Bala Middle Distance Triathlon, Sunday 4th June 2006

Report by Jan Rogers

OK having read all the other reports on recent races I thought I would put finger to keyboard and send a little ditty on the Bala Tri.

Can you imagine how delighted I was to see the sun shining on the morning of the race!! Some 300+ athletes braved the start line at Bala for the 2k swim, 78k bike and 21k run. The race went off in two waves, starting at a relatively civilised time of 9:30. To my surprise the water was not significantly colder than Salford Quay's had been earlier in the week - for those who have competed in the standard distance race in Sept, it was certainly no colder. The swim was an out and back and gets a little 'choppy' where it is more exposed.

The bike follows a beautiful course, especially when its sunny, with some undulations but nothing significant for Wales. Passing Coed-y-Brenin on the way back, fortunately I wasn't tempted to do any 'off-roading'. The only down side is it gets a little busy on the way back but still not enough to cause any drafting. All in all, a very nice bike route.

The run is a little less pleasant, I had hoped I could go under 5 hours as I was feeling quite good at the start of the run, however regardless of the number of gels I took the hills kept coming. The first section follows an undulating road which runs parallel to the lake and then turns left to climb for 1.5 miles to the turnaround point. The down hill is not much easier on the return!!

I finally made it past the finish line in one piece and happy with 3rd Vet. This was a most enjoyable race and recommended if your season is focussing on longer races.

Name	Cat	Position	Swim	Bike	Run	Total
Mark Bradbury	MS	029/139	00:32:59	02:24:47	01:31:21	04:29:07
Jan Rogers	FV	003/011	00:35:23	02:36:33	01:55:40	05:07:36	3rd Vet

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