Clacton Standard Distance Triathlon 2010

26th September 2010

Hares visit the seaside

Five Hadleigh Hares went to play at the seaside on Sunday 26th September, taking part in the Clacton Standard Distance Triathlon.

The race comprised a tricky 1500m sea swim (tricky because some of the swim is across the current), a 24 mile, predominantly flat 2-loop bike ride around local villages and a 10km sea front run.

Tim Bowman, Richard Hanley, Doug Grimwade , Neil Crisp and Steve Bowen represented the Hares amongst the 269 competitors. Hopes for a sunny day at the seaside were dashed early on as competitors were soaked to the skin when the heavens opened and were buffeted by strong winds.

Hanley set the pace from the off with a very fast swim time of 24:41, a long way ahead of Grimwade in 27:05 who, in turn, was just ahead of Bowman who exited the water in 27:49. On the bikes, Bowman and Hanley bike times were very similar, leaving Grimwade in their wake. Bowman just edged the bike finishing the two laps in 1:04:55 compared to Hanley's 1:04:58. Grimwade completely failed to cope with wet and windy conditions and lost over five minutes to the leaders.

It was now a two-horse race for the honour of being top Hare. Bowman surged ahead of Hanley with a very strong run to finish the race in a superb 19th place in an overall time of 2:14:34. Hanley continued his excellent form finishing in 26th place with a very respectable overall time of 2:16:19. A disappointed Grimwade trailed in as third Hare in 50th place in an overall time of 2:23:54. A good performance from Crisp in difficult conditions saw him edging closer to his sub-2:30 target as he finished in 157th place in an overall time of 2:39:23. A disappointed Bowen, still recovering from the Ironman and a recent bout of flu, finished the race slightly down on his normal position in an overall time of 2:50:14.

The overall positions between the Hares were fascinating with Bowman now threatening topple Hanley as top Hare, Grimwade fading badly (but promising a come back) and Crisp rapidly improving. Next season should be interesting.

Despite the weather this was another well organised event with all funds going to the Brain and Spine Foundation - highly recommended for next year.

The results for the Hadleigh Hares were as follows:

Pos Athlete                   Swim        T1       Bike      T2        Run      Overall     19   Tim Bowman           27:49      00:47  1:04:55   00:41   40:20     2:14:34    26   Richard Hanley       24:41       01:16  1:04:58   00:40   44:40     2:16:19    50   Doug Grimwade      27:05       01:18  1:10:22   01:10   43:57     2:23:54  157 Neil Crisp               30:20       01:22  1:15:38   00:58   51:02     2:39:23   206 Steve Bowen          31:53       02:34  1:14:49   01:59   58:56     2:50:14