21/09/08 - How do you train for that ?

On 21st September, Gulberwick resident Sandy Legget travelled down to the south of England to compete in the New Forest Middle distance Triathlon.  The event is held over the half iron-man distance so consists of a 1.2 mile swim, a 57 mile cycle & a 13.1 mile run, all completed consecutively.  The weather on the 21st was fine and after a short delay whilst the medical support team found the lake, the swim kicked off at around 7:15 a.m.  The swim leg was an open water swim in Ellingham Water Ski Lake and as there were around 400 starters, the swimmers started in 4 waves spaced a few minutes apart to ease congestion.  The swim leg split times aren’t available due to an administrative error with the event timekeeping but Legget estimates he completed the swim leg in about 38 minutes.

Transition 1 involves running from the lake and changing from swim kit into bike gear as quickly as possible before starting the bike leg.  Legget had a decent transition and was soon out on the bike hunting down the competitors in front but, 6 miles into the bike leg, disaster struck – the competitor ahead of him startled a small herd of New Forest wild horses which caused one of them to bolt into the road.  Unable to stop or swerve Legget struck the horse on the rear quarter damaging his bike and sustaining injuries down his left side.  Luckily the competitors immediately behind stopped to offer assistance and helped him to the side of the road and the occupants of a passing car also witnessed the incident and stopped to assist.  After a several minutes to assess the damage to both bike and body, Legget made the decision to continue with the race.  “I had trained most of the year with this event as one of my two main targets so I couldn’t just give up.  I repaired my helmet and bike as best I could with Gaffa tape but there was some damage to the gear change mechanism and this, coupled with the injuries to my left side, definitely affected my performance”.

Legget completed the swim and bike legs in a combined time of 3hrs 55 mins and limped round the tough, off road, half marathon run leg in exactly 2 hrs to complete the entire event in 5hrs 55 mins which left him in 112th place from around 350 finishers.  “After the incident with the horse I was pleased just to get round really as I was in so much pain immediately after the collision I didn’t think I would be able to continue.  I could feel myself stiffening up on the bike which made the transition to the running leg really tough but I was determined not to give up”.

Animal lovers amongst our readers will be pleased to hear that the horse was unharmed and ran off immediately after the collision.

 

 

21/09/08 Triathletes return with Podium Places

 

   Two of Shetland’s triathletes travelled to Nairn last weekend to compete in the sprint distance triathlon.

   Robin Atkinson and Lynsey Henderson took on the 750m swim, 18km bike ride and 6km run in a strong field of 66 competitors. The swim was in the Nairn swimming pool setting off at different time intervals and the bike and run was on a fast course in fine weather.

   Lynsey put in a very strong swim of 10min despite having to do an extra half a length due to confusion of the marshals. Robin however, struggled on the swim, probably due to a tiring season, but was not too disheartened as the bike ride was coming up next.

   Lynsey rode strongly on the bike and pushed very hard on the run to finish in a time of 1hr 12:39 ensuring a 1st place in the senior female category over 4 minutes ahead of second place.

   Robin put in a blistering ride to pass the majority of his rivals to give himself a big advantage for the run which he held good pace to finish in 1hr 9:56 giving him 3rd place in the senior male category.

   It was a great race for gaining more experience whilst getting great results for what has been a fantastic first year for the Shetland Triathlon Club.

 

 

16/08/08 - Aberfeldy Middle Distance Report

 

Last weekednd Shetland Triathlon Club entered three teams in the
Aberfeldy Middle Distance triathlon team relay.

The three teams, of two triathletes per team, had to complete the 1.9km
swim, 59 mile cycle and 1/2 marathon run amid competition from some
of the strongest triathletes, swimmers, cyclists and runners in
Scotland, and further afield.

Shetland Triathlon Club fielded three teams, one all female and two all
male teams.

Ladies: Lynsey Henderson and Caroline Simpson
Mens Team 1: Shane Winson and Robin Atkinson
Mens Team 2: John Pumford-Green and John Anderson


The half-ironman distance triathlon involves, in order, a 1.9km open
water swim, a 56 mile cycle race and a 1/2 marathon run. Our teams
were set up so that the athletes completing the swim would also do the
13 mile run.

The mass swim start, 197 people all jockeying for position in a 12C
temperature Loch Tay, was exilerating. Lynsey Henderson showed
her swimming class, finishing the swim leg in  29:06. 21st overall, and
handing over to Caroline Simpson in super fast time. Shane
Winson    showed his swimmimg potential by handing over to Robin
Atkinson after a quick 38:48. John Pumford-Green, for "Shetland Men's
2" handed the baton to John Anderson after a decent 1st open water swim
time of 40:01.

The cyclists all did a blistering ride, over testing terrain. First home
was Robin Atkinson in 2 hours 51 seconds handing the baton back to Shane
Winson who set off for the final 13 mile run in hot sunshine. Next to
come back to "transition" was John Anderson, after a great ride of
2 hours 53 seconds. John Pumford-Green, refreshed from the morning
swim leg, took the baton and set off on his 13 mile run, chasing Shane.
Caroline Simpson sped into transition after a brilliant ride of 3
hours 4 minutes, handing over to Lynsey Henderson. Lynsey soon ran down
John and then Shane, to finish her 1/2 marathon run in a creditable 1
hours and 47 minutes. John came home in under 2 hours, closely followed
by Shane in 2 hours and 15 minutes.

The Shetland Triathlon Club's 3 teams finished the team relay section
as follows:

Ladies : 17th
Men's 2: 22nd
Men's 1: 26th

from a total team entry of 55 teams.

A spokeseman said, "This was a great introduction to half-ironman
triathlon for the club, in its first year. We're looking forward to
competing as individual entrants next year."

 

 

13/07/08 - Stromness Sprint Results

 

Debut Triathlete Dominates Orkney

 

Two triathletes travelled to Orkney at the weekend to compete in the Stromness Sprint Triathlon. This is a race involving a 750 metres swim, then a 20km cycle and finishing with a 5km run.

 

In her first ever official race, Lynsey Henderson won the female race by over 11 minutes, in a time of 1 hour 15 minutes, finishing in 5th place overall.  This is an outstanding achievement by her in her first year of training, and outlines her potential in the sport for the future.

 

Also competing in the race was Shane Winson, who finished 5th place male, 7th overall, in a time of 1 hour 25 minutes. this was the final race of three that he has completed to raise money for Cancer Research UK. He would like to thank everyone that has contributed to the fund, which now stands at over £1000, and thank Northlink for their support with travel. Anyone who would like to sponsor him can do so at www.justgiving.com/shanewinson

 

 

22/06/08 - Shetland Half Marathon Results

 

STC athletes were out in force for the Shetland Simmer Dim half marathon at the weekend, in conditions that can only be described as "Shetlands' Finest". Gale force head wind, driving rain, and splatterings of hail... it's what dreams are made of. However that wasn't going to stop our finest from battling through and posting some very good times, and even picking up a couple medals and a winners trophy !

In the men's race, first home for the STC crew was "nearly vet" Sandy Leggett in 8th overall (1.32,32), followed by John Anderson in 22nd (1.52,45), Tim Ash 24th (1.54,38) and John Pumford-Green in 31st (1.58,24).

For the ladies, Lynsey Henderson was home first for us in 20th place overall (1.47,50) which also claimed her first place in the senior ladies catagory, followed by Donna Mainland in 23rd (1.53,11) who grabbed third place in the same catagory as Lynsey; and Wendy Hatrick in 35th (2.05,49).

 

 

02/06/08 - Stirling Triathlon Result

 

STC triathlete Shane Winson competed in the Stirling Novice Triathlon on Sunday 1st June, the largest triathlon event organised in Scotland. In perfect conditions, he completed the race in 52 minutes 29 seconds to claim 14th place out of a field of 144 competitors. He was actually in 5th place coming in to T2 off the bike, but his inability to run at any sort of pace cost him badly. However, this was a new personal best and he would like to thank coaches and training partners at the club for their help. Now he needs someone to teach him how to run!

 

 

26/05/08 - Edinburgh Marathon Result

 

 

As build up to tackling Ironman UK in the near future, STC athlete Sandy Legget completed the Edinburgh Marathon at the weekend in a time of 3 hours 22 minutes, placing him 636th out of a field of 6616 finishers.

 

 

11/05/08 - Triathlete completes first triathlon for Cancer Research UK.

 

Shane Winson completed the first of his three planned triathlons in aid of Cancer Research UK on Sunday, taking part in the Stromness super-sprint in Orkney.

 

In near perfect conditions, he claimed 8th place in a time of 46 minutes 24 seconds.

 

His next event is the Stirling Triathlon in two weeks, and he would like to thank Northlink for their travel support, and everyone who has contributed to his Cancer Research collection. Anyone wanting to make a donation can do so online at www.justgiving.com/shanewinson.

 

 

11/04/08 – John Lunn visits the uk’s Most Northerly Triathlon Club

 

 

THE SPORT of triathlon has been under the spotlight in Shetland this week thanks to a visit by a development manager for Triathlon Scotland.

John Lunn, who represents the national governing body, flew in to help establish a future for the three discipline sport on the isles.

During his two day visit Mr Lunn met members of the recently formed Shetland Triathlon club and staff from Shetland Islands Council.

He learned about the links being formed with established organisations representing the relevant sports of swimming, cycling and running and was told they intend to share coaching expertise.

Mr Lunn said: “I was very pleased to be in Shetland to support the new club that is now the most northerly in the UK. Triathlon Scotland looks forward to working closely with the club and providing any help that we can.”

 

 

27/02/08 - Latest sport to come to the isles