A brave group of 22 members headed to Chichester this weekend to complete the world’s longest single-day triathlon in relay teams of 3 or 4, the 255 Triathlon (5km swim, 200km bike and 50km run). What a task lay ahead of our 6 teams.
After arriving in the evening at the luxurious camping field with no running water and some lovely dinner and team talks, we set our alarms for 4am. It can’t be said it was the best nights sleep of anyone’s lives so not everyone was feeling super fresh when we woke up but in the immortal words of Clarissa Burwood, good vibes only were allowed.
A short cycle to the lake followed where we set up T1 and got ready for the swim start at 6am. Spirits were high but so were the winds as the water got progressively choppier as time went on. 4 laps of 1250m lay ahead of the teams and everyone put in excellent shifts with the first two teams out the water both being UoNTri teams. Shoutouts to Alex D’Arcy and Ed Blackburn for taking on TWO laps at a rapid pace, Bryce Shirley for an absolute stonker of a lap and Georgia for smashing out a lap for her team even when she wasn’t feeling her best.
Onto the bike course and there were too many fabulous performances to mention everyone as everywhere you looked there was someone in beautiful green and gold flying round the bends of Goodwood Motor Circuit. The weather for the early riders was not kind, with Clarissa on her last lap in the torrential rain having an “out of body experience” (disclaimer: even if these were verging on below average vibes, at no point did the vibe level ever drop below the overall good category). However, the sun ended up poking through resulting in Michaela admitting she actually enjoyed a cycling race for the first time (who was this and what have they done with Our-Chaela). Special mention to Reece for taking on the most miles out of anyone to save the day - you are our hero.
The incredible shifts on the bike meant that all the teams got onto the run far ahead of our estimated time so everyone was feeling the good vibes as the sun really came out in the afternoon. The gruelling 5km run lap with a vicious headwind turned out to be a real challenge (especially for yours truly who was very silly and set off on his first 5km at a pace he had no chance of keeping up and subsequently began to bonk in the 2nd of his 4 laps...). The run truly was a display of some of the talent and team spirit UoNTri athletes all have. Again there are too many great performances to mention everyone but specifically Isabel Gelder for smashing out 4 laps in a row at a crazy pace, all with the biggest grin on her face and also Immy for showing us just how great of a runner she really is after battling with recent injuries.
After 255km the teams crossed the finish line to massive cheers from everyone and as many free lasagnes as they could consume. All showered and packed up, everyone headed to Jess’ garden for an absolute feast which she had laboured over getting ready for us. The world doesn’t deserve this lady honestly. A slightly more enjoyable (but a lot more wet) night in the tents followed and yet more chilli was consumed by some for breakfast as it was just that delicious.
What a weekend this turned out to be. A massive thank you is needed for Jess being the hostess with the mostess and for helping out with the very tricky logistics, as well as all the team members for their undying enthusiasm and Adam for being the best supporter/substitute runner. Everyone absolutely smashed it and should be so proud of themselves as UoNTri is certainly proud of them.
Who’s up for the solo race next year???
TriLove,
George