Balmoral Triathlon Club Swimming Time Trial Series 2011/2012

31/10/2011 2:07:11 PM

Balmoral Triathlon club holds a time trial series during each season. Swimming, running and cycling. The swim time trials are held at Balmoral Beach and are approximately 1.1km+ in length. The exact length remains a mystery. Everyone is invited to come along and test themselves in a fun and friendly environment.

Balmoral Triathlon Club swim series are held at Balmoral beach and comprise a two lap swim with a mass start.

Thank you to Lew Hartley for organising these swim time trials. 

BTC Open Water Swim TT Results, October 29 2011

The first bouy was not for the faint hearted on Saturday. It was probably the roughest seen to date. It didn't take long for the field to spread out however with Bruce and Nicole slowly pulling away after the first yellow bouy followed by Mark Norman and Karl Hayes. Chris Kerr and Andrew Dickson slowly gain on Karl and stayed together with Rob Parker also joining the trio. Andrew and Karl traded places a couple of times with Chris putting in a burst in the last 150m to put a couple of body lengths on the other three. Whilst out in front Nicole, Bruce and Mark were making a race of it.

The balance of power in the White/Degan household shifted to the fairer side with Julia putting Dean in his place on Saturday. Mark Norman was not far off the two guns out in front. Hannah showed her continual swim strength but said she swam the same time with a wetsuit as she did without. At least most of us were beaten by her in a wetsuit this time. That helps us mere mortals somewhat.

We saw the first major upset of the season in the 40-44 age group as Karl Hayes cramped badly when he exited the water with Andrew Dickson hot on the heels of Chris Kerr. Fellow 40-44 age group competitor Bern Ward was seen exiting the water with a huge grin on his face as he ran past Karl, who was curled up in the fetal position on the shore, to cross the line before coming back to render assistance. A good example of why you should not do three hours of hill work and time trialing on the bike hours before a swim time trial. It is good to know who your friends will and won't be this early on in the season. The 40-44 age group has the potential to be the most competitive this year with Chris Kerr, Bern Ward, Dean Degan, Karl Hayes and Rob Parker all very close in ability. Dean is the superior runner but will always need to make up some time lost in the water.

It was good to see a couple of youngsters doing the swim. If you have any young teenagers make sure you bring them down to to join in on Saturday afternoons. Sophie Hayes and Mican Strachan both did well. Also we saw Charlie Low make a rare appearance. Charlie pulled one out of the bag this year to finish third overall at the Cairns half in June beating many of the fancied pros home with a very fast run.

BTC holds open water swim sessions every Saturday afternoon. Be ready to swim at 3pm. Meet at the Balmoral clubrooms in front of the closed swimming area.

Future Balmoral Events for the 2011/2012 season

BTC Open Water Swim TT Results, December 04 2011 

BTC Open Water Swim TT Results, March 31 2012

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