Racing 795

Seven members of the club headed off to Athlone on Saturday to take part in Triathlone. Jim, James, Peter, Padraig and Barry were doing the Olympic distance tri while PJ and Aisling wer out in the Sprint distance.

First in the water at 8.40 was the olympic wave. Bitter disappointment could be seen on all the glum faces at the start line as the swim had been shortened to 750m.

Further disapointment followed with the shambolic start but everybody eventually got away into a fast downstream swim. First out of the water was Padraig followed closely by Jim,Barry,Peter and James.

Padraig, Jim and Barry were keeping a close eye on each other in T1, Jim doing so much looking that he missed his bike and had to run an extra 100m to find it.
Padraig was first away on the bike followed closely by the pursuing gang.

Unfortunately James’s mammoth efforts to make up lost ground in the swim resulted in a broken chain just outside T1. Too much torque I presume.

Meanwhile Aisling was starting her swim in the first wave of the sprint distance. Despite it being her maiden voyage in the new wetsuit she came into T1 well positioned in her group.

Out on the road the battle was raging between Padraig and the three amigos trying to track him down. Nobody suceeded but Jim made a great burst into T2 and briefly led the Racing 795 quartet on the exit from T2. This was short-lived however as the greater speed and youth of Padraig and Barry soon paid dividends on the run.

At the same time PJ was just entering the water with Aisling well into her 5k run after a strong bike leg on her spanking new Giant Defy.

First across the line was Aisling finishing in 1:36:47 (pos 159 F) followed by Padraig in 2:09:46 (pos 65 M) Barry in 2:10:15 ( pos 70 M) Jim in 2:10:56 (pos 79 M) Peter in 2:16:58 (pos 117 M) and PJ in 1:23:12 (pos 311 M).

Well done to all on great performances. It was great to see the new kit out on display and a big thank you has to go to Lorraine and Paddy for their fantastic support on the day

Info: www.triathlone.com

Full Results

Jim Furlong.

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The good weather gods were looking down again as four 795ers (plus assorted relatives and friends) headed for the 25th ‘Hell of the West’ in Kilkee, Co. Clare.

Barry Byrne was making his first attempt at the famous race, whilst Martin Mimnagh was having his second go, after last year’s tough event. Seasoned campaigners Jim Furlong and James Bodels were both down for the third time. All were confident of bringing home PBs.

Swim Wave One and the Young Lads (Barry and Martin) were off, followed 10 minutes later by the Old Men. Conditions were excellent – flat calm for the swim around Kilkee Bay. The race leaders were out at an astonishing 20 mins – of the 795ers Martin was out just under the half hour, Barry at 31:20, Jim at 33 mins and James at 48 mins. All happy with their swimming. There were unconfirmed reports of jellyfish, but we think it was just a good old-fashioned case of the heebeejeebees and vivid imaginations…

On to the bike then for a brisk 45km. Martin, Jim and Barry blitzed the cycle, all averaging over the magic 30 km/h mark. James gave his red Paganini a second chance having punctured in Athy, and rode steadily for just under 1:50.

They say the ‘Hell’ in the Hell of the West refers mostly to the run. 5K up, 5k down – sounds easy to me! The lads all had a look of grim determination leaving T2 to tackle the hills of Kilkee. 47 mins later Martin arrived back, smiling his way to the finish line, followed in hot pursuit by Jim and Barry. James arrived somewhat later, having picked up a ‘friend’ along the way, as is now customary.

Top performances by the lads, with ‘Hell of the West’ PBs by some distance for Martin (02:41:19) and Jim (02:52:37). Fine performance too by Barry (02:56:16) in his first visit to Kilkee. When interviewed immediately afterwards, he described it as ‘Hell’! James (04:07:02), in Ironman mode finished fresh, and looking like he could do it all over again! Roll on Barcelona says James...

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All roads led to a sun-scorched Athy, Co. Kildare on Saturday last for what is now arguably the biggest day on the Irish Triathlon calendar.

Racing795’s largest contingent yet travelled the short distance to Athy, with high hopes of PBs after a good winter and spring training campaign. Martin Mimnagh, Jim Furlong, James Bodels, Tony Redmond and Barry Byrne were all tackling the Olympic Distance, whilst Siobhan Mimnagh and David Furlong were going in the shorter Sprint Distance event.

First up was Martin in the first (fast) wave making his debut with Racing795. A strong swim by Martin saw him out of the water and into to T1 in just over 23 mins. He put the head down then and 1 hr 10 mins later was back in for T2. An astounding 43 mins for the 10k resulted in a total time of 2:19:49 to put him in 167^th place overall. I hear a few seconds were added to the run due to a ‘Commando’ type roll in the stubble field. A powerful performance all round, with an improvement of 10 mins on his previous PB.

Next in were Jim, James and Tony. Jim had a strong swim in 25:38, with James around the 36 min mark and Tony 43 mins – the strong currents proving a handful for Tony. On to the bike then and Jim ground out a good 1:13 on the bike, with Tony feeling the heat on 1:34. Unfortunately disaster struck James as he punctured with 4k to go. Despite the insertion of some gunk into the dastardly tube, what went down just wouldn’t go up. Rumour has it that a PB was on the cards. Jim stormed home with a 10k of 47:16 to just dip under the magic 2:30 barrier at 2:29:32, and Tony getting in at 3:41:05. Another PB, this time for Jim, taking almost 15 minutes off his previous best.

Next in was Barry, making his Olympic distance debut. A strong swim by Barry had him into T1 at 25:28, and after his now customary lethargic T1 was away on the bike. 1 hr 19 later and back into T2 and on to 50 min for 10k for a finishing time of 2:38:47. A great performance in his first Olympic event, and so happy was he that he was rendered speechless afterwards (for about 2 hours).

Here’s the evidence – http://tiny.cc/Wo895

On to the Sprint event then, and first off was Siobhan, making history as Racing795’s first ever female triathlete. 750m, and a little over 10 mins later into T1, and on to a 47 min cycle for Siobhan. She powered home on the run (all that sneaky lunchtime training paying off) for a total time of 1:33:50. Next up was David and after just under 10 mins in the water exited for T1. A solid bike in 36:50 and a good run in 23:38 had David home in 1:13:38. More PBs all-round!

(Editor’s note – David F wrote this report and has been too modest re his performance – this was a very strong race for him, placing 24th in his age group in a field of over 150)

A great day was had in Athy, with everyone happy with their performances. Great to see a sizeable contingent of 795’ers doing the club proud at such a large event. Thanks also to Declan (?) King for the use of his yard for parking.

Results:

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