As part of our occasional series on GB athletes who find themselves living, training and racing abroad we received the following from Roy Brunning in Cyprus.

---

It has been a frustrating season so far this year! I started by planning to race Long Course at the Big Woody and hopefully selection for the Europeans so planned a programme accordingly. Then out of curiosity, I sent my sporting CV to Tri-UK and to my surprise was accepted to race for the Team Tri UK Gatorade so re-planned my race season to fit in their races. No sooner had I planned this when I received a phone call at work asking if I would like to spend two years living and working in Cyprus! Six weeks later, in mid May, I was packed, moved and landing at Akrotiri.

I have been here six weeks now and it is easily apparent that there are some fantastic benefits to living out here. The obvious major advantage is the weather; it has been glorious, however, as it gets hotter it does become too hot to train through the middle of the day so training is either done early in the morning or later in the day when it has cooled a little. Since getting here, most of my training has been done with the K1 Tri Club (www.k1triathlonclub.org) and, as a BTF L2 coach, in return I am taking up the position as the Club’s new Head Coach.

Currently a weeks training looks a little like this:

Sunday: Club ride goes off at 7am for 3-4 hours on predominantly good roads, with surprisingly patient local car drivers. There are some fantastic routes, with some lung bursting climbs and some pretty hair-raising descents. Whether it's up Mt Olympus to Troodos, around the huge Kouris Dam, or along the coast through some of the most picturesque fishing villages, cycling in Cyprus is a pleasure. That said, with temperatures already reaching 40 degrees, I am thankful for the Craft tri suit as its SPF (sun protection factor) of 50 makes it essential cycling apparel, as are the Sundog shades and more importantly, re-hydration throughout the day is vital which means I am getting through gallons of Gatorade.

Monday: An easy run across the cliff tops followed by open water swim at 1700hrs with the K1.

Tuesday: A track session followed by my own pool swim, focussing on technique and drills.

Wednesday: After a morning core session; two evening sessions training with the K1 club; a time trial on the bikes, followed by another pool session using my Aqua Sphere Kaiman goggles.

Thursday: Currently this is a brick session alternating from sea swim/bike one week, to bike/run the next. This also allows for some good transition practice as the K1 Club has its own beach clubhouse, a permanently set up transition area including a shower for rinsing off the salt water and sand, racking, a shaded timekeeper's table and a finish chute! How many tri clubs can boast that set-up?

Friday: Is a rest day with just a real good stretching session.

Saturday: Starts with an early morning dip in the Med, occasionally using my Foor Synergie wetsuit, just for the practice. Swimming is awesome, two to three open water sessions a week in the Med's beautiful clear, blue, warm water with countless colourful little fish joining in the session; far more interesting than following the black line down the centre of a pool lane!

Last weekend the K1 Club hosted an All Island Tri: 1km sea swim, 30km bike and 8 km run with a super sprint event for novices and first timers of 300m sea swim, 15km bike and 3 km run starting a minute behind the main race. When the race started at 8am it was already 32 degrees! Sixth out of the water, as temperatures climbed, I managed to claw back some places with a very pleasing, fastest bike split of the day. Entering T2 in third place and leaving in second, and despite a faster run, I could not quite catch the RAF’s Pete Norris who crossed the finish line 50 seconds ahead. A solid effort from everyone who raced in some extremely demanding conditions.

So do I miss the UK? Well it’s not the football season yet so my beloved Leeds United are not yet causing me heart failure! I watch UK TV on satellite which means I can keep up with your weather. No contest! The internet means I can order any tri kit I need from Tri-UK and have it delivered to my door. I can also keep up to speed with the UK race scene on Tri247. Now that is where there is a difference; the selection of races out here is quite limited, the Cyprus Tri Fed (www.cytrifed.org) runs a limited number of races, likewise so do the K1 Club. However, at only £5-£10 entry fee it makes racing much more affordable. So at the moment, having only been here a short while, no I am not missing the UK at all, which does surprise me! Cyprus offers everything I could ever want to live train and race. Oh, and the job’s OK too. I will up-date you on life in Cyprus later in the year.