Blackpool Triathlon, 20th August 2006

Report by Suzy Blackledge

Sea swim and beach run anyone? I can see you grimacing at the thought of it. I had my reasons for registering for the inaugural Blackpool triathlon as in my twisted mind I thought it would help me cure once and for all my phobia of the sea. However, as we peeped over the promenade on our arrival to Blackpool, the sea was rather choppy and uninviting.

As our intrepid band of plucky Manchester Tri members edged toward the shoreline to check out just how frightening the sea looked and to get used to the fact that we would be in it quite shortly, unfortunately we found out that it was not to be. The race organisers took the decision to cancel the swim on the grounds that if anyone got into trouble, the sea was so rough that they wouldn’t be able to hold onto a rescue canoe (gulp). Definitely the right decision, but we couldn’t help being a teeny bit disappointed as we’d psyched ourselves up for the mother of all 1500m swims and were feeling quite professional.

So, the decision was taken to change the race to a duathlon. Considering I run like a drunk monkey, you can probably imagine I wasn’t particularly enamoured at the prospect of a 10k beach run, followed by a 43k bike along the prom and then the sadistic inclusion of a 5k run on the beach at the end. However, Jonathan, Michelle and Vicki’s eyes lit up at this prospect as they are all lightning quick runners!

After a delayed start, the starters’ gun went off at 2pm and we began our challenging 10k beach run. I was slightly demoralised being at the back of the pack, but I managed to achieve my target of not being the last person to finish the 10k, which I was quite proud of. The ascent of about 100 stairs in the run up to transition 1 (and at the end of the race too….very nasty) was rather unfair I thought, but the beach run itself was actually great fun. There were a host of pools and obstacles to negotiate and it broke up what could have been rather a bleak, soul-destroying run. Special mention to Michelle who was 2nd lady to finish the 10k, Jonathan who was 8th and to Vicki Wade who was also right up there in the lead pack at the end of the first 10k.

The bike was fantastic, albeit not as fast as it could have been owing to the force 9 gale blowing in our faces both out and back and I managed to gain some ground following my horrendously slow 10k time. It was a 4-lap course out and back along the promenade with some tight corners and narrow bits, but it was great fun. I did nearly get blown off a couple of times though, which was a bit scary! Unfortunately there seemed to be a lot of glass on the course and I heard a rumour that 14 people dropped out, which was a shame as the course itself was great. Andy Chalmers and Joel Benson unfortunately had to call it a day owing to punctures on the bike course.

My tactic on the bike was to go “hell for leather”, (technical term) as I knew that I’d be rubbish on the last 5k. I achieved that rather well, (I was finding it rather hard to breathe on the last lap) but it did unfortunately result in my legs refusing to work at the start of the last 5k. I managed to regain some of my dignity however and finished the race in around 3 hours, followed closely by Michelle. Jonathan pulled a blinder and finished 12th overall, with the quickest 5k time of the day, as did Vicki, who finished 2nd woman. A lesson to us all if we do Blackpool next year though – wear socks – that sand and salt water can chafe!

The verdict? A fun but challenging race, and one which I will definitely do next year. It was all very well organised, there were loads of marshals and volunteers and the atmosphere was great. Fab goody bag too, including rock and popcorn – all you need to refuel after an arduous race!

Would recommend it to anyone who’s a bit bonkers!

Name	Gender	Run	Pos	Bike	Pos	Run	Pos	Total	Overall
Jonathan Dabbs	M	00:42:46	8	01:22:12	37	00:21:38	1	02:27:46	12
Vicki Wade	F	00:50:09	59	01:25:35	49	00:26:22	35	02:43:51	47
Suzy Blackledge	F	01:00:49	110	01:26:38	53	00:31:15	70	03:00:38	66
Michelle Harvie	F	00:48:09	40	01:47:11	95	00:25:10	26	03:02:41	73
David Waterhouse	M	00:54:38	80	01:31:00	64	00:33:34	82	03:02:56	74
Joel Benson	M	00:50:46	62	Puncture				DNF	114
Andy Chalmers	M	00:55:18	84	Puncture				DNF	117

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