Thanks to Catriona Fallon for this report on last weekends action in Athlone; she managed to place 62nd in her category after a strong run to finish -more info is on the race website, the Elite race should be available to watch on the net shortly...
"I completed my first sprint triathlon in my home town of Athlone last weekend. Registration took place on friday evening and the crowds were pretty impressive. It was a very well organised event with entrants divided into their appropriate age and gender categories. It began as a wet and blustery day but the swim up and down river was comfortable enough. I held back at the take off so I had no issue with people invading my space along the swim which others found very off putting and so if you are new to triathlons, holding back for those few seconds at the beginning is well worth it!
Meanwhile what should have been an easy enough cycle ended up being a bit of a nightmare as I struggled against the strong wind on an open road. I lost alot of time here but c'est la vie. The run was pretty tough as we had to circuit the same town route two and a half times. People were getting very confused along the way as with such a big event no pre race briefing took place. But my family and neighbours were along the way to spur me on. It actually ended up being a five and a half km run with alot of unneccesary twists and turns along the way. As there were so many waves you had no idea how you were doing against others and you were never competing in isolation which was something. My time is not worth printing however, I did beat Kathryn Thomas so while she may have been the hottest female entrant she wasn't the fastest!! There's hope for me yet!
I'm not sure if I would recommend this event to beginners as the crowds may be overwhelming for some however, on the other hand being an unknown entity competing against all sorts of capabilities might be just what you need as there is no pressure. A good event if you are interested in making a weekend of it as the elites are worth watching."
