Bob Holloway reports from Dorney Lake of the first of the F3 Events series of evening triathlons.

For those of us accustomed to (very) early morning triathlons, the idea of racing in the early evening is likely to be an attractive proposition. This does of course raise some interesting questions about what and when to eat and whether the body is really up to pushing itself hard after a full day at work. These, and quite a few other questions, were no doubt in the minds of the hundred or so hardy souls that braved the bad weather and lined up for the inaugural sprint triathlon at Dorney Lake organised by F3 Events on 4th July.

The stormy weather of the day before and forecasts of a repeat performance on the day of the race no doubt put some off making the journey but thankfully, the really bad weather held off and the race was able to proceed without too many concerns about safety. That said, the very strong wind, often a feature at Dorney Lake, would make its presence felt on the bike leg. This was certainly no day for lightning quick times.

After a short but helpful briefing, it was out into the water for the opening 750m swim. Apart from a bit of chop on the water, conditions were very good and the course was well laid out with highly visible red flags. The course consisted of a simple out and back loop in the lake alongside the main rowing tank, though the finish was located in the tank itself which entailed swimming under a narrow bridge. Once out of the wet suit, it was off on the bike and five circuits of one side of the rowing tank. As is normally the case at Dorney lake, it was a question of taking every advantage of a strong tailwind in one direction and getting every aero advantage coming back the other way. I was on a 53 x 12 on the way down and 53 x 21 on the way back. I was able to pass a dozen or so folk who had beaten me in the swim and was only overtaken by one guy, the eventual race winner. The bike leg was uneventful until the final dead turn when, standing out of the saddle to gain speed, my right calf cramped up leaving me shouting in agony. Twisting my foot out of the pedal would have been just as painful, so I decided to freewheel until the worst of the pain had subsided. After about a minute, I was able to start pedalling and was soon up to speed on the fast downward leg. I was cycling without the aid of a computer and had no idea of my elapsed time though at a guess, I would estimate that I hit T2 in about 51 minutes.

My right leg was still sore from the earlier cramp and slipping on my running shoes was a bit of an ordeal. But I was soon out on the two lap 5km run. The less said about the run the better. Once the strongest part of my race, the last couple of years has seen my running deteriorate from 18/19 minute 5kms to 23/24 minutes and tonight was no exception. I felt lethargic and was overcome with nausea every time I tried to up the pace. My finishing time of 1hr 14min meant that I had completed the run in about 23/24 minutes but it felt a lot slower!

Given the conditions and the number of dead turns on the bike leg, fast times were never going to be the order of the day but I would still have hoped to duck under 1hr 10 minutes. So tonight was yet another wake up call for better and more consistent training, particularly on the running side. I’m happier with my bike and swim but I’m still not fit enough to run hard at the end of a duathlon or triathlon.

Overall, I think F3 Events are on to a winner here. OK, the weather is always likely to play its part at Dorney Lake, but this is far outweighed by its accessibility from the M25/M4, ease of parking, traffic free roads and a good surface to bike and run on. My only slight criticism would be the number of dead turns on the bike but the drag strip out and back bike course is no doubt done to keep the cost of the race to a minimum and to make it easier to marshal. All in all, a family friendly event that has a lot of potential. The next sprint race is on Wednesday 18th July. You can enter in advance or on the day so why not give it a go. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.