Royles Deva Divas Triathlon, Sun 16th July 2006

Report by Viv Slack

The Deva Divas Triathlon is a short distance ladies only race (750m - 16k - 5k) run by Chester tri club. A lot of effort is put into making the race fun and on getting new women into the sport so 6 months ago when i first thought about entering a tri it seemed ideal.

The race is held at Manley Mere near Chester. By the time i arrived it was already a scorcher. There were loads of people around to help out and a good mixture of serious looking triathletes and obvious first timers. I was pleased to see a few other MTC members there - Marie was staying chilled out sitting by her car whilst Daniela was convincing herself the run was longer than 5k!

The organisers gave a talk about the race and while they were a little obsessed with stressing the 'no nakedness' rule, the laughs helped calm some nerves. It was so warm that wetsuits weren't compulsory so I had a last minute dilema whether to dump the a wetsuit for a faster transition or stick by the 'dont change anything on the day' rule. The wetsuit won.

The swim was in a warm clear lake with a wide start so it was easy to avoid the madness of the first few meters. My start was slow but I managed to make up some time and came out of the water in 12th. My transition needs some work but once on the bike i was able to catch all but 2 and really loved the gently undulating ride on quiet roads.

Coming into T2, I could already see the eventual winner part way round the run course. The run was fun despite the heat - 2 laps around the lake. I enjoyed seeing familiar faces on the way round and listening to the commentary, not least them trying to encourage someone from the second wave that was still in the water! I was overtaken on the run by a fantastic runner (sub 18 minutes for 5k) who managed to make her sprint look like a jog - I was in awe and thankful to come in 4th without anyone else catching me. Marie came in soon after looking as composed as ever and then Daniela finished with a smile.

I would definately recommend this race to any women thinking of doing their first tri. The overall winner was actually a junior called Samantha Wilson who completed the course in an impressive 1:03:05 but all age groups and abilities were represented. It's a great event for spectators as all disciplines are based around the lake and our dog had a great day out.

And if thats not enough to persuade you, my 2nd placed senior voucher for Royles was for �75 - thought that might get you interested!

Name	Time	Position
Viv Slack	01:07:19	4
Marie McDonald	01:10:20	14
Daniela Fairclough	01:36:46	132

Back to main results page