Edinburgh University Triathlon Club

By Barbara kohoutova

Brian’s minibus dropped me off, here I go
All alone on a pedestrian crossing in Elphinstone.
No signs of cyclists yet, but my bright vest seems to be crucial
As the cars are stopping, noticing I am a MARSHALL.
Villagers are asking all this morning,
‘Triathlon race’ is my answer to all as this Scottish accent is difficult for understanding.
While walking, jumping and getting a sun tan
Waving and smiling at me are two hot passing policeman!
Racers are coming, showing their skill,
Needing some encouragement as they approach the big hill.
‘Well done, keep going’ I shout to every single fe(male)
Completely missing on the flying Craig Dale!
To marshalls, racers and organizers go my big Thank you.

By Lesley Cook

Tranent sprint triathlon, for many the first official race of the season and as such usually a day of freezing temperatures, torrential rain and gale force winds…not this year!! (well maybe we still had a little bit of wind!)

7.10am Sunday the 21st March saw a plethora of Eutri members rolling out of Edinburgh ready and raring to go (most of them!), and spurred on to reach their destination by some fantastic tunes!

After setting up, and deciding to leave the parked cars in the car park and not try bumping them to somewhere else as was suggested, competitors began to arrive thick and fast. Before long the quiet transition area was a sea of bikes which the Eutri massive delighted in roaming around in order to pick their favourite out of the large variety on show.

 By Finlay McAndrew

11:13 am on Saturday morning, my phone started ringing (Chris Skakel calling).

‘Hey Finbar, how’s it going? Eh, just wondering are you in the car park?’

‘What car park?’ I replied.

‘In Dundee’ a worried voice responded.

‘The race is tomorrow Chris’

‘Aw f**k!’

By Will McLennan

The Mighty Deerstalker has a reputation that many are far too aware of. By simply mentioning it, it brings back memories for many of the club that will have them telling you tales you don’t want to believe are true before you start. The race itself is an adventure / mountain race in the Scottish Borders, available in 5K (ish) and mighty 10K (and a bit) varieties. This includes various obstacles along the way to provide entertainment and make the stalk a very different event. These distances may be ‘slight’ underestimates, with actual distances being closer to 8K and 16K, but this tiny difference didn’t faze many.

 EUTri had a good turnout with over 10 people heading down to try their luck and we were met with a great atmosphere when we arrived to get registered. The mighty deerstalker itself starts at around 17:30 against the setting sun, with a mass start. An initial sprint into a wall of hay bails got everyone in the mood whilst trying not to get trampled or kicked in the face. About a kilometre later was the first of the major obstacles where we had to wade through 2 waist deep bogs which almost a few, and got everyone wet and smelling of the countryside. Immediately followed the start of the first hill climb, which was a lot steeper and higher than many were expecting and where many of us realised that either running up or down hills was not our speciality.

By Mark Cairns

The Glasgow to Edinburgh Double Marathon is an ultramarathon starting at 9am sharp in Glasgow’s Ruchill Park - following the Canals across the central belt – and finishes some 90km (56 miles) later in Fountain bridge. It’s a race I’ve wanted to do for some years and with a some 7 marathons under the belt, I felt confident enough enter this year’s race.

Before I go into the race itself, it’s worth mentioning the level of commitment required to train for an ultra. It’s tough. Really bloody tough. Especially since most of those long weeks (in this case) are through mid-winter and long runs can often be forced inside onto treadmills (sometimes 35km’s worth!).

By Angus Elliott

Some people enjoy a wee lie in on a Saturday morning, maybe breakfast in bed, a nice cup of tea and a warm duvet perhaps? Not for EUtri, oh no. The club was out in force racing all around Scotland including a contingent to the Gifford Sup6r Six race in Gifford. For those not familiar with the intricacies of road racing, the Sup6r Six series consists of six road race events around Scotland throughout the season with an overall ‘league’ to reward the most consistent riders. Each event consists of an A race (Elite, cat 1,2,3 riders) and a B race (4th cat, vets) with some of the country’s top pro racers competing on the same day as complete novices.

Gifford was the first race of the series and the EUtri machine had myself, the Dale, Angus Killean and Anne Ewing entered in the B race with Jamie Maxwell, Allan Love and Charlie Billington from EUCC also racing. The sun was shining in Edinburgh but it was quickly apparent that not all of East Lothian was so lucky and we arrived to find a wonderfully damp and greasy course awaiting us. Unfortunately the road condition claimed its first victim before the race even started, with Angus K coming unstuck on ‘cockle’s corner’ during the warm up, a sharp muddy corner at the bottom of a fast descent from Gifford. No serious injuries but some nasty flesh wounds and road rash ruled him out for the race, much to Angus’ disappointment.

by Jack Nelson

One might think that the Scottish multisport community would be satisfied with an arduous triathlon season over the summer. Or that a cheeky aquathlon at the beginning of the autumn would be enough to round things off. Alas no – Edinburgh Road Club’s annual Duathlon series allows another opportunity for said bunch of lycra-clad masochists to get together and do their thing.

A New Year’s Day triathlon through the streets of Edinburgh will provide the perfect opportunity to get the resolutions off and running.

Most people plan to lose some weight or take up a new sport and the Tri Centre New Year’s Day Triathlon can tackle all the resolutions in one.

Organised jointly by Edinburgh RC, ERC Triathlon Squad and Edinburgh Racing, the triathlon comprises a 300m swim in the University of Edinburgh’s Moray House Pool, an 11 mile cycle around Arthurs Seat and finishes with a three mile run at the same spot.

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Race Report – Brian Lafferty

Melbourne. Sporting capital of the world. A land where completing an ironman is as impressive as a trip down to the local shop for a paper. I was not surprised to find myself on the starting line with roughly 6,500 other runners last Sunday in the annual Great Australian Run. ‘A scenic 15km route through the heart of the city, passing several famous landmarks’, we were promised… I would see none of them!

I was doing the race with Dr Amy Nall, a friend and veteran of several ironman triathlons, including Kona where she won her age group two years ago. A machine. She has already started training for Budapest World Championships next year.