Guatelama City Triathlon - 4th March 2007.

Race report by Suzy Blackledge

After finding out about the annual Guatemala city triathlon only a week before and having not swum much since I arrived in the country, (apart from a rather ill-calculated, hungover lake swim that turned into a 2 hour marathon a couple of weeks before), I was as you can imagine rather nervous. But I thought I’d go for it as it sounded fun, (well as fun as getting up at 4am in the morning and trying to force down porridge and coffee to effect a toilet visit can be).

In true English style, we arrived bright and early to prepare ourselves for the race. We hot-footed it over to the centre of the city at the allotted time of 5:45am to rack our bikes, only to find that in true Guatemalan style, we were one of the first groups there, (apart from a few confused-looking gringos). By 6:15am, (the supposed start time of the race), there were only 6 bikes in transition and it was clear that this would be rather a relaxed triathlon! Guatemala city must be a lot safer than you’d think too as there was no security – I had my eye on a lovely Giant bike, but my working class, protestant upbringing prevented me from swiping it after the race.

The swim section of the race took place in the Piscina National, an open-air swimming complex with a 50m pool and a 25m diving pool. Unfortunately it was actually quite cold and after a warm-up, I discovered that the sprint race wasn’t starting until after the Olympic competitors had finished the swim – whoops!

However, it did mean that as I shivered by the side of the pool, I got to watch with wonder the start of the Olympic swim. There was no setting people off at civilized 20 second intervals here – oh no. When the whistle blew, 10 people to a lane all set off at the same time, swimming over each other and splashing around, all jostling for position! Everything got a bit more spread out after a few lengths though and it all worked out okay as there was no need for much overtaking after the initial melee.

I had 5 people in my lane for the 750m swim and I decided that my strategy would just be to go hell for leather – in the end, there was no warning for the start of my race and it was lucky I had my goggles and cap on as all of a sudden, the whistle blew and it was time for the off! There were only 3 people in my lane at the start of the race, apparently one guy was sat having a drink at the side of the pool when the whistle blew and had to whip on his goggles and hurl himself in.

My swim went really well, which was a great confidence booster. Then, it was onto the bike for a fast 4-lap circuit. The bike course was great fun – up a small hill, then flat and fast out to a turning point and back again downhill. The marshals had decided it would be a good idea to put soggy carpet down at the turning point at the bottom of the hill, which caused a few crashes….one guy even broke his leg apparently. I was fine, probably owing to my 7 years in Manchester and the frequency with which I ride in the rain – I think it was a bit of a shock to the other native competitors.

After a great bike, it was onto the run and, once again, I was rather slow. A 2 lap course, the run was quite difficult, uphill on the way out and downhill on the way back and I did lose a bit of time trying to open a bag full of water, (ending up with it all over my head and not in my mouth)! The downhill section did however give me the opportunity to attempt a sprint finish, (photo included).

I really enjoyed the race - If you’re stuck for something to do in early March and you’re in Guatemala city at 6am, I can heartily recommend trying the Guatemala city triathlon! It was a really relaxed, friendly race with lots of support and was well organised, apart from the late start time.

Along with the great atmosphere, the race also provides the opportunity to appreciate some rather fantastic outfits/haircuts/facial hair adornments. I especially liked the “larger” lady who completed the whole of the triathlon in an old, pastel-coloured, see-through swimming costume, the man who was swimming in an oversize fluorescent bike shirt and the guy who had secured his heart rate monitor so tight that it afforded him a pair of breasts that rivaled Dolly Partons’…..to name but a few.

So there you have the first installment of Suzy’s Central American triathlon odyssey….more to follow!

Name	Total Time	Age Group Position	Womens Position
Suzy Blackledge	01:30:32	1	4

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