THE JAILBREAK TRIATHLON
On Saturday, 21st July Cobh Triathlon Club’s Jailbreak Standard Distance race took place in Cobh. Amongst the nearly 300 competitors that took part in this popular National Series race were no fewer than nine members of the Blackwater Triathlon Club (BTC).
Conditions on the day were calm and very warm as the athletes gathered together in Cobh on Saturday morning. The first order of business was to ferry the athletes out to Spike Island, the former prison which gives the race its name, for the beginning of the 1,700 metre swim.
After a few years of really unpleasant conditions for this race, the swimmers had near perfect conditions for the swim and some very fast times were recorded on the day.
Following the swim across Cork harbour, the athletes landed on Great Island and took to their bikes for the 38km cycle to the outskirts of Cork City and back. The race culminated with a 10km run along the waterfront in a flat and extremely fast race. The first athlete home was Chris Mintern, a former winner of the Edge Sports Blackwater Triathlon, who crossed the finish line in an incredible time of 1.44.44.
No less impressive was the first lady home, Deirdre Casey, who finished in time of 1hr 57mins 10secs, a time only bettered by the first 4 men home on the day!
The Blackwater Triathlon Club contingent all had a good day out as well. Brian Baker was the first BTC athlete home in an excellent time of 2.18.43, coming first in his age group. He was followed home by Dave Murphy, Jonathan Kenneally and Michael Mulcahy who finished in 2.21.34, 2.21.50 and 2.22.52 respectively, just 78 seconds separating them.
Deirdre Morrisson also won her age group, finishing just over 30 seconds behind Michael in 2.23.25. Dave Bartley and Adam Blaiklock also had a close race with Dave crossing the line in 2.28.06, just 20 seconds ahead of Adam in 2.28.26. Mick Beston finished the race in 2.32.31 and Dave McGrath came home in 2.55.21.
All of the BTC athletes performed very well and managed to handle the heat of the day very well. They all enjoyed their day out in Cobh and would recommend the race to everyone. It was well organised and very friendly and a credit to the folks in Cobh Triathlon Club.
THE COURTMACSHERRY LIFEBOAT SWIM
The 8th Annual Courtmacsherry lifeboat Swim took place at Blind Strand near Courtmacsherry on Satuday, 21st July. There were two routes on offer for participants on the day, a one lap 1.5km option or a two lap 3km option, with a short walk or run on the beach between laps.
All proceeds on the day went to the Courtmacsherry Lifeboat. Once again, the Blackwater triathlon Club was well represented on the day.
Perennial water babies Dave Mulcahy and Declan O’Keeffe were joined by Marie MacAree, Anna O’Keeffe, Seán Slattery and Kay Quirke. Conditions on the day were very warm, but breezy, with water temperatures hovering around the high teens. It was a mass beach start following a triangular course.
Going out was easy as the tide was going out and the wind was going the same direction. Coming back to the beach was harder, swimming against the tide and the wind. Swimmers had one lap for the 1.5k swimmers and an ‘Australian exit’ for the 3k swimmers, who had to exit the water, round the buoy on the beach and start off for the second lap. Declan, Dave and Seán were in the 3km skins race, Marie did the 3km wetsuit swim and Anna and Kay did the 1.5km wetsuit race.
Anna was second in the ladies 1.5km wetsuit race, with Seán and Declan finishing 2nd and 4th in the men’s 3km skins race. Marie completed her first 3km sea swim in the wetsuit category having already cycled 111km earlier in the day! Dave Mulcahy and Kay Quirke also acquitted themselves admirably on the day.
There was soup and sandwiches for the swimmers afterwards and everyone agreed that it was a great day out, very friendly and really well organised. Well done to the organisers and everyone who took part on the day.
ENNIS TRIATHLON
The fourth annual Pat Keogh Construction, iTri Inis Triathlon which was hosted by Ennis Triathlon Club took place at Ballyalla Lake on Saturday, 21st July. Over three hundred competitors braved overcast but very warm conditions to take part in this increasingly popular sprint triathlon event.
There were two adult events on the day, the Try a Tri race, which consisted of a two hundred metre swim, a twenty kilometre cycle and a 4.5 kilometre run and the sprint event itself, which consisted of a seven hundred and fifty metre swim, a twenty kilometre cycle and a five kilometre run.
Blackwater Triathlon Club’s Vinnie McCarthy was among the athletes who took part in the sprint event on the day. The sprint distance race started with a 750 metre swim from the river mouth in the lake, swimming out into the centre of the lake and back to the slipway. The 20km cycle was quite flat and fast on the day, despite the heat, and the 5km run finished with a long descent back to the finish line.
Vinnie finished in a very good time of 1.43.26, despite the fact that he had got up early on Friday morning to do his first club core session and he was still feeling the effects on Saturday. Despite his self-inflicted pains, Vinnie had nothing but praise for the event itself which was very well organised and marshalled on a perfect course and he would highly recommend it for next year. He did suggest that maybe not doing a core class the previous morning would be the better option!
THE GREAT BLACKWATER SWIM
The second annual Great Blackwater Swim took place on July14th in Fermoy and, like last year, it was a great success. It is an event that attracts a huge variety of people from experienced open water swimmers to relative novices, for whom not so long ago the idea of swimming 3.5km would have been impossible. Some of our new members wrote an account of their experiences last week and we are sharing them here.
Anthony Kenny hadn’t swum much recently, but he decided to give the Great Blackwater swim a go in order to help raise funds for his young cousin who is suffering from a serious spinal injury. Jonathan Kenneally is new to the Blackwater Triathlon Club, but he has been competing in triathlons for a while now and is looking to get in to longer and more challenging events.
Ashleigh Byrne is new to triathlons and a year ago struggled to complete the 250 metre swim in the Edge Sports Blackwater Try a Tri event. All three took on the challenge on the day and all three had different experiences and levels of expectation. Here are their stories.
– Anthony Kenny –
So about 8 weeks ago I took on the challenge of swimming 3.5km in the 2nd Great Blackwater Swim. I hadn’t swam much in the previous two years and, if truth be told, was struggling to complete ten lengths of the pool (250 metres) without stopping, so there was plenty of work to do.
However, I did have a great incentive to get it done. My cousin Roisin lives in Mayo and is now 8yrs old. She’s a beautiful, happy child, but when she was 4 she had a freak accident on the couch at home and damaged her spine. As a result of the accident, she lost the use of her arms and legs and is now paralysed from the neck down. Roisin’s family is trying to raise funds to make her life better. There is a new spine specialist clinic opened this year is Swindon in the UK and Roisin’s fa
ily are hoping to get her over there for treatment. Roisin also needs a new wheelchair that will operate with just her head movement. The one she currently has is a few years old and no longer functioning very well. These are just two of the many expenses they hope to raise money for.
She’s a very brave little girl and I figured doing the Great Blackwater Swim was a way that I could help contribute. So, before I get to the event itself, I’d just like to say that joining the Blackwater Triathlon Club was one of the main reasons I was able to get to a level where I could not only complete the swim, but even do it with a not-so-shabby time.
The club had lots of swimming training organised for members, from pool sessions with a coach to river sessions organised by the club. There was also a lot of advice shared by the more experienced swimmers and any questions or worries sorted. It really is a fantastic club and I’m very glad to be part of it.
The race itself was so well organised. Anyone I had talked to about last year’s one had so much good to say about it that it was one of the reason I made it my goal and I think the 220 registrations is testament to how the good word spread.
From buses laid on to Micheal Flatley’s riverfront mansion at the start, to the support from start to finish and the spread of food and drinks at the end, it was a fantastic family friendly event. I always felt very safe in the water with all the kayakers and the brilliant instruction given by Declan O’Keeffe in the pre-race briefing.
All in all, one of the best events I’ve ever done and one I will definitely be doing it again. Thanks so much everyone for the support I have received for Roisin. I can’t put into words how much it’s appreciated by me and Roisin and her family. If anyone else wants to contribute they can do so at https//www.gofundme.com/roisin-fundraiser
– Jonathan Kenneally –
After missing the race last year to a schedule clash, as soon as the date was confirmed I signed up. I’m slowly building up my confidence in longer swims so this was going to be perfect practice for it.
After giving a hand in the morning, I jumped on the last bus out to Castlehyde. I had never been there before but what an amazing setting for a race. The long walk down to the water got the butterflies in the stomach going, but the buzz around the garden with all the other competitors meant I soon forgot about what lay ahead and just enjoyed the atmosphere.
The water was a bit colder (I was thinking tropical) than I was expecting but still was a perfect way to cool down on such a warm day. We all waited for (Blackwater Triathlon Club chairman) Shane to give the countdown and once he said ‘go’, it was arms and legs flying.
I had positioned myself a couple of rows back from the front, but within seconds there were bodies everywhere and I had to use some of the tricks Julian (Boeg) had shown us as I swam over people without them even knowing or causing any harm as I made room for myself.
There was plenty more bumps and knocks as we made our way down the river for the first 500m. After that it spread out as everyone found the pace they were happy with. I find it hard to judge how long I am swimming for, so I had no idea where I was or how long I was in the water. I was surprised to see so much support on the banks as we worked our way down, which definitely helped.
With the lack of rain over the last few weeks there were some areas where the water level was low which meant varying my stroke a bit but it didn’t affect my rhythm. I even think I felt a push down the river which I wasn’t expecting due to the lack of rainfall. The further I went down the less people that were around and I could see splashes in the distance that I couldn’t catch.
When I finally saw the large white BTC buoy I thought I was almost done, but it seemed to never get closer. I found myself picking up the pace and slowing back down as I realised it wasn’t as close as you would think. I had a few people around me at this stage as we all tried to power for home.
You could see the huge crowds gathering at the rowing club watching on and it was time to round the buoy and the last few strokes home, they seemed the hardest out of the lot. Out of the water and up the ramp and the reward – the biggest feed I’d seen anywhere. It was a like a large banquet.
Well done to everyone who took part, and to everyone who helped on the lead up and on the day. Everything ran smoothly on the day and with 200+ swimmers that took a lot of work. BTC should be extremely proud of the event they put on. I can’t wait to go back next year to what will no doubt be a bigger and better event.
– Ashleigh Byrne –
This time last year I had never swam in open water, I couldn’t fathom it. I did the BTC try-a-tri last August and huffed and puffed my way across to the bank, I don’t know how, it wasn’t swimming. I finally bit the bullet and joined Blackwater Triathlon Club and began swimming lessons with the club in October. At this point I could just about swim 2 lengths, and not exactly gracefully.
Through fantastic coaching by TriCoach Bjorn and later on, Nick, as well as our training camp in Killarney, I was ready for an Olympic with a 1.5km swim, and then another. I had the bug. A 3.5km swim still seemed way out for each but at the last minute, after a 2km trial one evening, I went for it.
I was worried about not making the cut off time and the shame of being hoisted out of the water, but, surprisingly, and despite an elbow in the face early doors, I really enjoyed the swim. Taking in the sights surrounding the Blackwater, I could have been anywhere in the world, and thankfully managed it in just under 1h 10 minutes.
The weather was wonderful, as was the scenery as we took off from Michael Flatley’s. At points, the water was shallow enough to walk, but this was more difficult so everyone kept on swimming. I felt safe throughout, thanks to my wetsuit but also the presence of the kayaks. It was slightly difficult just as we approached the finish, where the water was deeper, and I kept veering right. But, I soon got back on track.
I couldn’t believe it when I saw the finish line and the crowd of people; it didn’t feel like 3.5km at all. The atmosphere was wonderful, such great support and cheer. When I emerged, I was wobbly and shaky, and in need of tea and cake! Overall, I’m delighted to have swum 3.5km, albeit downstream, when I could barely swim 10/11 months ago, and that’s thanks to BTC!
Thanks to the Anthony, Jonathan and Ashleigh for their contributions. The swim couldn’t go ahead without them and the hundreds of people who swam on the day or helped in organising the event. Hopefully we’ll see you all again next year.
THE EDGE SPORTS BLACKWATER SPRINT TRIATHLON
The Edge Sports Blackwater Sprint Triathlon is on in Fermoy on August 12th. It’s now open for entry for individuals and relays through www.triathlonireland.com
10 years after the inaugural Edge Sports Blackwater Triathlon, the club is delighted to announce the addition of an Olympic distance event to our race program. For 10 years our annual sprint triathlon has been going from strength to strength. The sport of triathlon is growing in popularity every day and the demand for races is growing apace. As more people take up the sport they are keen to push themselves further with longer races.
While Cork is home to many sprint distance races, up until now the county has only hosted one Olympic, or standard, distance race each year, the Jailbreak Triathlon in Cobh. Taking into account this dearth of Olympic distance events, the committee decided to look at the possibility of holding a longer race this year. There were huge challenges to overcome to facilitate a longer race, while at the same time ensuring that our sprint and try-a-tri races wouldn’t be adversely affected.
Last year we had two events taking place on the day, a sprint triathlon comprised of a 750m swim, 20km cycle and a 6km run and a try-a-tri event with a 250m downstream swim followed by a 20km cycle and a 6km run. Between the two events we had nearly 300 competitors competing on the day. This year we will be running the sprint and try-a-tri races as usual and adding the new race and are hoping for over 400 athletes to take part.
The Olympic distance race will consist of a 1,500 metre swim, followed by a 40km cycle and a 10km run. Fermoy is uniquely situated to hold an event such as this. The town is based in the heart of Munster with excellent road links and of course, we also have the River Blackwater, which is ideal for the swim.
In order to facilitate the extra numbers and the longer duration of the race, we have, in conjunction with the Fermoy Town Council and Gardai, made the decision to move the race from its usual Saturday afternoon slot to a new Sunday morning start. While it will mean a very early start for the Triathlon Club members who are organising the event and for the athletes taking part, it will also ensure that the town of Fermoy itself suffers the least possible amount of disruption. The race will be over by lunchtime and the competitors and their families and supporters will be able to relax and enjoy the hospitality of Fermoy for the afternoon.
Once again, we will be relying on the goodwill of the people of Fermoy and hopefully they will come out in large numbers to support the athletes during the race. Entry to the races is available via the Triathlon Ireland website. For further information please check out the Blackwater Triathlon Club website and Facebook page.
NEW MEMBERS
We welcome new members at any time. You don’t have to be an elite athlete to take part in triathlons. While for some people it’s about the competition, for others it’s just about taking part and having fun. It’s also a great way to meet people with similar interests and abilities.
So if you’re feeling like a new challenge for 2018 contact us and before you know it, you’ll be able to call yourself a triathlete!
More advice and information on triathlons is freely available from your local club. For further information see our club website (http.//www.blackwatertriclub.com) or contact Stephen Dalton at stephen.dalton79@gmail.com.
