Carrick-on-Suir Triathlon Club

Carrick-on-Suir Duathlon 2008 Race Report and Results

Carrick-on-Suir Triathlon 2009

Trevor Woods and Catherine Brown Victorious in Carrick Triathlon

Pictured: Male prize winners (l-r) 3rd Tim Downing, 1st Trevor Woods, 2nd Colin Bolger

Pictured: Female prize winners (l-r) 3rd Eimear Connery, 1st Catherine Brown, 2nd Brianne Mulvihill

The Carrick-on-Suir Triathlon took place recently on the morning of Saturday 11^th July. Once again proving to be one of the most popular events on the race calendar nearly 400 competitors arrived at Sean Healy Park to take part. Among them were some former winners of the race, some local favourites for this year’s race and even a couple who had travelled from Canada to take part. In what was one of the closest Carrick Triathlons of all time the winner finished only 4 seconds ahead of second place in an exciting sprint finish.

The weather forecast for the day was intimidating to say the least with rain and strong winds expected. Still by 8am the transition and registration areas were starting to fill up. This year’s race took place at the earlier time of 10:30am due to the tide conditions in the River Suir. This turned out to be very advantageous as the rain held off until almost everyone had finished. Had the race gone ahead at the usual time of 12am the whole event would have been a wash out. But as it turns out registration went smoothly and the first wave of competitors, wearing complimentary bright yellow Carrick swim hats, entered the River Suir only a few minutes after 10:30am and the race began without incident. These swimmers were quickly followed by the second wave of competitors, in white swim hats, and a few minutes later the relay teams and those doing the shorter 500m swim distance Try-athlon followed wearing blue swim hats.

The river current was considerably slower than last year but still a fantastic pace was being set by the early leaders. Very little separated Colin Bolger, Tim Downing, Stephen Teeling-Lynch and pre-race favourite Trevor Woods during the 750m swim with all four exiting the water within 10 seconds of each other. Bolger was the first into transition in a time of 7mins 4secs however the youngster from Pulse Tri Club had some trouble in transition and lost the lead. Trevor Woods had a fantastic transition from swim to bike, taking only 44 seconds, and exited just behind the new leader Tim Downing.

Not far behind them were two Carrick ladies who had excellent swims. Catherine Brown was 6^th fastest swimmer overall in a time of 7mins 44secs with Brianne Mulvihill only 5 seconds behind. Both had solid transitions and were out on the bike course within 80 seconds. Niamh Sweeney was the third woman out of the water but already found herself over a minute down on Brown and Mulvihill.

Out on the 20k cycle course Colin Bolger was giving it all he had to close in on the leaders. He posted the fasted cycle time of the day to enter the second transition only 3 seconds behind Trevor Woods. Downing and Teeling-Lynch were only seconds behind. All four took exactly 41 seconds in transition between the cycle and the run so no ground was lost or gained and each began the run with every chance of winning.

Meanwhile in the women’s race Catherine Brown again was the quickest on the cycle further extending her lead to over 2 minutes ahead of Brianne Mulvihill, Eimear Connery from Cork Tri and Laura Keane.

Out on the 5k run course both Trevor Woods and Colin Bolger were battling it out. Tim Downing and Stephen Teeling-Lynch had fallen off the pace slightly and it was now only a race between the top two. At the turn around on the run the leaders began the 2.5k run to the finish along the scenic banks of the River Suir. The run home was on a mixture of grass and tarmac so might have caused a few problems. But in the end Cork Tri’s Trevor Woods held off the valiant challenge of Colin Bolger to finish in a time of 58mins 8 seconds. Bolger was only 4 seconds behind. Tim Downing, from TCD, finished in 59mins 32 seconds taking 3^rd place. It was a fantastic race with hardly anything between the top three. However Bolger will be kicking himself knowing that only his slower performance in the first transition cost him the win. Credit must go to Trevor Woods though, who has won the race many times before, who showed consistency not only amongst the three disciplines, swimming, cycling and running, but proved that fast transitions are the key to success.

In the women’s race Carrick’s Catherine Brown cruised to victory ahead of fellow club member Brianne Mulvihill in a time of 1hr 10min 55secs. This was also good enough for 35^th position overall. Brianne Mulvihill was only two and a half minutes behind after making up some ground on the run. Eimear Connery from Cork Tri took third place in a time of 1hr 13mins and 38secs. Congratulations to Catherine Brown who is the first ever Carrick member to win the Carrick Triathlon. She has been in fantastic form this season and finds herself close to the top of the national rankings. Expect much more victories to follow.

In the Try-athlon, which consisted of a shorter 500m swim but the same cycle and run distances, James Benson from Pulse Tri Club was the winner in a time of 1hr 10mins and 50secs. Carrick member David Grace took second place in his first ever triathlon which is a fantastic achievement.

In the relay race there was another prize for the Carrick Club with Team Ironmen taking first place. The relay team included two Carrick members, Donal Jacob and Rolf Power, who have only recently completed Ironman Nice in France. This race must have felt like a sprint to them taking only 1hr and 4mins to complete. The Ironman took them over ten times as long! Congratulations to both.
Special mention also has to be given to club treasurer, Garry McCarthy, who also competed in the race finishing in the respectable time of 1hr 30mins. Garry is one of the longest serving club members and has been a permanent fixture on the club committee. As one who is always behind the scenes organising the the race it was great to see him taking part for a change. Thanks also needs to be given to all the other members of the committee, the race organisers, the helpers and the marshals on the day, the Gardai and all who helped make the race possible. Organising a race of this size is a considerable task and the face that the race went so smoothly shows the good work done by all involved.

Carrick-on-Suir Duathlon 2009 Race Report

The second annual Carrick-on-Suir Duathlon returned to Rathgormack on Saturday 21^st of March. Entry numbers were up compared to last year with 133 people registered to race. The race consisted of a 5km run, then a 20km cycle and a 3km run to finish. Weather conditions were almost perfect for racing with the exception of some wind on the bike course and some distant fog that slightly spoiled the spectacular view of the Comeragh Mountains.

Once again Carrick-on-Suir Triathlon Club members were out bright and early to set up the transition and registration areas, sweep the course and assemble the goody bags that each competitor would receive. Registration went smoothly and by 11:45am the Rathgormack Hiking and Hostel Centre was filled with eager duathletes gathered to hear the race briefing.

Race organiser, Niall Crowley, explained the rules of the race and described the race route. Triathlon Ireland race delegate, Helen Whyte, spoke about the official rules and regulations of a duathlon. After the race briefing everyone took the short walk to the start line.

Right from the start David Graham, Aubrey Storey and John Caffrey took the lead. Coming up the large hill on the first run Aubrey and David were neck and neck with John not far behind. By this stage the field had really spread out proving yet again how challenging this duathlon course is. Pauline Lambe was one of the leading females coming up the hill followed closely by Beth McCluskey of 3 Rock Tri. All the leaders had smooth transitions and set of on the bike leg that consisted of a straight out and back course but with plenty of hills. There was a significant breeze going out the road and coupled with some steep climbs this proved a tough cycle for all. Coming back was slightly easier with the leaders staying tucked into aerodynamic positions on the bike as much as possible.

David Graham was the first to finish the cycle leg and had built up a few minutes lead over Aubrey Storey. Again John Caffrey was not far behind. But only a 3km run remained so if there were any catching up to do it would have to be done quickly. With the leading pack already on the run some competitors were still less than halfway through the cycle. The run consisted of two 1.5km laps and after the first lap the lead had not changed and it looked unlikely to. And sure enough a few minutes later David Graham had finished his second lap to claim top spot in a time of 1:04:26. Aubrey Storey of 3d Tri took second place in 1:06:58 and John Caffrey from Belpark Triathlon Club finished third in 1:08:17.

The female winner was Beth McCluskey of 3 Rock Tri who finished in a time of 1:13:31 which was good enough for 10^th place overall. Second place went to last year’s winner Louise Nolan in a time of 1:18:30. Louise improved her time by 48 seconds over last year showing great consistency. Third place went to Karina Teahan from Cork Triathlon Club in 1:19:53. Only one relay team took part, however it consisted of two young men, Gary Cantwell and Johnny Skehan, whose overall time of 1:12:23 claimed them 8^th place overall. These two have a bright future ahead of them. The 1^st Vet prizes went to Michael Bowes of Waterford Triathlon Club and Denise Compton of Dundrum AC. David Richardson from Limerick was the 1^st Junior. As is customary prizes are also given to the 1^st Carrick-on-Suir male and female. This year’s winners were Rolf Power and Catherine Brown.

A big thank you needs to be given to all those who made this great race possible, the organising committee, the race marshals, the Rathgormack Hiking and hostel centre, the Gardai and all who helped in any way on the day. Thoughts have already turned to next year and here’s hoping the third annual Carrick-on-Suir Duathlon will be even better again. Full race results and photos can be found a www.tricarrick.com.

For race results please click here.

For age group race results please click here.

For race photos please click here.