Bill Galvin's AG Win

Challenging Events Swanage Triathlon Festival Middle Distance

Set in the UNESCO World Heritage listed Jurassic Coast the Swanage Triathlon Festival is one of most beautiful places to swim, bike and run. I’ve raced Swanage at various distances in the past but this was possibly the first time that a middle distance race had been put on. A 1900m swim a hilly 77k bike and a 19k trail run, a relatively short event but one which would catch out the uninitiated due to its severity. A glorified training day, the goal for Swanage was to go sub 5 hours, not lose all my gains by faffing about in T1 and T2 and remember to hydrate on the bike.

The Swim

Although a sea swim, Swanage Bay is sheltered and in my experience conditions have always been ideal. In preparation I had done some sea swims in the 3 weeks preceding the event to become reacquainted with tides, currents and being tossed about in the waves trying to sight on buoys. On the day of the race I smashed it, 28 minutes for 1900m only it wasn’t! The swim course was actually 1500m, but the less time I spend in the water the better, so no complaints.

T1 was straight forward the forecast bad weather had held off, so no need to layer up, a lot quicker than the previous race, so immediate gains.

The Bike

Due to the COVID restrictions, there was to be no feed/water station and you were required to carry two bottles and all your nutrition for the bike. My aim was to ensure that both bottles of High5 Electrolyte water had been drunk, as this is something I’ve not been paying sufficient attention to in recent races. Swanage is hilly but I had forgotten just how hilly and the climb out of the town puts you straight into the red. As the Middle Distance was the first wave for the swim, I was overtaking fellow competitors immediately, turning a big gear I was grinding up the hill passing lots of athletes who were spinning in an easy gear. Levelling out at the top of climb, the ability to go aero on the bars was slightly inhibited by the poor visibility due to the early morning mist but having descended the treacherous and slick Kingston Hill on my brakes, the out and back from Corfe Castle to Wareham allowed sustained TT aero effort and serious speed. The out and back also allowed me to gauge how many people were ahead of me and as no one had passed me I felt that I was holding my own against the competition. On the return to Corfe Castle you turn off towards Studland and the route back to Swanage is rolling and relatively slow. All major junctions were expertly marshalled and the sharp right hand turn towards the Swanage had a Marshal to warn you to slow down, unfortunately I had built up a head of steam and my braking was late so my turn was a bit sketchy and as I skidded past the marshal I apologised for my lack of bike handling skills.

Back to transition, you repeat the course for a second lap, and by this stage I hadn’t seen anyone ahead of me for a while. On the second lap you start to catch up with athletes who were racing the Standard (one lap) and Sprint so you always have a target to chase. I did manage to overtake a handful of Middle Distance racers so I was still maintaining forward progress. Into transition, the bike completed in a shade under 2:30 with nearly 900m of ascent, averaging just over 30 kph. Working with Coach, the main focus for improvement has been my bike endurance and upping my average kph, on a tough course, definite signs of gains.

The Run

T2 another quicker than last race transition and out onto the run. Although only approximately 19k this is one of the more extreme runs on the triathlon circuit in my experience and one where you have to accept that you will be ‘slow’ but if you are smart with your pacing, you will be a less slow than most of the field. The run circuit is 2 laps running on the tarmac out of the town and then up onto Ballard Down and a trail run to the turnaround point overlooking Old Harry’s Rocks and then turning onto a treacherous steep stony path which was very muddy and slippery due to the recent stormy conditions. Carrying an empty handheld High5 water bottle I filled up with water at the feed station at the start of the trail and then began the torturous climb of the Ballard Down Steps. You don’t run, jog or even walk, you ‘climb’ the steps which are steep and there’s a lot of them! It takes an age to get to the top and despite the fact that you’re walking you are not conserving energy or recovering, you are exerting yourself and your quads and calves are screaming. Adopting the fell runners favoured quad walk I push on as fast as the incline allows trying not to trip on the steps. Ascending the top of the steps, I start to run as I pass two runners who have stopped to catch their breath. I start to feel my legs coming back to me and the run across the Ballard Down ridge although undulating is firm underfoot and you can get back into a good rhythm and run at a decent pace. Coming off the broad expanse of the downs there is a gradual descent along a coastal path towards Harry’s Rocks but upon the return you realise it’s a lot harder running up back to the Downs. Midway back to the Ballard steps you follow the course sign directing you onto a path which will eventually return you to the road. Thankfully I had chosen to wear trail shoes as the descent was very slippery and the loose stones made foot placement a lottery and I careered down the path not fully in control of my flailing limbs. Second time round I was much more cautious on this downhill section and navigated it safely. Back on the road, you can finally run properly and the return to transition is a fast downhill stretch. Running down the finishing chute I am totally spent but content that I’ve run a good time given the amount of elevation and difficulty of the course.

Post race, I collect my finishers tee shirt but no medal which is currently in transit from the Republic of Ireland and will be posted to me at a later date. The organisers as I write this race report are still adjusting the results as there has been a lot discrepancies between athlete chip times and what people have recorded on Garmin and STRAVA. I can however confirm that I came first in the 50 - 59 Age Group and recorded very competitive bike and run times and achieving my race goal of going sub 5 hours.