Race 1 Gatorade / Active Feet Race Report

Race 1 Gatorade & Active Feet, Sunday 20 November 2011
Leading into the first race of the Gatorade / Active Feet Tri Series  and the weather man was not playing to our favour. The clouds were forming, the rain started to fall and it was a matter of millimetres on whether the first triathon of the season was to be a ‘triathlon’ or a ‘duathlon’.

Saturday morning we held our first pre race session for the core squad and then the mammoth effort of setting up the TA Taj for the second time in as many weeks. Thanks to the help of many athletes it was set up in no time. One wonders whether it was the impending rain that ensured it was assembled so quickly! With Head Coach Ollie looking after our Ironman athletes, Coaches Stan, Darren and Sarah were left to their own devices, and with project manager Tim in charge we got the nod of approval. So well done all!

Following our core squad session our Try-the-Tri’s and Coaching Clinic Participants had their last session as part of their 6 week Beginner Coaching with Tri Alliance. Our coaches have been impressed with the dedication, enthusiasm and huge improvements from everyone. So a testiment to you all. A big shout out also goes to Ale who unfortunately broke her leg only days before her first big race. But she can’t wait to get back into training (and gettin to the start line of her first race!) in the New Year.

Our first Pre Race Tips & Tricks Clinic was held on Saturday also at the race venue and as usual was extremely popular. With 110+ participants packed into the TA Taj our coaches provided everyone tips and tricks to help make their first race as seamless as possible AND enjoyable!

“Thank you so much Sarah for the Sat walk through and the tips. My first transition was with a twisted ankle from the run 1.29 . 2nd best, only beaten by .01 of a second . Learnt so much . Thanks again!!” – John

Race morning arrived and unfortunately there had been a smidgen too much rain overnight and the Race Director announced a run to replace the swim.

The Active Feet participants kicked off proceedings completing a 750m run / 7km bike / 1.5km run. Tri Alliance had many first timers in the Active Feet and the cheersquad on the sidelines was flanked by our other athletes. So the reception they received when heading into the finishing chute was awesome!

“Big thanks team for all support and cheering, effort levels definitely go up a notch, however when a coach yells out support effort level go up 10 times more – thanks Sarah for yelling out from the top of the hill 🙂 it makes a difference.”

The Gatorade Race kicked off at 8.00am with the Elites leading the charge followed by the open male and females and age groupers. It was going to come down to a running race – extra practise for those ‘swimmers’ amongst us!  Tri Alliance had the largest number of athletes racing with 20+ in the Active Feet and 80+ in the Gatorade to again be a dominate force at these races. After introducing so many participants into the sport, it’s not always about the podiums, but when our athletes get the results they have by far the biggest cheer on top of the podium! So great work not only to our podium finishers but to everyone for for their cheering!

Podiums & Top 10 places:

• Sean Fleming – 1st Clydesdales
• Sarah Grove – 1st Female Opens
• Brad Campbell – 3rd Clydesdales
• Bella Plush – 1st F15-17 Active Feet
• Peter Rainey – 8th 45-49
• John Grant – 5th 50-54
• Lisa Dominequez – 30-34
• Emily Hosken – 8th 15-19
• Lidia Ursini – 5th Athenas
• Jill Sultan – 4th 50-54
• Ryan Bourke – 4th 25-29
• Nathan Sims – 4th 30-34
• Andy Wood-Rich – 4th Clydesdales
• David Nealon – 7th Clydesdales
• Camilla Forss – 10th 25-29
• Richelle Olsen – 6th Athenas

Final results from the race haven’t een posted as yet, but you can view provisional results HERE.

Noteable Mentions:

• Kerensa, Cherie, Sophie, Bronwyn, Aine and Margs who DID complete the race but due to a timing issue haven’t had their results recorded. We saw you out there girls so big shout out to you! 🙂
• We won’t name the couple fo girls who ‘forgot’ to ride two laps… don’t worry it’s been done before!
• Narelle, Nola and Evalin for their impromptu assistance in helping as Event Marshals – apparently Nola enjoyed ‘watching’ the finishing line A LOT!
• Bella on not only completing her first triathlon, but WINNING her age group all the while riding the whole bike course with a flat! And did we mention Bella is a swimmer? Watch out!
• Poor Anthony Churchward who got a flat at the start of the bike. Anthony 0, Damien 1! But we want to know why he didn’t ride on like young Bella??
• Andy Wood-Rich getting pipped for a podium spot by a colleque he introduced into the sport. (Won’t be doing that again will you Andy!) 😉
• Well done to Dale Robinson, Morne Maritz, Emily Minton, Sonia Greguol, Jonathon Carberry, Brandon Krapf for all completed a triathlon for the first time and took on the Gatorade Distance – great effort!
• Congrats to our Try-the-Tri’s who completed either the Gatorade or Active Feet race – with many doing a triathlon for the first time (and are now hooked!)
  Sophie Thompson, Aaron Gaudron, Paul Adams, Alastair Earles, Elise Morris, Reuben Wilkes, Michael Fearne, Claire Manley, Matthew Buck, Andrea Harvey, Sean Helmot, Jo Stavrou, Renae Villani, Shari Lofthouse.
• Well done also to our Coaching Clinic participants (over 40 of you!!) who also completed their 6 weeks training and did extremely well in their first race. Was great to see you all out there and we look forward to continue traiing many of you!

The Tri Alliance Athlete Marquee (aka the TA TAJ) is THE place to be on race day, with Tri Alliance Coaches on hand, a warm-up and cool down area thanks to Xtreme Fitness Australia, our own personal physio’s and myotherapist’s on hand for pre and post race massage and treatment from Lakeside Sports Medicine Centre, a gourmet BBQ thanks to in-house chef ‘Irene’, and CBD Cycles on hand for any bike issues or tweeking, our athletes are ensured their race day all goes to plan. So thanks to eveyone involved in getting our athletes to the start (and finish) line in best possible condition!

The Tri Alliance Info Tent made it’s first appearance at this race and was thriving on Race Day! With so many new participants entering the sport of Triathlon, the info tent allows people to come and have a chat to our coaches and ask any last minute race day questions. And Coaches Greg and Sarah managed to help pump up tyres of a few athletes who had just dragged their bikes out of the garage – so they were very appreciative.(and faster for it!) 🙂

Again – well done to everyone who raced, and we look forward to the next race in just a couple of weeks on Sunday 11 December. Remember as a Tri Alliance athlete you receive a special discount, so make sure you contact the office if you have yet to enter.

CLICK HERE to view plenty of TA pictures from the race – happy viewing!

Happy Training & Racing, Team Tri Alliance