybe something like the ‘Moderately warm with no wind’ Duathlon, hoping this might somehow improve our chances of a better race experience!!
I digress… 11 Hardy Oxford Triers were there to kick off their 2023 Club Championship campaigns, and I think from all the smiles, most were happy to have made the effort to be there!!
The day started with a bit of disappointment though, arriving in the car park to see Philippa climb out of her car on crutches was not ideal, a calf tear earlier in the week was an instant DNS, but fingers crossed for a quick recovery. This was tempered by the lesser spotted (from an event participation standpoint) Lee making a welcome return to racing after a long recovery from injury. Great to see you.
A slightly different format this year making the event closer to ‘normal’ Sprint distance meant there was a bit of learning to do but the prospect of a completely traffic free race had us salivating at the race experience to come.
an 11:30am start time is a definite bonus, as was the calm winds, but it was bitterly cold at about 2.5 degrees, so we all bolted off the line to start our first 5k out and back anticlockwise run round the perimiter road of the track.
Neil stretched out to a comfortable lead on the rest of our club contingent looking very relaxed, lots of encouraging words, from and to, all our compatriots in club kit on the way back, really reminding me why this is such a great club and why the club champs is such a great idea and series of events.
Onto the bike and 7 laps of the race circuit, although only 120 participants on the day, people really like to spread out on the circuit, seemingly covering every inch of the 14metre wide track!! You definitely have to keep your wits about you, as passing or being passed can happen at any time, on either the left or the right. It’s a real buzz!!
My makeshift wind protection of a (biodegrable) bag with a head hole cut in it serving perfectly to protect the shoulders and chest from the worst of the wind chill (under the trisuit obviously), but it did nothing for the legs which were definitely complaining about the cold. Counting 7 seven laps should be easy right?? You can’t help but doubt yourself when your lungs are trying to bust out of your chest and you’re looking at a letterbox of race circuit that all looks the same, so thankfully I remembered to lap the garmin each lap to help keep count. Fantastic support from the ‘pit lane’ supporters and constant encourgement from other club mates made the ride superb.
Final 3k run was a full lap of the perimeter road, and again being able to shout at and be shouted at by club mates who were riding while others running really makes this a great event experience. The runs are almost pancake flat, but of course the legs are completely ‘jellified’ when you get off the bike and try to remember from last year how to run off the bike again. Before you know it the finish line arrives and the, apparently, now regular jelly snake reward!! Big kids at heart hey!!
Biggest thanks to all the supporters, it was cold racing, but colder spectating, well done to everyone who took part, some great results and great to see you all pushing your limits and smiling at the same time.
Look forward to seeing you all again, and hopefully loads more of you at Newbury Duathlon – 10am April 16th
Perhaps some transition training will help a few up the pecking order..
Training Calendar
See the official calendar for full info and sign up links.
Saturday 11th March: Oxford Tri does Horspath Parkrun @ 09:00
Monday 13th March: Turbo from Home @ 19:00
Monday 13th March: Coached Swim – Abingdon @ 20:30
Tuesday 14th March: Coached Spin Bike Session – Oxrad @ 18:30
Tuesday 14th March: Member Lead Social Run – Headington Hill @ 19:00
Tuesday 14th March: Coached Swim – Thame @ 20:00
Wednesday 15th March: Coached Swim – Radley Pool @ 19:30
Thursday 16th March: Track Horspath Athletic Grounds @ 19:00
Friday 17th March: Strength and Conditioning at Home @ 07:15
Friday 17th March : Coached Swim Lanes Kidlington Pool @ 19:00