2018 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
What a great season it's been, we have had trips away, athletes on podiums, plenty of PB's smashed, lots of group training sessions, but most importantly lots of smiles.
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All these results are down to plenty of hard work over the year. Hard work by the individual athletes, and of course the coaches running the training sessions every week. However it's not all hard work. There's always time for a coffee stop on our Sunday Social Rides.
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Watch our 'season highlights video' and then scroll down to read about some of our athletes achievements and see the fun we have on our club away days...
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Throughout the year we choose a few different events as our 'club away days' where we try to get as many members to take part as possible. These range from the local to the far away, individual races or team relays, small races and large events.
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One of the big events this year was Chantilly, as part of the Castle Triathlon Series. A great event to target as a club as it's a quick hop over the channel and has a huge range of races to suit everyone, including races for children as young as eight. Some of us made a holiday of it and spent a few days camping as well!
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CLUB AWAY DAYS
TURBO ON TOUR
However, when the sun is out it's time for 'turbo on tour'! Ditch the turbo trainer and head out for a club ride in the evening sun.
Indoor Turbo Sessions. Whether you love them or hate them, they are always more productive when carried out as a group encouraging each other along.
Unless you are one of the hardcore and fit a quick outdoor turbo session in before run training at Leybourne Lakes on a Saturday morning.
LUCY TOMLINSON - IRONMAN
Swimming 2+ miles in the sea, or cycling 100+ miles, or running a marathon are mighty achievements in their own right. Taking that a step further, chaining them all together to complete a full Ironman distance, is something many of us can only dream of.
However, for Lucy Tomlinson this dream became reality. Qualifying for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, she crossed the line, wearing her Ocean Lake Triathlon kit, in a fantastic time of 12 hours, 23 minutes and 53 seconds.
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Read more about Lucy's Ironman Journey on her personal blog.
HAMISH REILLY
Representing Great Britain, Hamish competed in the Super League International Triathlon in Jersey. A new format to make triathlon more exciting for spectators and athletes alike.
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Hamish had to compete in two triathlons with a rest of less than five minutes between each one. The top five finishers in the first race receiving a two second head start over the next five for the second race and so on down through the field.
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The aim of the first race is to therefore finish in the top five and then go all out on the second race.
A fantastic performance by Hamish saw him gain his top five finish in the first race. This gave him the ideal opportunity for the next race which he took full advantage of, crossing the line in second place, only four seconds off first!
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Read more about Hamish's achievements on his personal blog.
JOHN SIMPSON
This year saw the 30th anniversary of the Powerman Long Distance Duathlon World Championships - and the 10th year it has been held in Zofingen, in the heart of Switzerland.
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If you think Duathlons are in some way easier than triathlons then think again. This race consisted of a 10k run, followed by a 150k bike before culminating with a 30k run!
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A fantastic race from John saw him finish 6th in his age group, thus ensuring qualification for 2019 so he can do it all again!
TEAM RELAYS
Well done to the Canterbury men's team (Simon Baxter, Gareth Pritchard and Rob Waite) for being the first OLT team across the line.
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However, not to be outdone by the men, the 'Ladies Who Tri' entered the Velocity Events end of season Lydd Team Relay and took first place. Well done Amy Pile, Lucy Tomlinson and Nicola Wignall.
There's nothing quite like a bit of inter-club rivalry between Leybourne and Canterbury to bring out everyone's competitive side!
We entered several teams into the Southwater Sprint Relay. Each team has 3 competitors. The first person performs a 500m lake swim, 11.5 mile cycle and 2.4 mile run around the lake before handing on to the next team member, who will do the same, before handing on to the final team member.
Alpe D'Huez Triathlon
One of the triathlons that always pop up on people's bucket lists is the Alpe D'Huez Triathlon. This year Steve Hunter, Amy Pile and Dan Chapman took up that challenge. With Alpe D'Huez looming above, Lac du Verney would host the 2.2k swim. From there it would be a ridiculous 118k ride in the hot sun over a few mountains including the final 13k up the iconic Alpe D'Huez climb with its 21 hairpins. The bike leg would see a total of 4000 meters climbing. Finally it was the small matter of completing the 20k run around the top of the mountain to complete the race. Well done Steve, Amy and Dan for completing this iconic race!
AWARDS
As well as our normal Wednesday evening Aquathlons and weekend Triathlons, 2018 saw the introduction of our first GO TRI events - an Aquathlon and a Triathlon. These were a huge success and we are very proud to have received the Triathlon England South East GO TRI Organiser of the year award.
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Also well done to Jackie Hunter for winning the Triathlon England South East Volunteer of the Year award!
As well as our normal Wednesday evening Aquathlons and weekend Triathlons, 2018 saw the introduction of our first GO TRI events - an Aquathlon and a Triathlon. These were a huge success and we are very proud to have received the Triathlon England South East GO TRI Organiser of the year award.
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Also well done to Jackie Hunter for winning the Triathlon England South East Volunteer of the Year award!
New Members
New members are always welcome at Ocean Lake Triathlon. As a club we pride ourselves on being a friendly welcoming club, with members of various age and ability. Whether you are the best, or like most of us doing it for the fun, everyone is welcome!
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This year we welcomed Michelle Fountain to the club. As a novice she entered all our races and had the following to say....
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As a novice triathlete these races are a great introduction to race technique, with a fairly flat course and a fun relaxed atmosphere. The professionalism of the marshals is reassuring and the races are a great way to meet and learn from other athletes. Many stay on afterwards to chat, discuss performance....and, of course, for the great selection of cakes.