Hello OxfordTri Family!
I hope that this finds you well and that you have had a good week despite the everchanging weather. It’s been a busy but hugely enjoyable one for me. Firstly, I was competing alongside my fellow OxfordTri members at Round 2 of the Cross Country League in Cirencester, next up was our monthly committee meeting with the lovely people who make up our committee and then towards the end of this week I had the privilege of coaching at track. One of the things I love about busy weeks like this is that I often get to meet people whom I’ve never met before mainly due to the every growing nature of the club which is hugely exciting, so thank you for being part of that! And if you feel like you haven’t every really chatted to me and see me at a session in the future please do come and say hello, I might be Scottish but I promise we don’t all bite..
Anyway enough from me, we’ve got a race report from Kelly from the Cross Country, Our Member of the Month for November and a reminder about out Social Saturday Online Spins/Zwifting.
As always if there’s ever anything you’d like to chat about the club then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
God Bless
Craig
Member of the Month of November
This month we are delighted to announce Sam Press as our November Member of the Month. Sam has been a member of the club for a little while now and is a regular at many of our sessions. In his nomination it was noted that Sam has shown a real determination and commitment to improving his athletic ability in the sessions that he has attended. This has been clearly evident through his regularity at sessions but more so his willingness to receive feedback and to them try and implement it. It was also noted that Sam is also one of the nicest and most caring people that I can think of in the club and often asks how you are getting on and remembers to follow up on these conversations next time you see him.
Sam, thanks so much for being part of our OxfordTri family we are incredibly fortunate to have you and we hope you’ll enjoy your nutrition box just as a small sign of our appreciation.
OxfordTri Goes Cross Country – Round 2 Cirencester
You can always rely on Cross Country to deliver – after a week of sub-zero temperatures, a night of rain made sure the course was nice and slipslop, muddy.
Despite (or because of) this, 28 of the hardiest Oxford Triathletes took to the start line with 411 also rans 😊
- The course eased you gently into the race; with a run over a flat field, then an easy downward slope to the first (of three) runs up a cobbled, muddy track; rising moderately back to the start; 700m down – 7.1km to go.
- Then followed a nice 700m flat stretch across the fields, dropping down to the woods where a 1km muddy incline, framed with golden leaves, terminated in a short, slippery downhill.
- This led into a seriously muddy, 500m long valley bottom, before a sharp turn into a nice grassy 600m up-and-down to the second run up the muddy track before another short, sharp, muddy downhill. (Too sharp for me, I ended up on my bottom).
- After a short splish-and-a-splash, you were deceptively close to the finish – only to meet the meanest of the marshals, who directed you to go round again; 4.3km down – 3.5km to go.
- Having proven that two laps were no problem; we were challenged by a nasty little uphill with a false summit before the final kicker led to a 50m flat, grassy run-in …. so that we could all impress the spectators with our good form and sprint finishes.
- Generous portions of Banana Cake, Chocolate Brownies, Oatmeal Cookies and Sausage Rolls then made it all worthwhile.
First, Second and Third places in the race were taken by:-
| 58 Hannah GRAINGER CLEMSON | 73 Sinead MCGILL | 95 Helen HAMBLING | Out of 168 |
| 47 Matthew NICHOLLS | 48 Adrien FAUVARQUE | 80 Stuart FAULKNER | Out of 271 |
The high level of attendance meant that we fielded three complete ladies’ teams (of 3 runners) and two gentlemens’ teams (of 7 runners); each delivering a really good performance:
| Ladies | Team A : 21st | Team B : 31st | Team C : 41st | Out of 58 Teams |
| Gentlemen | Team A : 15th | Team B : 29th | Out of 40 Teams |
After two races, the Gentlemen continue their resurgence in the overall Oxford Tri competitions – but remember, it’s everyone’s best three races that will count at the end of the season – so it’s all still to run for!
| Athlete | Age Group | OX TRI Champions Place After Race 2 | OX TRI Age Graded Place After Race 2 |
| Adrien FAUVARQUE | SEN | 1st | 4th |
| Matthew NICHOLLS | SEN | 2nd | 5th |
| Stuart FAULKNER | V45 | 3rd | 2nd |
| Hannah GRAINGER CLEMSON | V45 | 4th | 6th |
| Francisco GOMEZ | V35 | 5th | 8th |
| Heine VAN ZYL | V60 | 6th | 1st |
| Jane BELL | V65 | 7th | 3rd |
| Sarah SPRUYTENBURG | V45 | 8th | 9th |
| Matthew LAWRENCE | V50 | 9th | 7th |
| Nick MINTY | V40 | 10th | 10th |
We do it all over again at Shotover on 7th January and, with three races to go, it’s your last chance to enter the amazing Oxford Tri XC competitions …… come and join in the muddy fun …. deadline day for entry is 29th December …….. but if you’re transferring from another club, the sooner the better.
We MUST also supply a Marshall for Shotover – if anyone is able to do this – please let Kelly know.
You can sign up to Join the OxfordTri cross country army for round 3 at Shotover by following the links below
EA Membership – https://www.oxfordtri.uk/…/england-athletics…/
Entry to the remaining 4 XC races – https://www.oxfordtri.uk/product/oxford-tri-occl-2023-2024/
Saturday Social Zoom and Zwift
Over the past couple of weekend we have seen a re-emergence of our social Zwift/Spin Club.
Chris who is helping to organise these has put together a little bit below to help give you a little taster of what is in store.
Social Turbo Session tomorrow (Saturday) starting 09:30 open for, I estimate, a couple of hours- this is an informal affair, so you can turn up later
For those unfamiliar- this is not a coached session, just a social Turbo over Zoom, where we can chat and sweat in the (dis)comfort of our own living room/shed/pain cave
I’ll also set up a Zwift invite for those that use this
Please remember Zwift is not required to join, this session is for anyone with a bike… or even just a pc and a cup of tea!
If you are Zwifting, remember to follow me on Zwift, Chris Hemingway Oxtri, and reply to this post so I can add you if you want an invite
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82618518019…
Meeting ID: 826 1851 8019
Passcode: 852570
Training Calendar
See the official calendar for full info and sign up links.
Saturday 9th December: Oxford Tri Does Parkrun – Various @ 09:00
Monday 11th December: Coached Swim – Leys Pool @ 20:00
Tuesday 12th December: Member Lead Social Run – Headington Hill @ 19:00
Tuesday 12th December: Coached Spin – Oxsrad @ 19:00
Tuesday 12th December: Coached Swim – Thame Pool @ 20:00
Wednesday 13th December: Coached Swim – Radley Pool @ 19:30
Thursday 14th December: Coached Run – Horspath Track @ 19:00
Friday 15th December: Strength and Conditioning Online @ 06:30
Friday 15th December: Coached Swim – Kidlington Pool @ 19:00
Friday 15th December: Coached Spin – Iffley Sports Centre @ 19:00