When you are writing a race report, the traditional place to begin is
with the trip to the event. Well, the trip to Athlone started some time
ago for all involved. I could start with the decision made at the 2009
AGM to support the organizers of the race as they brought the biggest
race in Europe to the midlands of Ireland. It could equally be the
cold, wet, winter weekends when a small party of committed Trilogy
members attended courses and sat exams to become TD-qualified at
European level, and to be leaders of the Trilogy team on the day. It
could even have been the numerous application and closure dates that had
to be met to secure places in the Euro event for the dozen and more
Trilogy members who represented their country at the event.
.JPG) It could be any of those, but the story of Athlone started properly for
me on Friday 2 July. As the morning sunshine gave way to Summer
showers, the convoy into Athlone from Portlaoise rolled in. The club
had very generously sponsored accommodation for anyone marshalling, and
as the keys were given out, so work began on the unpacking of bikes,
boxes, helmets, wetsuits and all the paraphernalia that goes with a big
event. All safe and secure, the group broke off into mini-packs and
went hunting for food around town. The Trilogy marshal team took a walk
through of the course before lunch. All done, I joined Willie, Trish
and Roy for the World Cup Holland Vs Argentina match, enjoying the
action and filling Trish in on the rules of 'Association' football and
the workings of a round ball.
Soon after the famous Dutch victory, we headed to the start of the
Parade of Nations. Walking along Grace Road, each country was lined up
alphabetically behind a sign with their country's name, with the
exception of Ireland, who took its place as the host nation at the tail
of the field. By far the noisiest and biggest group, the Ireland team
was the engine that drove the parade towards the town and by 7:00 the
event was officially open.
After the Opening ceremony, there was a series of technical meetings
culminating in a decision by the chief technical delegate to move the
Elite turnaround back by 20m. That small decision required a re-marking
of the course in 3 places over a distance of 2km, so the remainder of my
evening was spent with the Chief Run Marshall, the other assistant chief
marshall, a metre wheel and road paint. I caught registration before it
closed, picked up the essentials and walked out the Dublin Road. By
9:30pm I was shattered and headed back to the apartment for supper and
sleep. Roy and Willie arrived in around 10:00pm and we spent an hour
comparing goodie bags, race tactics and stories. Roy and Willie had
managed to get their bike into transition before it closed on Friday,
and so were in no rush for an early bed. Me, on the other hand, set the
phone alarm for 05:25 and soon after fell asleep.
.JPG) And so to race day. A quiet breakfast and a quick check of everything
had me out on the bike by 5:45 and wheeling through the light but
persistent rain towards transition. Inside the gates I set up the bike
and met some of the people around me, including Ken from work, who
introduced me to a couple of others. There is something surreal about
sipping water, talc-ing up shoes and sharing small talk before 6:15am.
As we parted ways, I headed back towards town to get changed and hoped
there might be a shop open for good coffee and a scone. I was in luck,
and as I shared a small deli with maybe 12 other triathletes, outside I
saw Noel O'Reilly, Dave Osborne and Brian Bonham suited up and heading
back to the start. I decided it was time I did the same.
If it is a bit surreal to be in transition at sunrise, it is even more
so to descend the stairs into the pit of a nightclub, passing the
cloakroom and where the bouncers would stand, before stepping into the
low lights, sticky floors and fragrant odours of a club that shook off
its last reveler only hours previous. After a quick change in Karma,
and the obligatory visit to the gents, I pulled on the wetsuit and
headed to the start.
I was in the third or fourth wave of the morning, and found that most of
the club were in or around the same. Brian, Noel, Sinead, Taco and Dave
were all there, each privately nervous, a little more so than for a
normal race, I think. We distracted ourselves a little by watching the
paratri wave head off - I think I speak for us all when I say they
provided a great deal of inspiration as they glided through the swim
course. As the waves rolled on, the inevitable got closer and as 8.05
approached, we were moved into a pen, then a holding area and eventually
onto the pontoon. As one of the bigger waves, there was a bit of
re-organisation required as we jumped in to the pleasantly warm waters
and placed one hand on the pontoon.
It was a lovely feeling to start your swim downstream, telling yourself
that there wasn't much of a current and that the effortless swim and
easy rhythm was a pay-off for months of training. That lasted for maybe
300m until the turnaround when the wave split and spread along the
course. Without the help of the current, and with less people around,
the job became one of navigating the course while overcoming the
current. As I rounded the last buoy for the 100m approach to the
pontoon, I distinctly remember that the downstream current, again behind
me, did not feel as strong. Or maybe it was me. I glanced at my watch
on the way across the pontoon and was reasonably pleased with the time
just clicking over to 13:00 displayed.
In 2009, everyone complained about the stones on the hill to transition,
so this year there was carpet all the way. This didn't make the run any
shorter or easier, but it was certainly more comfortable. As I came
back to my bike, I could see plenty still around me and I set off
determined to keep my place on the cycle.
This was not so easy as the wide open course in Athlone becomes prone to
winds and, during our wave, a heavy burst of rain. While there are no
hills to speak about, there are long drags, and I shared these with many
an Irish tri-suit. I decided to keep pace with a group of 3 or 4, but
was careful never to be in a drafting position (they were not so
careful, unfortunately, with the ref spending some time with them in the
run up to the turnaround). Suitably cautioned and properly broken up, I
moved past them after the turnaround and never seen them again. .JPG) In the
top gear at the front, I pushed hard with the tailwind and sailed back
towards town. I had a feeling that the bike leg might have been short,
but was nevertheless happy with my time coming back into T2 of around
52mins. With a little effort I knew I could beat my time of last year
(1:18), and could hope that it was enough to keep an approaching Dave
Osborne and Liam Byrne off my back - these two lads were showing run
form in the weeks before Athlone and I knew it wouldn't be easy.
On the run course, the streets were lined with support, and many, many
times I head my name called from the crowd without ever knowing who it
was. As I took on the final lap of the run, two voices were distinct -
Roy and Willie, fresh from a little lie-on and an unrushed breakfast .
I was amazed to see that they had still not started the race, and I was
almost finished - and it reminded me again of the scale of the event.
About the same time I noticed Dave Osborne for the first time. He had
closed the gap to maybe 350m, but with less than 500m to go, I knew
could relax and enjoy the run in. Even more so when I checked the watch
and felt that the course PB was still on.
.JPG) Over the rest of the day about 15 Trilogy members completed the course,
so many that I am afraid to name them and leave anyone out. The next
day five more took to the Olympic race course completed the Trilogy Team
at the Europeans over a much tougher course and far worse conditions.
Many of the club members were representing their country for the first
time, a proud occasion and a very significant personal achievement.
The members of Trilogy not only did themselves proud in the race, they
also contributed to the success of the race in a very tangible way by
marshalling with excellence one of the most crowded sections of the
course, and the only part used at elite level for both the cycle and the
run. Re-configuring junctions at 30 seconds notice, and moving the
course to a new route within 30 minutes in response to a Garda decision
won us huge respect with the organizers, and with the European Triathlon
Union. The senior officials from the ETU closed the weekend out with
the following remarks:
Later that evening we cleared out the aprtments and headed once more for
home. The action was on RTE later that night to be relived.
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Triathlone / European Championships
