NEVER let it be said that Stratford Triathlon Club members do not give it their all.
In fact, some of them go above and beyond by increasing their official distances in a race just to give the rest a fighting chance.
For most of the competitors, Sunday’s Bicester Sprint Triathlon was the standard sprint distance of 400m swim, 20km bike and 5km run.
Dave Clarkson (1:19:37) was keen to warm up properly before his cycle leg by completing an extra 50m in the planned 400m swim.
Paul Nash (1:25:15) and Richard Eden (1:46:03) both decided the 13-mile cycle route was just too easy and decided to add another couple of miles.
Both Paul and Richard succumbed to some slightly vague signage and missed the first loop turning. Frustratingly for Richard, this meant losing out on first place in his age category, coming second just ahead of Chris Seeney (1:49:49) who came third in the same category.
Similarly for Paul, he finished in third place in his age category, losing out on second by less than a minute.
Caroline Gionis (1:25.07) and Rebecca Pridham (1:27:10) started in the pool together, with Rebecca exiting the pool first only to be overtaken by a magnificent cycling performance by Caroline who maintained her lead to the finish.
Caroline finished eighth in her age category and Rebecca seventh in hers, with both claiming to be pleased with their early season efforts.
Both ladies have been training hard over the winter and the results are starting to show in their race paces.
Result of the day came from new club member James Purdy (1:09:12) who finished first for the Stratford contingent, 25th male home and fifth in the men’s 35-39 age category.
Report compiled by Rebecca Pridham.
