This report is focusing on one particular weekend, 15th and 16th July, as four of our club athletes tackled both middle distance (Half Ironman) and long distance (Ironman) triathlons.
On Saturday 15th, Andrew Sedgwick, Martin Sedgwick and Jeremy Ladbury competed in the Cleveland Steelman, close to home at Ellerton Park near Scorton. The race consists of a 2000m open water swim, followed by a 58-mile bike ride, ending with a 20-kilometre run. In wet and windy conditions, Andy Sedgwick was first to finish for the club in a great time of 5:00:45, a little upset that he didn’t finish under the 5-hour mark as he had hoped. However, he was 23rd overall which cannot be sniffed at, 11th in his age group. Martin Sedgwick was next to finish, crossing the line in a time of 6:00:46, 132nd overall, 54th in his age group. Jeremy Ladbury wasn’t that far behind him, competing for the first time at the distance, finishing in a brilliant time of 6:02:49, 137th overall, 20th in his age group.
Farther south in Bolton on Sunday 16th, we had a solo entry into the Ironman UK triathlon, that’s 2.4 mile of open water swimming, followed by 112 miles of cycling, finishing with a full 26.3-mile marathon run; not for the faint hearted. It had been Michael Casey’s ambition to do an Ironman Triathlon for a number of years, so he came to our club opening night five years ago and joined. He was a seasoned cyclist, regularly competing in 10,20,50, and 100-mile races as a junior, even winning the four-man team pursuit championship in Glasgow; cycling 112 miles wouldn’t be a concern. He is also an experienced runner, having previously completing three marathons, his first he raced in 1983 as a young 52-year-old; running wouldn’t be an issue. However, when it came to swimming, and he’s happy to admit, when he joined the club he couldn’t swim half a length of a 20m pool; swimming was therefore a huge issue. But this didn’t put him off, and in just four short years of training and regular club coaching, he completed the Kielder Iron Swim last year, a 2.4-mile swim in the reservoir, a trial for him to see if he could manage the distance, which he did. The minute he arrived home from that swim he began making preparations for his Ironman debut, signing up for Bolton as soon as the entries were released. And he wasn’t disappointed. He finished the race with a hop, skip and a jump (it’s on the video) in 14 hours, 44 minutes and 8 seconds. An amazing result for a gentleman who is now in his 60’s. He was 7th in his age group, 1288th overall. This has placed him 12th in the UK and 194th in the world for an Ironman in this year. To say he’s over the moon is an understatement. We at the club are immensely proud of Mick and look forward to see how he does next year in the same race.
Should any readers wish information regarding ATC or the sport of triathlon, please don’t hesitate to contact the club, via FB or our email aycliffetriclub@gmail.com