Triathlon club news 28/3/2012
Once again this week , members of the Goulburn Triathlon club took their skills far and wide to partake in various events , from Mooloolaba to to Balmoral to Mt Annan to Orange the athletes plied their trades with great aplomb.
At the forefront of the clubs achievements on Sunday were Robbie Skillman and Barb Beard who took part in the World renowned Mooloolaba triathlon festival, an event which included the World Cup Triathlon won by Frenchman Laurent Vidal. Both Barb and Robbie contested the open age group event which included over 2500 entrants,and finished with mixed results. Barb finished the event 22nd in her age group in a very good time , but this could have been much better if it hadn’t been for a flat tyre during the cycle leg. Meanwhile Robbie had a day to forget beginning with his tri-suit zipper malfunctioning , forgetting his energy gels and having the wrong pre-race breakfast. Despite these setbacks Robbie finished the swim in a very good position only to suffer nausea prior to the ride leg and then as a final insult found a flat tyre on his bike which effectively brought his race to an end.
Club members Rod Smith and veteran medico Dr Bruce Burgess travelled to Balmoral to take part in the one kilometre Balmoral open water swim , a charity event raising funds for cancer research. Rod finished 30th of 87 entrants in the 50-59 bracket and Bruce 32nd in the 60-69 group.
Also on Sunday Rod and Lori McWhirter travelled to Orange to compete in the Great Volcano run , a grueling eleven km off road course which includes 300 metres of climbing. Out of over 160 competitors Rod finished 24th outright and second in the 40-49yr age group. Not to be outdone Lori also netted silver in her age group and was 56th overall.
The silver continued to flow on Wednesday when Andrew Oberg , Damien Ottley and Mark Stutchbury participated in the NSW Police and Emergency services games. The three faced the best the judicial system had to offer, and all returned with second placings in their respective age groups. Andrew was the fastest local and despite slipping in an extra one and a half kilometres due to a missed turn, still managed to finish only a couple of minutes behind the first place getter. In the hotly contested 35-39 age group ,Damien beat out a steady tempo to also gain silver only two minutes behind Andy. In the more frail-aged 45-49yr age group Mark rode with a bit more care so as to avoid breaking a hip yet still managed a respectable second in his age group.
Aquathon News
Meanwhile , on Tuesday the club held is final aquathon for the year . As a bit of a novelty the run leg was reversed to the clockwise direction and whilst this did not have a lot of effect on the finishing order of each category , the change did suit some competitors more than others. Jacqui Oberg, Alan Gowen, Isaac Hogan (sub 40 min) , Dempsee Banwell and Rachel Downes were some to record personal bests.
The club sends its thanks and congratulations to all competitors this season and we hope to see everyone next season with a renewed enthusiasm for multisport. In the interim we also hope all can attend the end of year presentation night on the 12th May at the Greengrocer on Clifford st.
