Lincsquad take Team Prize at Humber Sprint.
In complete contrast to last year’s flood drenched conditions competitors at Sunday’s SIS Humber Sprint enjoyed perfect racing weather as their 2011 triathlon season came to an end. This little gem of a sprint organised by Toro oozes a local, family atmosphere pitting the regions premier Tri clubs for one last blast before the winter training(hibernation) starts.
The early start for this one is needed especially for the mathematicians and misers, as once the realisation that handing over your cash to the Bridge guy will now cost you £6 in total the extra waiting time is used for planning a different route back!
For the non mathematicians the long pool at the South Hunsley School means a short count of just 12 lengths before taking in one of the longer (14.5 mile), more hilly of bike courses with some long drags leading up to some very fast descents. The run you either love or hate but it’s certainly unique in it has you running over a ramped motorway bridge four times. It’s quirkiness has you trying to fathom out how close your rivals are? As the crow flies they’re just a matter of metres away? But what if you actually laid the ramps out end to end then that would be….?
First into the water was Jack Garner. Jack did this race earlier in the season so had the opportunity to gauge his progress. Jack and his entourage including family and Lincsquad Youth Academy coaches weren’t disappointed as Jack along with guide Pete Chappil crossed the line in a personal best by over 12 minutes (136th 1:35:47) I don’t know if Jack realises how inspirational he is to the rest of the Lincsquad team and how his positive attitude and determination make him a pleasure to train (and of course makes for some proud Coaches).
After falling off his bike during last week’s Homecraft’s Brigg Sprint, Steve Grocock was determined to finish the season on a high note. Setting the day’s fastest bike time meant carrying a narrow lead into the run leg. Losing a few surplus pounds and some extra run training meant holding on to third place overall and first in his age group, only 30 seconds behind the winner in a time of 1:03:47.
Steve’s (3rd) placing along with Phil Gibbs’ (9th 1:08:45), Chris Gibbs’ (10th 1:09:08) and not wanting it to go to a Judge’s decision Chris Spavin’s (11th 1:09:44) was enough to secure the Team prize. With just a minute separating these three, next year should see some hotly contested races.
It was great to recapture the title after allowing the competitive ’We love Mountains Racing Team’ to take the early season honours. A massive box of muffins were shared out among the remaining team members. Apologies to those who had to dash and missed out on the photo and cakes but they just looked too nice not to eat!
Just as the Gibbs brothers have stamped their authority in the Lincsquad Hall of Fame with their running speed, two more siblings in Steve Ornsby (36th 1:15:34) and Lee Ornsby (64th 1:19:05) are already beginning to ruffle feathers in their maiden season. Both brothers have knocked great chunks off their times in every discipline as they try to hammer each other, all whilst trying to maintain the, ‘I don’t mind if he beats me’ personna, Yeh right!
As often happens in triathlon with wave starts, but not apparent at the time, you can finish just seconds in front of your team mates. This was the case for Ironman Paul Ralph as his 12 second advantage over Steve Ornsby meant the two finished 35th and 36th without actually seeing each other during the race.
In her final triathlon in Lincsquad colours Kate Lahart narrowly missed out on a trophy finishing 4th female and 48th overall (1:17:22). In Kate’s short Lincsquad career she’s been a regular at Circuits, swimming, TT‘s, running sessions and of course, the odd social night out. Kate, you’ll be sorely missed but we all wish you the very best in your new career (and in the world of multisport). We hope you’ll make a special guest appearance next year at one of our events.
Two more Lincsquad newcomers were looking to build on their Brigg Sprint performances. David Gibbs (74th 1:21:05) and Andrew Read (133rd 1:33:12). Apologies guys if you didn’t receive the full Lincsquad support (or cakes) but we’re still trying to put faces to names so don’t take it personal that someone in a Lincsquad tri-suit walked right by you without acknowledgement. Hope to see you both at the Firework night to get introduced properly. Lincsquad take Team Prize at Humber Sprint.
The one thing you notice straight away is the strength of the tide, no matter how hard we swam you just watched the Humber Bridge getting further and further away.
