If anyone who raced Loughrea yesterday has the chance to tap out a report, mail it onto pro@sligotriathlon.ie -good few Sligo athletes in the mix on what must have been seriously testing conditions.
Thanks go to Roy Kelly for the following report from Boyle on the Sunday before last. There was a good contingent form the club present and the race is highly recommended. If you missed it then one to keep in mind for 2012...
The Lough Key Sprint Triathlon took place on the 4th of September 2011. It was the fifth hosting of the event and the second time for it to be included as part of the national series. 231 competitors started the race and 224 finished. Although a number of Sligo Tri Clubs elite were in Galway to tackle the Galway 70.3 Ironman the club was well represented with 22 competitors across all levels.
Lough key forest park is a great place to have a triathlon in it’s proximity to Sligo, facilities and idyllic scenery. Registration on Saturday evening was welcoming and efficient and the goody bag included a good sports bag which was a nice change from the customary race t-shirt that every race seems to have.
The race had the usual build-up of registering, racking the bike, lining up all of the necessary gear, chatting to everyone about what they expected to do and how training was going. After the race briefing we were counted into the water. I was one of the first into the water and I’d say that it took about ten minutes for everybody to be counted in and lined up for the race start. For next year I think I’ll be later getting into the water as I was definitely feeling the cold before the race started. The start area was very wide which gave swimmers plenty of space but I still managed to crash into a few people at the start before settling into a rhythm. We were lucky that the lake was calm because at times there can be up to 2 feet waves in Lough key. I survived the swim and made it into transition, as usual I was well down the field but was happy with my time and to be back on solid ground.
On a dry day the bike course is a nice one, most of it is on quiet country roads and there is only one tester of a hill and a few drags. However, Sunday was a wet day and the rain meant that the roads were very greasy especially in the sheltered forest roads. A number of people came of there bikes, some were able to continue on but others had to retire for the day. At the finish line competitors could be seen comparing bruises and cuts. Every junction had marshals shouting instructions and support and even though the roads weren’t closed there was practically no traffic for the first 16k. At about 16k you turn back on to the main N4 and there is a nice down hill where i felt like i was flying along, unfortunately it is followed by a 1k drag of an uphill which always seemed flat when I was driving.
The second transition went smoothly (well as smoothly as it can go when you have that weird sensation where your legs feel like they’re asleep/numb – you can’t actually feel your legs but you can feel the pain they are in). The first 400m of the run to the top of the hill at the tower was very tough but then the legs began to loosen out. The lough key run is an enjoyable one as once you get past the 400m mark the rest of the course is flat.
Overall the event was well marshalled and supported and despite the wet weather the atmosphere was great and spirits were high. Lough key is so close to home and because it is such a nice course it is definitely a race that will be in most members calendar for next year.
