• HOME
• NEWS ARCHIVE
• RACE INFO
  • TI Events
  • Waterford Tri (2010)
  • Waterford Duathlon (Butlerstown 2010)
  • Waterford Duathlon  (Fenor 2010)
• RESULTS
  • Waterford Tri (2006)
  • Waterford Tri (2007)
  • Waterford Tri (2008)
  • Waterford Tri (2009)
  • Waterford Duathlon (2007)
  • Waterford Duathlon (2008)
  • Waterford Duathlon (2009)
• BUYING GEAR
• Alfie Hales
• Trisports
• 
• TRAINING
• MEMBERSHIP
• CONTACT
• TRIATHLON IRELAND
  • Homepage
  • Women in Sport
  • Local Clubs

10th October 2011 -Lost Sheep Half Iron Triathlon

One of the last races of the season took place in Kenmare recently with the Lost Sheep Half Ironman distance triathlon which was also the National middle distance championships.  This is one of the most popular races on the calendar each year, with the 300 places usually selling up in minutes but we always make it our club race of the season and do whatever necessary to gain an entry.  This year was no different as almost 40 of us, including family and friends, converged on the little town making a weekend out of it, staying in campervans and rented houses.

The 1900m swim course was changed this year after the struggle most had with the current last year.  As the swim finish was 1000m from the bike transition area, the organisers had arranged an area where everyone could leave runners so they could run over to their bikes after the swim. The 90k cycle included 2 category 1 hills, the healy pass and the Caha pass with the 21k run taking the competitors along narrow country roads with plenty of short sharp hills. This is one of the toughest middle distance races in Europe, made even more difficult this year by the bad weather.  Rain which started during the swim continued on and off for the duration of the race.  Most of our club members were sensible and wore arm warmers or jackets which kept them warm on the bike. 

Stephen Doyle, who hasn’t done much training since completing Ironman Regensberg during the summer, had his usual fast swim and was 4^th out of the water with Shane Scadding next club member out about 4mins later.  Things changed a lot over the course of the bike and run with Shane making up lots of places, even though he was supposed to be taking it easy before his upcoming Ironman distance race in Barcelona.  After posting the 13^th fastest bike and 9^th fastest run (his fastest run time ever in Kenmare), he finished 10^th overall in 4.32.33, winning a gold medal in his age-group.  Mike Bowes and Martin Kirwan came out together after the swim but Mike pulled away on the bike to cycle 2mins faster but Martin caught him back up on the run and they ran together for the final stages to finish together in 23^rd and 24^th place in 4.54.38 with Mike winning a silver medal in his age-group.  Paul Wyse was doing this race for the first time and made up a lot of time on the run to finish 37^th in 5.04.58.  John McDonald (who had only done this same distance in Galway 2 wks ago), David Devine and Tom Casey all finished one after another in 5hrs 10mins, with Tom winning a silver medal in his age-group.  Darryl Hale & Andrew Hickey were also close in the end with Darryl making up loads of time on the run to finish in 5.18.19 with Andrew in 5.19.51.  Ned Power had a brilliant swim and bike but lost a lot of time on the run due to a recurring injury on his knee but he was thrilled to finish in 5.26.13.  Brian Slattery has also been taking it handy since completing Ironman Regensberg not long ago so was happy with his race to finish in 5.30.02.  David (Dots) Connolly has been training hard all summer with this race in mind so he gave it all he had on the day to finish in 5.34.32.  A tired body took its toll on Stephen Doyle, who had come out in 4^th place after the swim, as he persevered through the bike and run and was never so delighted to see the finish line when he finished in 5.45.56.  Mark Daly was unlucky to get a puncture on the bike but he did a good job to get it mended quickly as he finished in 5.50.05.  Siobhan Kennedy was the first of our female members to finish strongly in 5.53.33, 2^nd in her age-group. Ann Hennebry had overcome a long-running injury to be at the start line here and was nervous of the injury flaring up again on the run but she pushed hard all the way to finish her first half ironman distance race in 6.24.21.  Norma Goggin finished in 6.50.27 with Caroline Russell completing her first half ironman in 7.16.47.  We had one team entry with Edwina Butler doing the swim, Margo O’Dowd completing the bike and Jenny Kervick doing the run, finishing in 6.33.17.  This was a nice taster for the trio who hope to complete the full race next year (if Jenny can get out of bed early enough!)

Other Waterford men, the De La Salle Trio, who enjoyed the race and the craic over the weekend were Paul Ogle who finished in 5.00.29, a brilliant time for his first attempt at this distance and also considering he had an operation on his knees earlier in the summer.  Mick Brett finished in 6.12.40 with Enda O’Doherty finishing his first half ironman in 6.49.03.

(c) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TO WATERFORD TRIATHLON CLUB