Canberra Challenge Jan 25, 2009 - Olympic Distance

27/01/2009 12:00:00 AM

Twelve BTC members competed in the Canberra Challenge olympic distance race on Australia Day long weekend. The day before was extremely hot but the race gods were smiling on us when the day dawned and provided the perfect conditions for the race

Twelve BTC members competed in the Canberra Challenge olympic distance race on Australia Day long weekend. The day before was extremely hot but the race gods were smiling on us when the day dawned and provided the perfect conditions for the race.

The temperature was early twenties, there was no wind and we had cloud cover. Our club members posted some good times with at least three members doing their longest race and first olympic distance.

Even though the water was warm it was bloody cold standing on the shore waiting for our waves. At least they could have let us wear wetsuits while waiting for the swim.

The bike course was great and the out and back (twice) run was flat. Even though it was not hot the run had no wind so felt a lot hotter than it was.

Congatulations to Emiel, Duncan, Karl and everyone else who completed their first olympic distance. Further congrats to Paula Cruden who posted a 12min PB! Please email us to let us know how your race went.

Matt Webster posted a good time but had been hoping for a wetsuit race (like all of us... well almost all). Hansjoerg and Duncan posted great swim times of 23 and 22 minutes respectively. The water was 24.8 degrees and you could not see a foot in front of your face. It definitely was not water you wanted to swallow much of. The swim was pretty rough and a couple of the guys weren't happy when they came out of the water after a fairly brutal dash and bash around the course.

Rebecca seemed very happy with her time and Anthony posted a much improved time over Noosa. Duncan put in a fantastic time for his longest race and first olympic distance. We are sure to see great things to come from Duncan over the next few years.

Paula Cruden: I had an awesome time racing Canberra. With a 12min PB it is great to see my training finally paying off. Despite it being a no wetsuit swim I was really happy with my time. The bike was fast and a much better course than the half ironman course although with 2x20k laps there was a lot of drafting (Ed. No.. surely not?) and massive groups passing together (Ed. I bet some of them posted times close to 1:00). The run was flat and fast and the large number of competitors adding to the atmosphere. Was great to see how track running can improve your times in just a few weeks. Looking forward to heading back again next year!

There was a group of 8 of us at the finish plus all of our supporters. We didn't realise that Cheryl, Paula, Caroline and Peter were racing otherwise we would have organised our cheer squad to cheer you on around the course.

A few of us went out for a ride around the bike course on Saturday afternoon and then Italian on Saturday night and enjoyed some good fun (as much as you can on water) which helped make the weekend highly enjoyable.

Karl Hayes

Triathlon Australia

Challenge Series Canberra Triathlon Balmoral Traithlon