North Devon Triathletes News
What was going on in 2007
NDTC Kristmas Kaper - (09/12/07)
Well, it's all done and dusted for another year. The rain held off and once again Jimbo amazed us all with his race gear (for a different reason thankfully). Kelly College brought their normal array of amazing athletes but the NDTC boys battled well with them to share the spoils. Thanks to everybody who helped out, without volunteers the race couldn't happen. Report and results are up with piccies to follow. Torrington Caper is next up for most on the 23rd December, now that WILL be wet!!
Parties and Kapers - (03/12/07)
The off season is well and truly upon us. Awful weather, dropping temperatures and much talk about next seasons challenges. The end of year gathering happened over the weekend with some very interesting moments.
Congratulations to Club Champion Tim and to Nigel, Alan, Jay and Phill on their awards. Pictures are up online and can be seen here.
It's all hands to the pump now for the Kristmas Kaper next Sunday. Entries are still available and forms can be found here. Marshalls and helpers are always welcome, the more we have the better the event we can run
so bring your family and friends along. We look forward to seeing you all there.
End of season, meetings and Sunday swimming (30/10/07)
It's been a quiet couple of months as the season has peetered out, several smaller races have been and gone by with some encouraging results. The 2007 Tri season has been a good one with some fine performances and some great 'friendly'
rivalrys forming. It's been a great platform to build on and the 2008 season can't come soon enough.
The gathering at the Tarka Inn on Saturday (27th Oct) was huge by club standards. It was great to see so many new members turning up there and chipping in with very useful input. Based on the attendance and the discussion things are looking very positive for the future.
Thank you and well done to all that attended, hopefully we're on our way to becoming a far bigger and better group.
Alan Ward has now started coaching the Sunday swim sessions at Barnstaple Leisure Centre. Currently we still only use the one lane (officially), but this will be under close review as hopefully the appearence of his smiley cheerful face (???) will have you all
flocking there in great numbers.
Big Woody, World Champs and Helvellyn (02/09/07)
September is starting with some of the NDTC's biggest races. Mark started the month on Saturday by recording a top 20 finish at inaugural Big Woody, the race that has replaced The Longest Day in the UK Triathlon calander.
This was followed early on Sunday morning by Alan mixing it with some of the worlds best Age Groupers in Hamburg, Germany. You can find their times for both races by clicking on the results tab.
This Sunday sees 5 members of the club make the 5-6hr journey up to the Lakes to take on the notorious Helvellyn Triathlon. No doubt there will be tales and excuses to tell when they return.
Busy months and updates (06/08/07)
It's been a busy few months in the NDTC Triathlon calander with the season in full swing and the weather 'finally' turning nice.
Keep checking the Member Results page to see how people are getting on. With two months of solid racing before the Tri season peeters out we'll be looking forward to some more top finishers.
Alan, Sara and Phill each have their own Flickr pages which are crammed full of race pics, so rather then me browse them and steal selected photos which (affects the quaility) there are now links to their sites on the clubs Gallery page.
Two qualify for World Champs (16/07/07)
Two North Devon Triathletes have recently qualified to race at World Championship events.
Jay Lloyd qualified to race in the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, USA by finishing 15th in his Age Group in the 70.3 event at Wimbleball in a time of 5h30m23s.
Alan Ward qualified to race in the World Standard Distance Championships in Hamburg, Germany by finishing 12th in his Age Group at the qualifier at Wakefield in a time of 2h22m39s.
Click here to read about how Alan has risen to World Champs qualification within two years of starting the sport.
Bude Triathlon and JP's last race (25/06/07)
A huge gathering of NDTC folks made the short trip down to Bude in torrential rain only to find that the awful weather blighting the country was totally bypassing North Cornwall.
Sun, sun and more sun greeted us along with the rest of the Bude experience. The odd swim (including this years awful tasting river), super congested transition area and traffic problems make the race strangely appealing.
There were some huge battles throughout the race, which started when Iain, Phill and Alan all exited the water together and continued throughout the whole event.
After the race we all piled round to James's North Cornwall manor, still in glorious sunshine, where the battles from the race continued as he and his good lady Stef fed us all like kings.
Well done all that did the race and a huge thanks to James and Stef for a great get together after.
Martin's weekend was made complete when he heard the news that JP, in his last race for North Devon Tri had done 10h26m at Challenge Roth. For some reason he'd decided that an Ironman Distance Race was the preferable option to Bude.
Although a great solid performance his time was 14mins short of Martin's club record which means that there was some celebratory drinking in Ilfracombe.
Well done Jon.... Martin lives again.
Beach Aquathlon (16/06/07)
It's all done and dusted, the weather held off nicely and an old familiar North Devon face took the win. More later, but for all you eager folks the results are up on the Beach Aquathlon page.
Bringing home the bacon (10/06/07)
What a weekend for the good folks of North Devon Tri.
It all started with the group who travelled up to Cirencester to compete in the VOTWO Long Swim on Saturday. They set the standard for the weekend after James smashed all comers to take the win by almost 2mins.
On Sunday it was Burnham-on-Sea Triathon where Iain followed James's example and took the win by a massive 4 seconds. With Phill and Tim collecting Age Group wins and Nigel taking a full 5mins of his 2006 performance it's been a cracking weekend.
Check out the results page for times.
Club kit and other stuff (28/05/07)
Hopefully you've all recieved an order form for the new club kit. Get those orders in quickly as we'll be putting an order in as soon as we have the required amount of items. If you haven't recieved your form email Iain and get him to send one out to you asap.
With the first cluster of 2007's Triathlons out of the way there are some healthy rivalry's building up amongst the club.
Exe Valley, Taunton and Marazion have all produced good results for club members. Results and pictures are up in the normal places.
Roll on the next batch so that we can improve still further.
There will be a bit of a gathering at James's after the Bude Triathlon, check out the forum for more details.
The season of Tri is upon us (07/05/07)
Well after a wet cold winter and all those hours of training it's finally here. The Tri season kicks off in earnest next weekend with the Exe Valley Sprint Triathlon at Tiverton,
where many of the 'friendly' contests that developed during (and before) the In-Club race will get there next installment.
Will Alan bike better? Will Phill run better? Will Tim be injured again? Will Jay smash all of them again? This time next week we'll know all the answers.
Hopefully all this can only lead to improved performances all round and everyone representing the club will have a good time and a great race
NDTC In-Club Triathlon (22/04/07)
The In-Club Tri today was probably the best yet, with the added faces of the Southfork boys who put their Mountain Bikes away for the weekend to see why we do this crazy sport. A small field of 22 headed out on to play in the North Devon Countryside lead from the gun by James Marshall. Despite drying his hair, talcing himself and generally taking an age in the transition area Iain Hindes managed to sneak past him on the run to take the win. Mitch Barclay was chasing James hard but needed a few extra hills and had to be content with 3rd place. Click here to see the full results.
Wheelers Time Trials and other things (18/04/07)
The North Devon Wheelers 10mile Time Trials are back in full swing. If you fancy testing yourself out over their challenging course then get yourselves over to Bishops Tawton by 6:30pm on any Thursday night through the summer.
Alan Ward is the April 'Member of the Month'. Check him out by clicking the tab at the top of the page.
It's full steam ahead for the In-Club Tri on the 22nd. This very casual and low key season opener has taken on a life of it's own. Never before have so many people been out practicing on the course, trying to work out how hard they can hit the bike without their legs exploding on the run.
There's also a fair amount of talk on the forum which should make for a very eventful day.
Meeting/Kit/Swimming/Racing (23/03/07)
There will be a meeting on Sunday 1st April after swimming to discuss the kit, beach aquathlon and future use of the pool. Hopefully by the end of it I'll be able to press on with the next stage of the future kit (so check out the design options on the forum now), we'll know how far along the line we are with the clubs race and we'll know what's happening on future Sundays. We've only got the use of Mr Warwick until the end of April so if anybody fancies standing on poolside and barking out orders make yourself known.
The in-club season opening Tri is back again this year and will be held on the 22nd April (Jimbob's birthday, so don't forget his card). It'll be based loosely around the Sprint distances, but as normal the terrain and profile are a little more lively than you'll find at most other races. Entry is £15 and the price includes an after race nosh up at a venue still to be confirmed. Mike needs numbers and pennies before the race so that he knows how many he's catering for.Swim cancelled (07/03/07)
The Leisure Centre have once again booted us out of the pool on Sunday for a more lucrative booking so there will be no swimming. The plan is to still meet up there at 9am on Sunday morning for a bike ride. From chats this weekend it seems that there should be a good ability mix so those not mad enough to join James and myself on a lumpy 50-60miles need not worry. There will be a far more sensible group going out too
New Forum (04/03/07)
After being told that the Tri-Cornwall forum that we use will soon be no more I've set about finding a new place for us to chat, discuss and abuse each other.
Click on the link above to go straight to it. At the moment it's a bit basic as I've had no time to play around, but hopefully it will improve and progress as I learn what I'm doing.
Any suggestions for it are more than welcome.
Check out the Member of the Month page for the March offering.
The new Southfork kit had an airing at this mornings swim session in the guise of a Tri-suit and cycle top. The comments I had seemed favourable, so hopefully we'll be all systems go in the non to distant future.
Scoob wins in Swansea (01/03/07)
New (short) member Scoob Lark raced at the 'National Nipper Stillwater Championships' with his SLSC and returned home with 6 Golds. Looks like some of us 'oldies' are going to have to start looking over our shoulders
Iain wins at Taunton - Kit update (28/02/07)
Iain was the clubs sole representative at the Taunton Aquathlon and he came back from their 1,000m/10k Aquathlon with the clubs first win of the year.
Southfork's delivery of 'their' kit has now arrived. I'm hoping to nick a sample off them to bring to Sunday's swim session for you all to inspect the quality. If you can't wait until then, or can't make Sunday pop into the shop and the lads will dig some out for you to see.
NDTC AGM update (19/02/07)
It's all done and dusted for another year. Well done to Dave for arranging the venue and food it made a great change from the norm.
There were plenty of changes and a few bits that stayed the same. Most importantly the annual membership remained the same at £15 for individuals and £25 for families,
so get your money out before we set chief Membership head hunter Tim onto you. Dave will shortly be emailing all club members the minutes for you to see.
Club kit is moving forward steadily. Jimbob was the only person at the AGM to come up with a design and it seemed to go down well.
That doesn't mean we don't want more ideas or suggestions on how we can improve James's. I'll be emailing club members a link to a copy of it shortly.
NDTC AGM (05/02/07)
The time and place has been set for the 2007 AGM. It will be, 6:30pm on Saturday 17th Feb at 'The Bank' in Barnstaple. After the meetings close a group of us will be grabbing some food in there. Could members please email the right honourable club secretary to let him know if you'll be at the meeting and/or the meal after so that he can finalise numbers. You can contact him by clicking here
Braunton 10 (28/01/07)
The boys were out in force for this little jog around the North Devon countryside. Congrats to Tim for being the first (proper) NDTC finisher in 9th place. Club results are on the results page and full race results can be found here
Sunday Training Pt III (21/01/07)
A good turn out at Ilfracombe this morning for the swim session. I'm in the process of checking through the video to see if the camera man was any good.
Next weeks swim (28th Jan) will be back to the normal session at Barnstaple. Coach Steve will be missing in action, but Mike will be there with a program written out and ready to roll.
For anybody who's racing Braunton 10 instead, I'll be down there for my warm up lap at 9:30am if anybody wants to join me :)
The session on the 4th of Feb will be a swim session followed by a bike ride.
Sunday Training Pt II (15/01/07)
Week two of those nice folks at Barnstaple Leisure Centre double booking the pool is upon us, so Sunday's re-arranged training plan will be .......
Meet up at Ilfracombe pool for a swim at 9:15am. This will be followed by a run/mountain bike session at 10:40am. No doubt the after swim session will be nicely prepared by one of the locals, so bring your cramp ons :)
All should be back to normal on the 28th and it'll be back to Barnstaple for those of us not at Braunton 10.
Sunday Training (12/01/07)
Due to what appears to be a booking 'cock-up' at the Leisure Centre our Swim sessions on the 14th and 21st January have been scrapped.
The new plan of action is to meet at Braunton Athletics track at 9am with trainers and/or bike. There will be a group lap of the Braunton 10 course to prepare you for the 28th or a bike ride for anyone who's scared of the hills :)
Happy New Year (01/01/07)
The traditional New Years morning beach run/dip was an interesting affair today
Woolacombe was (as always) full of folks out on the beach getting rid of their hangovers and other various ailments.
10 hardy souls turned up at 10am for the run and 7 of those went on to bare their bodies to winters finest as they took a plunge in the sea. This was made all the more interesting when a rather impressive hailstorm rolled in off the sea to batter and sting all of those near naked bodies turning them all a rather odd shade of scarlet.
There are a few (not so clear) pics up on the flickr site.
Merry Christmas (25/12/06)
Ho ho ho!! Merry Christmas world, from all at NDTC.
Hope you all have a good one and Santa brings you all the carbon fibre and titanium goodies that you asked for. The results for the Torrington Caper will be up on the appropriate page as soon as I get back from present opening/food eating duties with the family (hopefully). Congrats to JP who decided that as he'd got a new running club to represent he was going to break tradition by 'racing' the event. A win's a win as they say. Well done Jon.
Don't forget the New Years Day Run/Swim/Eat Triathlon at Woolacombe beach. See you all there.
Christmas social (17/12/06)
Yesterday saw a small gathering of the club's rabble at the Tarka Inn for a bit of drink, a bit of nosh and a bit of banter. Captain Culley thought it was the ideal time to dish out the clubs annual awards, so congratulations to Lee, Iain and Nigel on picking up the 'most improved' awards for swim/bike/run respectively. Congrats also to Tim who collected the prize for most improved all round triathlete (Pictures above).
JP was awarded the club series award, but he sadly couldn't be there because Helz had put her foot down and dragged him Christmas shopping. He's made up for it this morning however by winning the Torrington Christmas Caper after sinking a skinfull last night.
The coveted Chicken helmet and Club Prat tee-shirt was a closely contested battle this year but the enviable title was eventually bestowed on Nigel Cox who has struggled this year to get used to unclipping his cycle shoes. Unfortunatly for him he always seems to find a pile of something soft and smelly to roll in whenever he gets confused. Well done to Nigel, a worthy recipient.
Aquathlon Success/Fleeces (11/12/06)
Congratulations to Shell and Pam (1st pic) and Dave for putting on a fantastic race. Initial feedback that I've had has been great, not a bad word 'so far'. Well done to Phil on his prize winning Christmas tree run kit (2nd pic) and to James (3rd pic) on his ermmm ermmm Chippendale Santa get up. He's now the talk of triathlon forums worldwide and I understand a lucrative contract with 'Playgirl' is up for grabs. I'm waiting to see him thatching a roof in that gear now. Thanks also to Toby and Lucy Reed (pic 4) without whom we'd have no photo's to but up on the clubs Flickr site. As for the race itself, top international triathlete Flora Duffy came along for a gentle session and lead the field home in convincing style. See the Pool Aquathlon page for results/photo's etc.
On the home page you find a pic of Martin and Ruth (although it would have been a better pic with them facing the other way) modelling the new club fleece. Cracking job Jimbob. There are also contact details there if you'd like one yourself.
Remember, there are drinks in the Tarka on Saturday luchtime from 1:00(ish). See you there.
Club Do/Chicken Helmet/Forum (29/11/06)
First up. There will be a bit of a gathering at the Tarka Inn during the lunchtime of 16th December. Hopefully there will be enough of us there to take over a small section of the pub while we have some nosh and a drink.
Votes are being taken for the Club Prat award (the coveted Chicken Helmet currently possessed by Dick). To vote you need to be registered on the clubs forum. To join the forum click here, register and then let me know so that I can get you freed up to post and join in the banter on the NDTC section. Happy voting. Don't forget to send me the details/results from any races you're doing/have done. A club website won't be a club website without your input.Breaking News (12/11/06)
Important Club News :- Ian Jewell has the worlds dirtiest, filthiest bike. CLEAN IT NOW!!!!!
North Devon Tri raid Bude (05/11/06)
Sunday saw 10 of NDTC's finest descend on Bude's sea pool for a swim/run session. The pool was freezing and the running was brisk. Pictures are up in the gallery so get along, have a look and make some sarcastic comments.
New Website Launched (28/10/06)
Today sees the launch of our exciting new website. We hope that this will give our existing and prospective members all the information they need about North Devon Triathlon Club.
MyTri Success (01/10/06)
The first MyTri triathlon was held at Mylor today. The event was hailed as a huge success with competitors. Next year it is hoped that the field will increase in size.
Test News
I'm Iain and I'm a fool