North Devon Triathletes News
News about our Club, Members and website...
Don't forget to send the details/results of any races you're doing/have done to Iain@NorthDevonTri.co.uk. A club website won't be a club website without your input.
Memberships are due!
Click here for a Membership form then fill it in and hand it in to Dave, Tim or Iain before we send the boys round :).
August Update - (13/08/08)
It's been a busy couple of weeks for NDTC racers. Starting with the Hayle Sprint Tri where 6 members of the Green Brigade braved crossing the border into Cornwall again. After a cracking days racing the Coach led the clubs athletes home with a splendid 2nd place finish. With Phill and James also in the top 15 the team prize was also there for the taking, or at least it would have been if Tim had managed to crawl out of bed to get down there - tut tut.While Hayle was the scene of the clubs biggest turnout Stuart Dagley was racing the Wychavon Sprint Triathlon finishing his first event as a NDTC member in 1:19:26.
The successful weekend of Sprint Distance racing was followed by an equally successful weekend of the longer Classic/Standard Distance racing. Nicola braved the Big City to take on the prestige, big names and crowds of London Triathlon, finishing a fine 37th in her age group. Closer to home a small band travelled to the Dorset coast to compete in the Swanage Classic Triathlon. Chris Stone was first home for the club in a fantastic 21st place overall and 6th in his age group. Behind him were a trio of prize winners with Richard Congdon and Peggy Crome both leading their age groups home and Sally Pope collecting 3rd Age Group place for her stirling effort. Well Done all.
Dorney Lake Team Challenge Triathlon Relay - (29/07/08)
On Sunday 27th July 15 hardcore members of North Devon Tri (5 teams of 3) made the 3hr+ journey to Dorney Lakes near Windsor to compete in the Triathlon Relay Challenge. The race is in the format of a broken Triathlon where each individual team athlete swims 400m, cycles 15km and runs 5km resting up between each discipline as their team mates race. There were egos at stake in the race between the two fastest teams with Alan, Mark and Tim throwing down the gauntlet to last years 3rd place finishers James, Phill and Iain. The racing was fast and furious and it became obvious early on that both teams were in with a shout for the overall win. In the end they were both beaten by a very good team from Ful-On Tri but the battle for 2nd place went right to the wire with Iain narrowly pipping Tim to the post on the final 5k run. Further down the field the racing was just as intense with the girls team (Nicky, Karen and Maria) taking the spoils beating both the mixed team (Steve, Vicky and Nigel) and the 3rd mens team (Paul, Steve and Andy). Pictures are available on the clubs Flickr site and there will be a video of the day on youtube once our esteemed Chairman has finished battling his way through the various videos and photos that were taken on the day.This weekend coming the Green Army will be charging cross-county to yet again take on the Cornish at Hayle Sprint Triathlon. Hopefully they can all get around in one piece this time with no accidents or punctures to end their races. Good Luck all.
Bude Sprint Triathlon - (04/07/08) - See the video
Sunday saw possibly the biggest ever gathering of North Devon Triathletes at the Bude Sprint Triathlon with club members making up around 10% of the field. Once again the sun shone on North Cornwall despite some dubious forecasts. The swim had one of its more challenging years as the wind whipped up the sea and gave the turnaround bouy a mind of its own. The wind also caused havoc on the bike course with many athletes struggling to control their bikes it the sidewinds around Widemouth Bay. Unfortunatly these winds were to be the downfall of Dave Lang who ended up in an ambulance with a trashed collarbone and an equally trashed bike. Rest up Dave, the stabilizers are in the post. At the sharp end of the field things were very quick with the race being won by ex-Elite Triathlete Craig Twigg who's making a huge impact on his return to the sport. Top finisher for the club was Bude local and Club Chairman James Marshall, closely followed by Chris Stone and Alan Ward. Chris's fine performance earned him 2nd place in the Male Vets category missing out on the win by a mere 9 seconds. Category wins went to Dick Congdon (MV50) and Peggy Crome (FV60). The biggest cheer of the event was reserved for Paul (Basher) Bitmead who milked it for all he was worth only for the organisers to miss him off the results list in the excitement.Hayle Standard Distance Tri this weekend is seeing another huge influx of NDTC athletes. Good Luck all. Stay upright this weekend please.
NDTC GoldCoast Aquathlon Results - (21/06/08)
The GoldCoast Aquathlon is over for another year. There are links to Piccies and Provisional Results on the Beach Aquathlon page. Many thanks to all of those who turned up to race and of course to those who gave up their time to marshall the even. Please contact us if you feel there are any errors in the results, or if you've any comments (good or bad) to make about the race. We can't alter things if we don't know about them. The event was won by the rapidly improving Ross MacDonald with the womens race being won by Flora Duffy. A full race report will appear on the race page later.
Peggy is at it again - (15/06/08)
Just over a week after taking Age Group Triathlon Gold in a freezing cold Vancouver, Canada Peggy Crome returned home and won the Womens 60-65 Age Group in the IronmanUK 70.3 race at Wimbleball in 8:08:06. NDTC's only other finisher
Suzanne White also had a stellar race finishing the race in 7:19:42 missing out on the Womens 50-54 title by a mere 7 seconds.
On Saturday evening at what is almost the 70.3 bike routes most Southerly point Richard Squire was taking on Devons top runners at the Bampton 10, the Devon 10k champs. He finished in a splendid 54:22.
Next Saturday is the Clubs annual Beach Aquathlon race at Croyde. The competition will be fierce at the front and fun everywhere else. Entries are still available so get yourselves over to the Beach Aquathlon page and check it out. We'll see you there.
Peggy takes GOLD at World Championships - (07/06/08)
Congratulations to North Devon Triathlete Peggy Crome who is bringing a GOLD medal home from the World Triathlon Championships in Vancouver, Canada. On a very cold and wet day Peggy posted a time of 2:02:43 to win the Womens 60-65 category by over 13mins.
The new season is here - (06/05/08)
Well it's finally upon us, the new season is about to start with a bang. On Sunday North Devon Tri will be descending on the Exe Valley Triathlon in Tiverton. With many new members making their 'competitive' debut after the In-Club warm up race it'll be good to see
how they all get on and what lessons have been learnt. No doubt they'll find the Exe Valley course a little easier on the legs than the Ilfracombe race.
Next weekend the Green and White Army will be taking on both long and short distances. The Short Course and Novice racers are heading to the Taunton Deane Triathlon led by Joe Beer who's aiming to be the first person ever to complete the Sprint Distance race in under an hour.
Onto the other extreme where several hardcore members of the club will be heading down to the South Cornish coast to compete at the Marazion Middle Distance Triathlon. Scott Pirie will be doing his first Long Distance Triathlon at Marazion and raising money for Cancer Research.
Visit his Just Giving Page and make a donation to this worthy cause.
Good Luck to all racing for these coming weekends racing and for the rest of the season. Club results will be up on the Member Results Page as soon as we have them.
In-Club Triathlon - (20/04/08)
Well, the In-Club Tri is over for another year and what a fine day it was. The results are up, the pictures are up and there's even a little clip of Martin Crockers fantastic dismount skills. It was great to see so many new faces turning up and to see some new youngster who'll hopefully be gunning for Iains crown next year. Well done to everybody that raced and Thank You to everybody that gave up their Sunday morning to help out.
First win/Time Trials/In-Club Triathlon - (15/04/08)
Iain Hindes picked up North Devon Tri's first victory of the year at the Burnham on Sea Aquathlon. Exiting the 1000m swim in 3rd place he worked his way to the front of the field early into the 10k beach run course and pressed ahead to take the win by over 90 seconds.
The North Devon Wheelers 10 mile Time Trials return on Thursday 17th April at the normal Bishops Tawton meeting place. For more info on the events that they run check out their website.
North Devon Tri's annual In-Club Triathlon welcomes in the new season on Sunday 20th April giving new and old members alike the chance to pit their wits against each other and find out what their early season form is like.
It's always an interesting event and nothing brings out a good performance like the chance to get one over on your clubmates. Good Luck to everyone racing.
Kit orders/Ever expanding - (22/03/08)
Firstly, a big welcome from NDTC to all those new members out there. The club seems to be growing at a remarkable pace lately. Hardly a week seems to go by without word of new folks joining up. Sundays swim sessions are becoming more popular by the week and the forum is becoming a hotbed of new life.
It's great to see so much new blood appearing and it can only be a good thing for the club and points to a very healthy future. To anybody lurking out there in the shadows, pop along to the swim session on a Sunday or sign up to the forum and introduce yourselves. We don't (all) bite.
The next club kit order is in the making and will be hopefully be flying across cyberspace to ProVision once the Bank Holiday is over. If anybody has any last minute additions to make let Iain know as soon as possible. His email link is on the Who's Who page.
There are now club stickers in various sizes for your car/bike/helmet etc. James has stock and is selling them in mixed packs (£3) or as individual items - Large (£1.50) and Medium (£1). He'll be showing his face at several swim sessions, or you can contact him through the Who's Who page.
Next Sunday (29th March) there will be an organised recce of the In-Club Tri course. Anybody interested needs to be at Ilfracombe Baths for 10am. We'll be going around the bike and run courses in groups of varying abilities (there will even be a group that the coach can keep up with - only kidding).
The get together will also the perfect opportunity for some of the newer club members to see the haggard faces of the 'old guard'. Pop along and meet us all, bring your bike, your helmet and your trainers.
A bright start to 2008 - (19/01/08)
The races have been coming thick and fast through the early part of the year and NDTC folks have collected some great results. We're also breaking into Multisport season with several events already completed and many more on the horizon.
With Top 10 finishes already for Mitch, Tim, Mark and Iain (including 3rd, 4th and 5th at Torrington) and Pete Dyer collecting 2nd place in his Age Group in his first NDTC race things are looking up for a successful 2008 season. Check out the 'Members Results' page for all club race results.
Coach Toastys swim sessions are going from strength to strength. Click on the 'Training' tab to find out more about him and what's going on with club training. Remember to click the 'Forum' link, get signed up and join in the banter.
Changes at the top and a look ahead to 2008 - (19/01/08)
A good turnout at the clubs AGM last weekend saw members old and new meeting up for food, banter and beer. The big news to come out of the evening was Mike Culleys decision to stand down as Chairman of the club and have a year out of the sport.
Mike was one of the original members of the club at it's conception and has been a figurehead ever since. It'll be odd not seeing him around and we all wish him well during his break. Stepping in to fill Mikes shoes is another of the clubs longest serving athletes James Marshall.
James has been a competitive Triathlete for many (many) years racing everything from small fun Aquathlons to Ironman distance events, in 2007 he won the VOTWO Long Swim at South Cerney by almost 2mins. The future of NDTC holds plenty for James to get his teeth into and we all look forward to the years ahead under his leadership.
There were several other changes to the clubs committee, check out the 'Who's Who' page to see North Devons very own Brady Bunch.
Things are looking up in 2008 with the club already having more new members signed up than ever before. With Triathlon officially being the UK's fastest growing sport and with several new members of the clubs committee looking to drive the club forward it could be a very interesting year of development for North Devon Tri Club. Watch this space!
Entry forms are now out for all of the early season races and with Triathlons popularity growing so rapidly they'll all be filling up quicker than ever. Now is the time to plan your season out and get those entry forms sent off to save you missing out.
Happy New Year - (01/01/08)
After a successful 2007 the club is already looking forward to bigger and better things in 2008. Racing has already started with Alan Ward and Scott Pirie competing in todays Edindurgh New Years Day Triathlon. The first training session/verbal sparring contest has also happened with a good group
of hardy souls meeting up at Woolacombe Bay this morning for the annual Beach Run/Sea Swim/Fry-up eating triathlon. A good time was had by all and judging by the banter we've a competitive year ahead of us.
Memberships are now due in and with 5 brand new members already signed up for the 2008 season the future looks promising.
The time and date has been set for the Clubs AGM. 5:30pm at the Wray Arms in Barnstaple, nice and early for all of those who'd like to make a proper social evening of it later. Check out the members section of the Forum for more info.
The website is in the midst of a few subtle tweaks, if you spot any glaring errors in the new stuff that appears please let us know.
Good Luck to you all in 2008!
2007 News archive: here