Jan 9th: TWA State Sprint Champs - Nedlands

It has been a while since I have raced a local event that has been less than Half Ironman distance and I was really looking forward to it. It brought back memories from the "old days" when I used to be a more regular participant. It was nice to see some of the "old guard" still involved and equally pleasing to see so many unfamiliar faces, especially the youngsters.

The alarm bells started ringing as soon as I realised that the open competitors were to be the last wave to start. It was not long before the open competitors had caught the athletes from the waves in front and the it was a case of head up swimming for the rest if the journey if other athletes were to be avoided. It was hard to keep track of your opposition and by the time we exited the water, no one knew what was going on, including the spectators.

I did notice that young Sean O'Neill exited the water very close to me and by the time we had both exited trainsition, he had bolted to a 100 meter lead. The chase could be best described as exciting, and worst, as very dangerous. There was a lot of congestion on some very narrow roads in the first of the 2 cycle laps and it was impossible to pick out those athletes you were supposed to be racing against.

I was lucky to catch both Sean and Jeremy at about the 16k mark of the cycle and I was at my maximum in order to do so. The boys were riding well. It felt like my heart was going to explode from my chest on a number of occasions.

We all entered the bike to run transition together, and again, the youngsters bolted. Sean was running extremely well and I made little impression on him for the entire 5k. I think Jeremy was a little bit tired after the bike and I was just able to pass him at about the 2k mark and hold him off until the finish.

Although very hard, I enjoyed the competition and it was great to race the athletes dominating the local scene at the moment.

I think in the future, in the interests of safety and spectator enjoyment, the starting order of the waves needs to be addressed and some modifications made. It can only add to the enjoyment of both spectators and athletes alike.

Train smart, take care, and see you at the next race.