Hawaii Ironman Triathlon

Saturday 16th October

Mark Edmonds competed in the Hawaii Ironman at the weekend and unlike his Austrian attempt, he finished in a total time of 10:57:12 and finished 466th (we don't know how many competed as yet!). His splits were 57:53 for the run, 6:05:23 for the bike and 3:43:17 for the marathon. He will be pleased with that as his training this year has been severely hampered by shin splints. The winner was Norman Stadler (Germany) in a total time of 8:33:29.

Here's what Mark has to say:-
"I finished in a time of 10hrs 57mins 12secs overall and was 16th Brit out of the 57 starters there and 52 finishers. Split times were 57.53 swim for 2.4 miles in Ocean, 6hrs 5mins for the 112 miles cycle and 3.43 for the marathon run. Overall I finished in 466th position out of 1800 athletes there. Was hoping to go sub 10 hrs but we had the hardest bike course in the history of the race as the wind turned during the day and so we had a double headwind! So my expected ride of 5.25 - 5.35 was about 40 mins away from my actual split. It was also really hot and I got through 12 bottles of drink during the ride alone! Anyway finished strongly and have recovered really well too... already been for 2 runs and a swim! Knee is also totally fine so when I get back I'm hanging the bike up 'til the spring and concentrating on the running to maybe build up for a spring marathon? Mark.
1st British finisher did 10hrs 13mins in 158th position!"

Read Mark's full account of the Hawaii Ironman:- Report

Austrian Ironman Triathlon

Sunday 4th July - Klagenfurt, Austria

Jim Miller and Mark Edmonds both competed in the Austrian Ironman but only Jim finished. He ended up with a time of 11 hours 22 mins with splits of 1hr 9 for the swim, 5hr 55 for the cycling and 4hr 8min for the marathon at the end. He ended up 697th overall out of approximately 2,000 starters.
Mark's splits were 54mins for the swim (58th) and 1hr 39 for each of the first two laps in the cycling but then blew on the third lap and was 20 minutes slower ending with a time of 5hr 20. He decided not to start the marathon after struggling with recent shin splints and having bonked on bike. Anyway he has leaned some valuable lessons about nutrition and heart rates for the Hawaiian Ironman.

Jack Sharp Memorial 75 mile Reliability Trial

Sunday 22nd Feb 2004

Although not strictly speaking a race, this event is always very competitive and gives riders a chance to give their legs a good stretch before the season begins. The 75 mile route takes the riders from the start in Brentwood, through Stondon Massey, High Ongar, Roxwell, Great Easter, Pleshey, Felsted, Great Bardfield, Bran End, back to Felsted, High Easter, Chelmsford, Margaretting, Ingatestone and Mountnessing. Riders have the option of doing the distance in either 5, 6 or 7 hours.
A strong headwind meant hardgoing all the way out to the halfway check at Great Bardfield. Intermittent showers also added to the fun. Richard and Neil Rankin started in the 6 hour group about 15 minutes ahead of the main Easterley group of Andy, Steve, Dave, Lee, Paul, Ian and Russell. Comeback man Russell was pointing out our errors and generally giving us Pearl's of Wisdom from his vast racing experience and it was suggested that he take over Cycling Weekly's 'Ask Tony' column.
The upside of the headwind to the turn meant a fast run back with the wind on our backs but Dave wasn't taking any prisoners on the drag up to Ingatestone which saw Russell being shelled out. Lee somehow managed to finish with a time of 4.00 hours (even though he started and finished at the same time as the rest of us) which officially meant he was the fastest rider on the day. The main group's time of 4.05 also meant that we were the fastest and beat off the challenge of the 5 hour group.

Rider	Time
Lee Wingate	4.00
Andy Ballentyne	4.05
Steve Freeman	4.05
Paul Martin	4.05
Ian Morgan	4.05
Dave Spencer	4.05
Russell Dore	4.15
Richard Jordan	4.50