Castle Howard
Castle Howard
The Gauntlet Castle Howard 2015
Well that is 4 down and 2 to go! This series sure is a tough one and I challenge anyone to take on the lot for the 2016 season!! 30% off entries if you get in at the moment. I have come to expect beautiful venues, challenging bike courses and tough cross country style run legs in The Gauntlet series and on Sunday, Castle Howard did not disappoint on any count.
On Friday night I enjoyed a practice swim along with a large number of competitors taking part in the festivities over the weekend. The lake was warm and clean, a little muddy at the exit, and the course was well marked out and easy to navigate. After a spin on the bike course and a bit of a jog on Saturday morning, Michele and I made it down to the castle in the afternoon to watch the kids tri. One of the best things about this series is the inclusiveness of all abilities and the encouragement for all to take part in a triathlon, no matter the distance. We watched 8 year old Bailey Mathews take on the challenge of his first triathlon. This was incredible to see as Bailey has cerebral palsy, absolutely inspirational for the spectators, the event crew and the greater triathlon community as well, I am sure you have all seen the footage on social media and even BBC Breakfast over the past couple of days. That is what triathlon is all about!
I came into T2 with about a 10 minute gap to the lead and sitting in 6th position overall. The bounce was not in my step though as I set out to survive the half marathon. I aim this year to finish each race in the Castle Series and there was no way that a little lack of energy was going to stop that happening!!
A huge congratulations to Brennan Townshend on a storming race to take the win! Also to Colin Hill and Matt Dewis rounding out the men’s podium. The women’s race was exciting to watch to the line with Sam Warriner narrowly outsprinting Nikki Bartlett to take the win.
Thanks again to all of my sponsors, Asics, Blue Competition Cycles, Multisport Distributions, Fusion Sportswear, XLab, Nineteen Wetsuits, Torq Nutrition and Hampton Pool. And of course thanks again to the Castle Tri crew for letting me be a part of such a great race series!
Tuesday, 28 July 2015