Tri Chonnemara 2010; all at sea off Carna

Thanks to Cecilia for this race report from last weekends Galway triathlon (for anyone wanting a tough course it is the race for you). In fairness to the Galway club events conspired against them on the day to turn the swim into a serious challenge and the route will change next year (see explanation & forum discussion). It is definitely a testing event –some of the more experienced competitors described it as the toughest Olympic distance event in the country. Most of us were the guts of an hour in the water where shifting bouys, choppy water and changing tides gave the event the feeling of a US Navy SEAL exercise; as opposed to a recreational swim. Mention has to go to Neil Dwyer who picked this as his introduction to the Olympic distance and managed to finish well up in the field…

"Nothing could quite prepare the intrepid Sligo Triathletes who made the journey into the depths of Conemara last weekend for this year’s Carna Triathlon. The rain held off for the event and the conditions were very favourable, the swim conditions were not however! The distance for the Olympic distance swim is 1,500m but last Saturday it was closer to 2,200m with many competitors feeling like they were swimming in circles!!! The song title by Talking Heads springs to mind ‘we’re on the road to nowhere’ in relation to the swim on Saturday. The buoys were very difficult to sight and according to the Galway Tri club report the reason for the lengthy swim was due to the fact that the buoys were not anchored properly so as swimmers were swimming out to them, they kept moving with the current. I think the poor organisation of this swim highlights how well our club swim series was organised (well done Shane).

The cycle route was quite hilly and very exposed as the wind was very difficult to negotiate! The run again was also up and down many a lonesome Conemara hill but the scenery was undoubtedly spectacular and proved to be an added distraction.

All in all despite the arduous course, club members performed well. A special mention must go to both Caoimhe Ni Mhurchu and Brian Sexton who each came third in their age categories. Colm Casey had a very strong swim and cycle and was set to finish well but unfortunately he had to retire early in his run due to injury. Well done to Sean Flannery who won a cycle pump in the spot prizes. I’m sure he will put it to good use and there is no doubt about it that you can never have enough pumps!

Well done to everyone who made the journey and endured the event and lived to tell the tale! A memorable event for all the wrong reasons!"

Results are available on the Redtag website.