Greetings Triathletes! Well that was the March that wasn’t, for your club captain. I’m going to completely disregard the entire month, as I spent the whole thing with a chest infection, that meant I did no exercise of any consequence. Fortunately, as a club, you were busy training and racing, so I will give a quick summary of the events. Haweswater Half Marathon – well done to Ed Evans, Ben Gill, Adam Wilcox, Tom Coffey. Perfect conditions that day. Chilly but dry. Fire Fighters Duathlon 2024 –  Thanks to Adam Wilcox for this report: Conditions were cold, wet and windy, but what else ..read more

Hello Mighty COLTs Ooooh, it’s only almost blinking March already! And the COLT 2024 season is up and running….No need to panic… plenty of time before your A-race. Or, no time like the present to kick start the enthusiasm, shift gear from planning to actually doing the thing. Round up of February news Running: Grizedale 13 &26 Main Headline: The race where I beat Hobbit. It is the first time this has ever happened and it may never happen again, so I’m milking it!!! Thanks Hobbit. Too kind, but you were carrying a rabbit which must have slowed you down. Fallen trees in t ..read more

Hello COLTs   January feels weirdly long, what with the dark nights, cold wet windy weather, seasonal germs, general blurgh, and for many, what feels like an extraordinarily long wait for payday. But the colder darker weeks are great for planning training schedules, strength and conditioning, indoor swims and my favourite…  reading about doing sport. Or watching inspirational films about sport. Or daydreaming about what it would be like to run really fast, swim like a fish, or not be afraid of potholes on my bike.   I’ve been generally starting the year with all good intentions ..read more

Maggie Wild Brampton to Carlisle 10 mile 19/11/2023 Road Run This was the 71st year of this event making it the longest running 10 mile race. Organised by a local club (not a commercial enterprise). Well managed, marshalled and has chip timing. Everyone receives a race number in the post in advance, so there’s no registration stress. You can choose to get a bus from Carlisle to the start at Brampton. Makes sense as the finish is 10miles from the start. (Guess you could run out as a warm up?) The start is with a real starting gun, I could smell the gunpowder and smoke as a crossed the start li ..read more

An unlikely COLT Barbershop Quintet – fortunately, for all concerned, no audio recording will be made available to protect the ears of the innocent.     The annual COLT Awards was held at the Holiday Inn in Lancaster on Saturday night. There was a good club turnout with about 45 members in attendance. Some even dressed up for the occasion. John McGartland, the club’s social secretary organised the event and thanks are due to him, though probably not for his introduction of karaoke into the proceedings. Messrs Pollard and Gill’s “Summer Nights” will live long in the memory. But, not ..read more

COLT AWARDS EVENING – Saturday 11 November at 7.00 pm until late at The Holiday Inn, Caton Road Tickets are available from the link below. https://www.entrycentral.com/COLT_Awards_23?fbclid=IwAR2VWc_hVUGWbaszgGIM9dkFeBX35jt3DXeWyiEG0IPZ3HzgxKhvL2s4KJA Come along for a night of celebration of all things triathlon.  Partners very welcome. Buffet dining with options available for all dietary requirements. Free carparking at the venue but please ensure you enter your registration details on the terminal inside. So put away that black and white lycra and dig out your ball gowns and tuxedos!&nb ..read more

Hello COLTs What a belting season we’ve had at COLT! Super performances. This is the last one that will contain races I expect, I hope I’ve captured the main highlights! Shout up if I’ve missed anything (hilarious typo just there where it said ‘Shut up if I’ve missed anything’!! Either will do. Shout up or shut up. National Relays success 4 COLT teams competed: two in the morning and two in the afternoon The fast team of young lads came a very creditable 10th overall in 3:28 (for 4 x consecutive sprint distance triathlons) which is amazing.. I was so proud of this team – they are not only fast ..read more

Nick Hewitt Ironman UK 2023 02/07/2023 Triathlon My triathlon year 2023 My triathlon year 2023 came to an abrupt and premature end on 16th August when I was knocked off my bike by a hit and run driver during my last long ride before the Ironman World Championship race in Nice. My triathlon “year” had started early, in May 2022, immediately after the IM World Championship in St George, Utah. I was delighted with 5th place in my age group there. This far exceeded my expectations, and I decided straight away to try and qualify for the 2023 IMWC in Nice, when I would be in a new age group. I ente ..read more

Danny Rogerson Southport Sprint Triathlon 04/06/1995 Triathlon Southport Triathlon 4 June 1995 It’s How We Rolled The ’23 edition of Southport Sprint & Standard distance triathlons back in May threw me back some 28 years! Here follows a few recollections of how it was back then. Some things don’t change – Venue, Course, Saturday registration, Closed roads, And even back in 1995, a friend local to Southport warned, ‘keep your mouth closed during the swim’. Some things do change – a) Event sourcing & entry i – Feb March issues of 220 were eagerly awaited for race listings. ii – Mail off ..read more

Karen Archer Team Windermere 15 length relay 24/07/2023 Team Windemere: Ponderings from Leg 13 There are so many tales of Team Windermere that I don’t pretend to be able to tell any but my own. So I’ll start at the beginning of that. THE BACKGROUND In 2022 I left my confidence as an endurance athlete sitting snugly by my mojo in the T2 tent at Ironman UK, just at the moment when it was confirmed that I was too late to run. It was truly rubbish and I wasn’t sure where to go from there. A few months later I did my first 5k swim, which happened to be in Windermere. It was a stunning morning and ..read more