December 2006 - Manchester Triathlon Club

MANCHESTER TRIATHLON CLUB
CHESTER TRIATHLON CLUB
HO! HO! HO!
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
IAN JONES IN THE DESERT
MARATHON DES SABLES
see page 8
WINTER RACE
REPORTS
& FEATURES
CHRIS CLARKE’S
INCLUDING
IRONMAN WORLD
MILTON KEYNES HEART
BREAKER DUATHLON
CHAMPIONSHIPS
.see page 6
COED Y BRENIN &
MOORLAND MAYHEM
OFF ROAD DUATHLONS
Chris (fat bloke) coming out of T2 just about to go past
slim people. Spot the guy from the UK, can you see his
legs against the banners.
www.man-tri-club.org.uk
DAVE & DAVE XMAS
BUMPER SPECIAL
TRAINING NEWS
Page 2
Contents
MAN3 NEWS is the membership newsletter of
the Manchester Triathlon Club.
Race Results
Milton Keynes Heartbreaker Duathlon
Coed y Brenin Off Road Duathlon
Moorland Mayhem Off Road Duathlon
Ironman Hawaii World Championships
Marathon des Sables
Training News
Dave & Dave Xmas Bumper Special
Amazing Facts
Message from the Editor
3
3
4
5
6
8
16
17
19
22
MTC Christmas Do
Saturday 9th December at the Kro Bar Abbey Inn.
Manchester Science Park, 61 Pencroft Way, M15 6AY
Starts at 7.00pm (for 7.30pm) and includes a buffet, fabulous annual
awards, including Club Member of the Year and live entertainment from
Dean Frost’s band, Yes Sir!.
Tickets
Tickets are not available at club sessions but by sending a cheque to
our club treasurer made payable to Manchester Triathlon Club :
Jeff Sherrin, Greendale, Greendale Lane, Mottram-St-Andrew, SK10 4AY.
Please remember to say who the tickets are for so we can let you in on
the night!
Payment received after 1 Dec - £17.50.
The Manchester Triathlon Club is an affiliated
club with the British Triathlon Association and
Cycling Time Trials (previously RTTC)
MAN3 NEWS is published by the Manchester
Triathlon Club, 144 Great Stone Road, Manchester
M16 0HA
Editor–
Dean Frost
Man. Triathlon Club Executives:
Chair - Stephen Collins
Jason Pickford
Treasurer - Jeff Sherrin
Secretary - Freesia Day
Membership Secretary - Harry Davies
Press/PR - Dave Melan
Club Kit Co-ordinatoor - Steve Birkett
Youth Development - TBA
Coaching Officer - Rob Harvey
Club Welfare Officer - Shirley Holland
Newsletter Editor - Dean Frost
Webmaster - Dave Melen
Women's Officer- Cathy Atkinson
Junior Representative - Nina McArthur
Executive Member - Martin Webb
Executive Member - Mark Tweedie
Executive Member - Jonathan Dabbs
Vice Chair—
©All rights reserved. Material may not be
reproduced without the written permission of
the Manchester Triathlon Club.
The opinions expressed in this publication do
not necessarily represent the views and policies of the editorial team or the Manchester
Triathlon Club.
On the Cover:
World Triathlon Champion, Tim Don with
Kelly Pickford
Page 3
Milton Keynes Heartbreaker Duathlon, Sunday 22nd October 2006
Report by John Murray
Short but very sharp, 'Heartbreak Hill', was a 1km long
climb with a gradient that started at about 12%, but
kicked into a 20%. There was a prize for the fastest ascent (neither Phil or I won it) timed on your first of 2
laps. A headwind from the turnaround point to the bottom of the climb meant that many of the athletes couldn't
get any real speed or momentum prior to the commencement of the hill and "Heartbreak Hill" did exactly
what it said on the race brief and claimed the heart,
lungs and legs of a number of the competitors.
Unfortunately for me it claimed more than that as my
front mech ripped out of the frame and sent me tumbling to the ground. A kindly race marshal and onlooker helped me to remove the offending piece of kit
(the race marshal taking it with him and returning it to
me in transition later) and now with only 6 gears I continued the ride, the 20 minute delay had scuppered my
chances of a spot so now it was the need to finish. The
bike didn't see it this way and on the second lap at almost the same point in the climb my chain managed to
wrap itself around my frame and crank and my ride was
definitely over.
I got a lift back to transition but was determined to finish
the race, throwing my steed on to the rack off I went to
complete the 6K run.
Phil despite his 'cold' managed to complete and was rewarded by a qualifying place at the World's, congratulations.
This was a well organised and well run race, the marshals couldn't have been any more helpful. However, if
you are thinking of choosing an easy end of season race
then this is not it.
Phil and I traveled down Saturday evening so that we
would be fresh for the early morning start. If any one is
from Milton Keynes I apologise in advance, but what a
horrible place to drive around. On leaving the motorway the map showed our journey to be only another 3
miles, however, after getting hopelessly lost in the dual
carriage way and roundabout system it took us a further
40 minutes to find our hotel. But what a hotel, the view
from our window looked out directly onto the finish line
with transition a mere 50 metres away, I have never
stayed as close to a race start and probably never will
again. The extra lie in time in the morning that was afforded by the proximity to the start was a welcome reward for the difficulty in finding the place.
We had both decided to enter this race as it was announced that it would be a qualifying race for the 2007
World's in Gyor, Hungary. Thinking that as it was the
end of the year the competition would be sparse and we
would be more likely to stand a chance of actually qualifying.
Phil was looking a bit peeky the night before and
looked even worse on race morning. His intensive 5 day
pre race preparation (beer and beer) in Bratislava was
catching up with him as was his 'cold'.
There were 185 athletes at the start of the Heartbreaker
and unfortunately for us some of these were Team GB
athletes that had raced the Elite & Age Group events at
the ITU World Duathlon Championships in Corner
Brook, Canada and at the ETU European Duathlon
Name
Club
Total Run 1 Bike Run 2
Championships in Rimini. They had had the same idea
Australia 1:56
Rafael Baugh
as us and were seeking an early qualification slot. The
2:22:54 39:30 1:12:1 29:19
international field was also augmented with athletes fly- Phil Stannard MTC
ing in from Ireland, Australia and the USA to race (not
MTC
2:21:54 42:43 DNF
25:22
John Murray
what we wanted to see).
Sunday was almost ideal race conditions (if you were a
polar bear), personally I would have preferred it about
10 degrees warmer but at least the rain held off throughCycling glor y for Man Tri
out the race.
There were 3 waves with the women off first followed by
Ladies
the vets and then the rest of us to chase.
The run was twice around the lake and we were told that Congratulations to Cathy Atkinson and Jan Rogers who
it was longer than 10K and this was reflected in the
collected 2 team shields for MTC at the Manchester Distimes.
trict Ladies Cycling Association dinner. Cathy also colWe had driven around the bike course the night before lected an individual medal for the second fastest average time over 10, 25 and 50 miles this year and Jan won
but hadn't really appreciated the hill in the dark. We
several of the vets prizes.
were about to find out in the light that it was a beast.
Results (10k/37K/6K)
Page 4
Coed y Brenin Offroad Duathlon,
Sunday 12th November 2006
Report by Rob Harper
Seeing as I'd got myself a mountain bike in September I
thought it only fair to give it a good workout, and the
Coed y Brenin offroad duathlon seemed like the perfect
opportunity; 5k trail run, 20k mountain bike, 5k trail run.
Sounded like a nice off-season canter... oh how wrong
you can be.
Arrived at the race site and as soon as I'd got back from
registration it started raining, even though the TV
weatherman just 3 hours earlier had said it would be
OK. Oh well, that's Snowdonia for you I guess. Also met
up with Cathy and Marie who were racing too, and we
discussed the finer points of tactics like where the hell
do you balance your helmet in transition on a bike without tri bars?!
So, after a quick race briefing we lined up at the start for
first a minutes silence (it being Remembrance Sunday)
and then the off. The run route initially went down on a
tarmac road before heading off up a gradually climbing
fire trail. At the halfway point a sharp turn took you onto
one of the MTB singletracks which was quite technical
and needed some nifty footwork to get down it unscathed. Back onto the tarmac for a bit before a final
rough slippery track into transition. Oh, by the way, it
was still raining.
MTB shoes aren't really designed with quick transitions
in mind so it was a bit more of a faff than usual. I also
found out that if you put sunglasses straight on after a
run when the weather is cold and damp they steam up
instantly! This made the steep, muddy, rocky hill
straight out of transition even more of a challenge (as if I
needed it).
The bike course started with a technical climb up part of
the Karrimor route before climbing a bit more easily up
to the the main lap which was to be completed three
times. Unfortunately the start of the lap was also uphill
so by the time I got to the top I must have been ascending for about 20 minutes. The ground wasn't too technical although occasionally a foot down was needed, and
Results (5k/20k/5k)
25
50
62
Pos
Name
Cat Pos
Run 1
Rob Harper
13/39
00:22:31
23
Cathy Atkinson
Marie McDonald
1/6
6/8
00:28:24
00:26:16
74
58
Pos
it was just wide enough for overtaking - that's for other
people overtaking me you understand! The payback for
all that climbing was now a long fast descent, with the
bottom section being on a good fire trail where it was a
case of sticking it in top gear and cranking it. This was
also about the only section where you could take a hand
off to have a drink. All too soon it was uphill again to
complete the lap, where you had to hand in a tag. My
method of attaching my tags to the bars failed me badly
here and I had to stop to sort it out, letting about 5 people past - doh! So, 2 more laps to do - grinding agonisingly up to the top before flying down the descent. At
the end of the last lap it was back down to transition the
way we'd come up, a more technical descent than anything on the main lap.
Just about managed to stop at the dismount line (it was
at the bottom of probably the steepest descent of the
day!) and into transition, which was actually not that full
- maybe it wasn't going as badly as I'd thought? I also
noticed that my shoes were waterlogged which was a
nice start to the second run. This was the same route as
the first but boy was it a tougher proposition this time
around. The ascent on the fire trail which I'd hardly noticed earlier now seemed to drag on for miles. It also
acted to destroy any last bit of energy in the legs, before you then had to descend the singletrack again - a
bit more "interesting" this time with legs that I didn't entirely trust to do what they were told. Emerged in one
piece and back onto the tarmac for the home straight
which finished with an evil little climb to the finish. The
hardest 5k I've ever run without a shadow of a doubt.
I was wet, I was muddy and I was knackered. Off season
canter? Think it was probably the hardest race I've done
all year! Later found out the bike course had 2000ft of
ascent which may have had something to do with it...
Cathy had a great race finishing first in her age group
and 3rd woman overall, and Marie finished well with
two strong runs. Included in the race fee was a free
lunch at the visitor centre which was a nice touch and it
was great to get inside in the warm and dry. At the presentations there were spot prizes galore, and a pair of
fine trophies for the winning man and woman (who had
an astounding second run - 8th quickest overall - no surprise really as she turned out to be a sponsored mountain runner!). The organizers (many thanks to them)
hope to make this an annual event and if this is the case I
would highly recommend it.
Bike
01:09:21
29
01:13:48
01:25:54
42
67
Pos
Run 2
00:23:26
18
00:28:51
00:27:55
61
53
Pos
Overall
01:55:18
02:11:03
02:20:05
Page 5
a sharp turn but just about managed runners already out on the second
to keep upright.
run. Came into transition at the end
of my 5th lap and counted just 9
The bike course was 5 laps of a 2k
bikes already in - 10th place, that'll
circuit, and started off with a loop
do. Into my trainers and away for the
round the same boggy field where
the run started. I was really glad that 2nd run.
I'd remembered at the last minute
The 2nd run started out down the
when racking to set the gear on my
road, and I could see the 9th place
Report by Rob Harper
bike to something fairly low, as it
runner about 100m ahead. I was exhad been on the smallest sprocket on pecting the route to be roughly the
the back which would have made
same as the first run, but a bit
getting
started
interesting!
Finally
shorter. However, when I got to the
In contrast to 2 weeks ago at Coed y
onto
some
solid
ground
so
picked
first marshall he was pointing right,
Brenin the weather for Calderdale
the
pace
up
a
bit,
before
heading
on
not left as I expected. What was goTri Club's Moorland Mayhem Ofa
small
detour
down
a
bank,
sharp
ing on? The narrow path I was now
froad Duathlon was perfect with
off-camber
turn
at
the
bottom
then
following soon started descending
bright blue skies and hardly a
back
up.
The
top
half
of
the
circuit
steeply before the signs pointed
breath of wind. After a false start
was
more
fun
being
mainly
on
right to a slippery traverse of a steep
where I parked up at the wrong
packed
sand
with
lots
of
twists,
water
slope. This led to a stream and after
sport's club (lot's of Rugby League
splashes,
fast
bermed
turns
and
even
crossing it once on slippery stones
going on but no sign of any multisa
jump
(sorry,
but
even
in
a
race
I
the path went steeply back up the
port) got registered and sorted out.
couldn't
resist
it!).
The
lap
finished
stream, crossing it two more times
On taking my bike to transition I got
with a steep climb onto a bank,
and taking in some steep steps
a taste of what was to come; the
field was completely saturated and which was really tricky as you were which were really exhausting.
Emerged out of the stream valley
my feet were soaking by the time I looking straight into the sun so
but the final insult was sending us
got there. Just time for a quick warm couldn't really see where you were
going.
Sharp
turn
at
the
top
to
go
into the stream to go under the road
up before heading to the start.
along
the
top
of
the
bank
before
a
bridge. Pure evil!
Lining up for the start it soon beridiculously
hard
muddy
off
camber
The rest of the run was a bit more
came apparent just how wet the
U-turn
down
onto
the
side
of
the
"normal" back over the moor with a
field was - stand still for more than a bank - I only managed this cleanly
gradual climb before heading back
few seconds and your feet were
twice out of five attempts. Finally
down to the finish. Managed to close
completely submerged. I also nodown off the bank and more boggy
down 9th place to 50m at one point
ticed that I seemed to be the only
field to contend with to end the lap.
but he pulled away again and there
person with elastic laces, and viOf
course
as
the
race
went
on
the
wet
was nothing left in the tank, and with
sions of losing my shoes in some
parts
of
the
course
got
more
and
no-one in sight behind I settled for
bottomless bog flashed through my
more
cut
up,
and
on
the
worst
boggy
what I had. Finally came back down
head (luckily this didn't happen!).
section
I
think
I
had
to
use
one
gear
onto the road and a 200m jog to the
And off we went, going soft to... soft.
finish to complete the longest and
It was like school cross country but lower on each lap! Lapping people
also added to the entertainment, and toughest 3k ever (20:45 by my
without an evil PE teacher forcing
I managed to crash into a bush when watch!).
you to run; instead it was completely voluntary! Down the boggy an overambitious move up the inside Awesome fun. I thought I was muddy
of two people on a hairpin bend did- after Coed y Brenin but that was as
field, U-turn round a horse jump,
n't quite go as planned. I was lapped nothing to the state I was in at the
back up the boggy field including
by a couple of guys going at an awe- end of this race!
going over a horse jump then up
some speed, and as I was 3/4
and down a bank before going out
through my 4th lap I saw the front
onto the road. The rest of the first
run really wasn't too bad, mainly on
reasonable trails across the moor
Pos
Name
Club
Cat Pos
Time
with nothing to rival the mud at the
start. Coming into transition I gave
the crowd something to "oooh"
about by very nearly falling over on
Moorland Mayhem Offroad Duathlon, Sunday
26th November 2006
Results (5k/10k/3k)
1/46
Philip Graves
White Rose Tri
1
1:08:58
10
Rob Harper
Manchester Tri
3
1:24:49
Page 6
Ironman Hawaii World
Championships, 21st
October 2006
Report by Chris
Clarke
Well I'm at a loss.
Normally I would have lots to say about
the race, race week build up, etc but it
came around so quickly I just didn't
have anytime to do anything including
training. In fact the longest ride I did
involved going out with my two daughters on a family ride for an hour then
spending 3 hours in A&E at Stepping
Hill as Caprice had fallen off her bike
and broke her collar bone, great prep!.
(Thanks again Jason P)
The week leading up to the race involved leaving the UK on Tuesday 17th
at 11 am and embarking on a 34 hour
door to door trip to Earth Quake
stricken (if you watch CNN) Kona, Hawaii. On arriving (Wed 130 p.m. local)
the first thing to hit you apart from the
heat is the athlete show down when collecting your bike boxes. It's great, you
stand there watching other athletes
watching you with probably the same
thought - I wonder what he's riding, or
I'm going to kick your ass come race
day!. When you're done its off to one of
many condo's/hotels along Ali'i drive
which even to the first timer you'll know
as it has every man/woman/child running or cycling down it checking
bikes/speedo fit/etc.
After getting checked in and putting the
bike together it was off down to registration/athlete briefing to get the goodie
bag and freebies (most notable itemcaramel gels on the bike course-yuk!).
Apparently after speaking to a few others, 1-2 hours after the earth quake (6.7)
hit most of the athletes were out on bikes
and swimming in the bay - hard core!
Thursday is renowned for the now famous under pant run and the carbo
party. Also its the final chance to get your
bike and any last minute nutrition plan
sorted. It was also the first time I had a
chance to swim, to which the water was
still cloudy after the quake and to have a
little run back to the condo. Do you ever
have that feeling that you should have
done more training in the run up to a
race?. I can honestly say I probably did
less than 7 hours per week after UKIM
and that averaged 1 - 2 swim sessions
every 10 days, too late now. To me Hawaii is all about enjoyment as you almost
break your bits trying to get here so why
not look around while racing and take it
all in. Boll**ks, go as fast as you can and
take the glory.
Friday, the day before the race. It went
quite smoothly really the bike got
handed over no problems and the kit was
checked and re-checked before being
placed into the race bags - my biggest
nightmare is finishing the bike leg and
opening the run bag to find you have no
trainers. On coming out of the transition
area I met a few Aussies - Simon, Kim
(wife) and Tony that I knew from previous races. (Great people and yes I'll do
Aus IM one day) Two of them were holding these odd looking helmet pods, on
further interrogation I found out that Specialised were giving away brand new
never to be sold in the shops legal aero
helmets, arrrggh!, damn my medium
sized head.
Saturday - Race Day 5 a.m
You've eaten, toilet twice, drink constantly, smile like a geek!
This is it, no turning back now - its on
with the numbers and sun screen (thanks
Pam). Surprisingly I was finished pumping tires/planting nutrition on bike/toilet
stop/drinking by 6 am so I was left to
wander around the transition area to
look at all the tech bike kit. On closer
inspection I saw a bike made of carbon
and cane, and some bloke had put 8 (yes
eight!) power bars on his top tube which
were melting onto his chain set, they do
supply them at aid stations you know.
At 0630 am I headed into the water to
attempt my warm up before the pro's
race started at 0645. After listening to
the American national anthem which I
must say, even though I'm not an American it makes your hairs on your neck
stand on end.
The canon sounds and we're off. The
swim as I was to find out as up and down
as the weather during the race. My time
to the half way point was 31 mins, not
bad I thought considering the beat up at
the start. However on the way back to
Dig Me beach the current/swells took
hold and managed to help me add a further 12 min onto my average time. On
exiting the water and running up the
steps I looked at the watch - 73 mins, my
second slowest swim beaten only by
Hawaii last year. Never mind, enjoy the
race and get a daft tan.
T1 went quite smoothly, I even had time
to get a nice lady to apply some more
sun screen before the bike ride up to
Hawi. The bike section of the race was a
mixed bag really. The first 10 miles or so
is around Kona itself so there are plenty
of crowds and adrenaline to get you going. That might have been the problem,
as I tend to try and get into the pace
early I missed what could only have
been a cats eye/rock in the road. Luckily
it didn't flat but it did buckle/dent my
wheel rim (replacement cost £400-500).
The flip side was I had some company in
the form of a rubbing/wobble beat from
the front wheel for the duration. The nutrition went okay, in that I managed to
stomach and get a power bar down my
neck in the first hour, only to bring it up
in the second hour. So from then on it
was just fluids. At the turn (Hawi) my
stomach had seemed to settle slightly
and it was excepting a few gels of the
neutral variety. The weather (wind) is
normally in your face to Hawi then you
enjoy a tail wind of sorts back to Kona.
Not today!, you could not count on the
Page 7
Me (black), coming down Ali'i drive into T2. Even more grey skies
plause and greetings. Then as midnight
approached it's local custom to join
hands and sing which we did well into
the night.
Ironman World Championships Hawaii 2006
direction and you certainly didn't expect rain, at least it was warm.
Approaching Kona there is a sign that
tells you are 25 miles away from the run,
Another look at the watch 4 hours already (s**t) - I really needed to push to
go sub 5 for the bike. I turned onto Ali'i
drive and into T2 just under 5 hours.
The run heads south out of Kona down a
coastal road packed with spectators. At
this point I realised just how humid the
day had actually become which was
backed up when I had to throw up
again. I hate throwing up!. My nutrition
plan was the same as IMUK but without
the Diet Coke and it seemed to be
working as I felt okay going onto the
Queen K highway. For those of you who
don't know the Queen K is the main road
on the island and it goes straight
through the lava fields. There is no
spectators only the guys/girls on the aid
stations (every mile) who do a great
job. Then you have the Natural Energy
Lab, it's a private road which heads
down to the coast for around 2 miles.
That's when it got hot, I can only describe it like sitting against a radiator
wearing only a t-shirt. Then you're
heading for Ali'i this part of the run is a
dream, it's not just the end of the race
but the end of a long season as I wasn't
going to compete in 70.3 Champs,
Staring
• Pete Nightingale - Support
crew/photographer/tour doctor!/and post race drinking partner.
• Pam Nightingale - Support
crew/photographer/sun screen applicator/post race drinking partner.
• Chris Clarke - Gym queen turning
tri geek/bloke who once had muscle/race junkie.
Of course it goes without saying, a big
thank you to my girls (Colette, Caprice
and Arabella) for putting up with me, the
finish is not the same without that family
feeling, also to Pete and Pam who once
again came half way around the world to
watch some mad man race the same 140
miles as last year.
Clearwater, Florida.
It then hits you - Ali'i drive, spectators,
flags, noise, color, high five's with kids
and finally the finish - Chris Clarke you
A HUGE THANKS...
are an Ironman. You never get tired of
Chris
hearing that at the end of a race.
• Swim - 1:13:05
• Bike - 4:59:15
• Run - 3:21:32
Finally you're there, the finish line.
• Overall - 9:40:09
• Position - 207
On reflection (in the
massage tent) it was a
great day, not a day
that went to plan but a
great day. I have to be
happy with the final
position, as last year I
came 303 rd. Weighing myself afterwards
I had lost nearly 5
pounds which was
probably put back on
in the pub around the
corner in half the
time. We finished the
night watching the
final athletes crossing
the line to huge ap-
Page 8
Marathon des Sables
2006
Report by Ian Jones
The Marathon des Sables is a 7 day /
~150 mile endurance race across the
Sahara Desert in Morocco. All competitors have to carry all of their food and
equipment to last the week; the only
thing the organisers provide is a water
supply and a tent for the evening. Why
did I enter for such a ridiculous sounding event? I guess because I saw a
documentary on it on TV, and simply
thought - why couldn't I do that? It always seems like a good idea to enter at
first... It's only 12 months later, when
you're on a dodgy charter flight to Morocco that you start to have second
thoughts about it!
I'll skip the boring parts of the flight,
hotel, and coach ride into the desert that was pretty much like an 18-30s holiday (minus the booze). The story really
starts with 800 of us being dropped off
in the middle of nowhere, after 6 hours
of bus ride into the desert, with only 20odd Moroccan army trucks for company. We all had to cram into the back
of these ancient looking trucks, which
shuttled us from the roadside into the
desert to our starting camp.
None of us had any idea what to expect
when we arrived. What we actually
found was a huge ring of 100 black
open-sided tents (8 competitors per
tent), with a load of white "admin" tents
to one side and legions of Land Rovers.
Oh, and a helicopter! We were to spend
two nights here doing various administrative tasks, with the French organisers
feeding us, before self sufficiency
started on the first day of the race.
Tents of 8 were made up by people
rocking up in ones and twos until each
tent was full. Our tent was as follows:• Ian - Doctor of Chemistry from Surrey. Top bloke, nicknamed "Cliff
Richard" - on the first day he
claimed he never swore and "didn't
really like bad language". By the
third day he was f'ing and jeffing
like a navvy and threatening all
sorts of physical violence against
the organisers - genius.
The start line - 7 days of pain to come!
•
•
•
•
•
Bob - Lecturer from Norfolk. The
heaviest of all of us at 14 stone, not
really a runner but a serious
walker/hiker. Bob had visited just
about every country you could think
of, except North Korea - and he had
plans to go there next year. He also
kept a hip flask of rum for
"emergencies". Mentalist.
Stuart - Cockney Wideboy and martial artist. Top lad, but prone to outbursts of East-End slang (even
though he was from plush Wimbledon) which only made him sound
exactly like Barrymore - "awwight?".
Alan - Teacher from London. Lunatic
who planned to run the London
Marathon on his return (more on that
later). Also owner of the weirdest
snore ever... well actually more like
a strangled cat! Alan was one of the
prime movers behind half the tent
sleeping outside by the second night
of the race, and sod the scorpions
(we needed peace and quiet!).
Simon - Publisher from Surrey. General top geezer and source of dirt on
celebrities. He was also the owner of
the most toxic a**e this side of a
chemical waste dump, which got to
be more of a problem as the race
went progressed...
Dave and Paul - Two officers from
the Irish Army, who were pretty
quickly christened "The McF**k
Brothers", on account of their swearing abilities. We initially thought
they were from some super-fit,
head-banging outfit like the Irish
Rangers. When Bob asked them,
Dave replied - "Naah mate, we're
from the 12th infantry - our motto is
'Who Cares Who Wins?'". Despite
blagging some leave from their superiors to train, they'd spent most of
the previous month boozing and the
furthest they had run was 20 miles...
Still, after years of military service
they started pretty fit and got better
and better as the race went on.
Most of the afternoon was spent with
people fretting about pack weights, trying to get rid of as much kit as possible
before the morning, when our kit would
be recorded and we'd have to carry
those items for the rest of the race. Some
idiots were carrying a bare minimum
daily ration of 2000 calories a day - considering I'd estimated I'd burn off about
38,000 calories in total over the event,
there was no way I was going to get by
on that little!
In the evening, the French organisers
laid on a mess tent and food for us,
which was pretty good - Spaghetti
Bolognese, soup, bread, cheese... oh,
and miniatures of red wine - god bless
the French. Being the honed athlete I am,
I got a glass of red and got stuck in!
The second morning in camp (and day
before the start), we wandered around
doing the various admin checks
Page 9
(medicals, ECGs, pack weight and contents) and chatting. There were some
great stories and people about:• 1) Six Korean girls, who didn't
speak a word of English, were wandering about camp aimlessly. They
had an unorthodox reason for being
here - they'd been on a TV game
show, finished last and were given
the booby prize of doing the Marathon des Sables - poor sods.
• 2) A team of Japanese models and
actresses were being followed everywhere by a TV crew. They also
looked bewildered, if a bit more
glamorous. They claimed they were
famous back home... who knows?!
• 3) Jack Osbourne, Ozzy's son, was
mooching about with an even bigger film crew. He came past our
tent and we all said hello - nice
geezer (and has he lost some
weight!). A vicious rumour that
Prince William was competing also
did the rounds too, but there was
nothing in it.
• 4) I met Rory Coleman, organiser of
the Marathon of Britain (also 150ish
miles, also yearly, except in the
UK). He had some interesting clobber - he wore a Union Jack bowler
hat, shorts and carried a flag for the
entire duration of the race. Nutter.
Anyway, more on some of these guys
later. By 3pm, we had some major problems - the wind had picked up, and suddenly a huge sandstorm hit camp - taking our tent straight down. Here's a tip don't try and put a tent up in a sandstorm when you're only wearing running shorts. Your skin gets sandblasted,
and you end up with sand UNDER the
first layer of skin!
When it eventually abated, we had our
first (of many) briefings from the race
director, Patrick Bauer. It was all in
French, with pretty awful translation, but
we got the gist. Amazingly, 30 people
had been kicked out before the race
even started - the organisers had pulled
them out for invalid medicals or failed
ECGs - gutted. Imagine getting to the
desert, so close to starting, then having
it snatched away from you.
Then it was time for more food at the
mess tent (this was our last night of be-
ing fed - for the next 7 days we were self
sufficient) - and get this, tinnies of beer.
It was rude not to have one, but then I
chased it down with a bottle of water and
got my head down - I didn't really sleep
though. Big day tomorrow.
I'd slowed down to a trot. The ground
was pretty hard packed stone and sand
for another few kilometres, before turning into small "dunettes". These were the
kind of things you'd see at a beach in the
UK, and weren't too bad, especially as
we were still fresh at this point. However, we soon arrived at a high ridge
Day One - Ait Sâadane / Rich Merzoug, 28 km
which we had to climb and pass over to
The day started badly at 5.55am, with the reach CP2. That was the first real taste of
climbing, and in the heat it was pretty
local support crew (Berbers) taking our
difficult, especially for those carrying
tent down around us while we were still
in bed. We got up slowly, getting our kit too much weight.
together from opposite ends of the tent (I After a few k we dropped down to CP2.
can see why soldiers are so organised
After topping up on water, it was a pretty
now) and got brekkie - Fruit and Fibre,
boring 7k of salt plains and packed
laced with sugar and milk powder for
ground to the finish. I was the first one
me.
back in the tent, and felt pretty much OK.
Day One was supposed to "ease us into" Having sat down in camp, I felt somethe race, according to the dual language thing prick the ball of my foot, so took off
my trainer to have a look. I was amazed
(French/English) race brief on the first
morning - fat chance! The race started at to find a 3/4 inch nail sticking into the
sole of my shoe - how the hell did that
9, and what an atmosphere... 760-odd
get into the middle of the desert?! Luckpeople on the start line, with songs like
ily for me, it had gone into a thick part of
Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" and
the sole, and only the tip had got into my
AC/DCs "Shook Me All Night Long"
blasting over the speakers... Well OK, it's shoe - it had only gone into the dead
skin of my foot. But it really made me
not the kind of stuff I'd listen to at home,
think about just what a lottery this race
but it was a real buzz to be there and
is. One false move, through no fault of
experience those sights and sounds.
your own, and its game over...
As we crossed the line, the helicopter
By this time, Dave and Paul had arrived,
buzzed over the field, 20 ft over our
muttering under their breath about the
heads for the TV camera crew to get a
crowd shot - again, what a buzz! I (being heat. Then everyone else followed, with
Stu bringing up the rear. He arrived,
the idiot that I am) set off at too quick a
pace, although that was a common prob- collapsed outside the tent and vomited nice! The poor sod couldn't even keep
lem (Stuart nearly blew up on the first
day, he pushed really hard and was vom- water down for two more hours, which
brought home just how much the heat
iting for two hours after getting back to
had affected people.
camp). We ran through a dried river
bed, then over sand and packed ground, However, once everyone was in, I
passing a few palm trees on the way - just looked at my trainers and realised I had
what I was expecting from the race bro- a problem - my gaiters were in serious
chure. All the locals had come out in
trouble. All competitors wear some form
force to cheer us on, and we had Morro- of protection to keep the sand out of
can kids running alongside us shouting
their shoes, and mine was a loop of para"Allez Allez!" and patting us on the backs chute fabric that was made to sit on the
- Spot on!
top of my calves, with the bottom glued
to the soles of my trainers - it made a
Check Point 1 was 9.5k. I felt pretty
seal to keep out the sand. However, degood, and only stopped briefly for the
spite two layers of Araldite during conmandatory 1.5 litre bottle of water.
struction, they were already coming
Amazingly (and worryingly for the peoaway from the soles of my shoes. Blind
ple concerned), some people were alpanic set in, and I set about them with
ready getting treatment for their feet
the "emergency" glue I'd brought with
from the medics... it was to be a tough
me. Hopefully, the repairs would hold.
race for those guys, as one of the major
rules of survival was to protect your feet Once all this was done, I sat down to tea
- a king size bag of cashew nuts, along
at all costs (more on that later...).
with egg noodles in beef sauce (it
By now it was getting really warm, and
Page 10
The sandstorm was tough - walking into
that wind with sand underfoot was hard,
and the sand on your exposed skin was
painful. I ended up with sand under my
skin, which took a while to come out.
Different people had different solutions
to the sand getting in your eyes. Some
had £100 specialist sunglasses. I had a
£2 pair of sandblasting goggles from
B+Q - I looked a bit of a tit but they did
the job! I pushed on through the next
10km, which at times was fairly packed
sand, but at other times your feet just
sank into it - a real killer. Just before
camp, the sandstorm dropped away, and
I was treated to the sight of an (almost)
grassy plain with about 40 camels grazing on it... not what I was expecting!
I reached camp mid afternoon. I was
again the first back from our tent, but I
had other fish to fry - I had blisters on
both feet, about 6 of them. I mooched
over to the medical tent, hoping to have
some beautiful nurse tending to my feet.
The reality was a bit different... a surly
French male nurse grunted at me, gave
me a surgical blade and iodine, and told
me burst them and dress them myself.
Cheers fella.
The route on the second day ? from the
To be honest, it was fine. Bursting blisters doesn't hurt, and the iodine only
'Roadbook' given to all competitors
stings a little (some army guys in tent 93
had an interesting alternative solution they used a syringe to suck out the blis6am - and we all had a rude awakening serve for the rest of the race. On reachter, then re-injected some antiseptic
as the Berbers took the tent down
ing the top, we quickly dropped back
called "Benzotinct". God knows if it
around us, leaving all of our gear scatdown some tricky rock (someone had
worked, but they screamed like stuck
tered on the desert floor and us looking already sprained their ankle, I remempigs when that stuff was injected - sod
at the sky. Breakfast was again Fruit n
ber them weeping as I went past) and
for a lark). Besides, I had nothing to
Fibre. However, many of us had hit
onto an immense plain, stretching off into that
complain
about - a Welsh guy next to me
upon a problem already - lack of water. the distance over huge cracks in the
had
an
ankle
with a huge swelling bulgWe'd received three 1.5 litre bottles of
ground. We crossed a dried out riverbed ing out of it. The
doctor came in, took
water on returning to camp the night
after a few more km, and eventually
one
look
and
simply
said "Fin" and
before. However, in my case (and many reached our first checkpoint at 12 km.
shipped
him
out.
Another
one bites the
others) I'd had to drink more than one of A quick pit stop to fill the Camelbak, and dust. He wasn't the only one
though.
those bottles before I could pass any
straight
off
again,
sucking
on
a
salt
tablet
When
I
got
back
to
our
tent,
Alan had
urine - and it certainly wasn't at all clear. as I headed east. The next two checkdropped
out
due
to
the
heat,
(he still
You were then in the unenviable posipoints
were
to
introduce
us
gently
managed
to
do
the
London
marathon
two
tion of worrying about trying to make
(although
we
didn't
think
so
at
the
time!)
weeks
later!)
and
I
realised
that
the
your water last instead of drinking as
to the wonders of sand dunes. All the way problems with water weren't going to go
much as possible.
to CP2 they were pretty minor, and had a away - everyone was dehydrated, and
Consequently, many of us were poorly
few palm trees chucked in for good
about 50 competitors had dropped out.
hydrated. I'd got by simply by scaveng- measure. However, once I reached CP2
This was way more than normal, and the
ing what I could from those who weren't at 23km, I knew we were in for a tough
organisers knew something was amiss drinking as much as others; but it was a next stage - we had to head south, into
they gave us an extra bottle each that
bad omen for the days to come. The
the teeth of a sandstorm, across 12km of night, which to be truthful still wasn't
French organisers had a rule that if you serious dunes. I'd arrived at CP2 with Ian, enough - I was still rationing myself. Tea
had to ask them for a bottle of water
but he wanted to rest - I just wanted to
was cous cous and peanuts. Nice. By now
above your daily ration (this was to
get the day finished, so set straight off
I was getting sick of Go Bars, I'd been
about 9 litres/day at the start) then they into the wind.
living off them (and raisins) during
The day was ended by a trip to the latrine tents - the less said about these the
better. However, I mention it because
some poor bastard managed to drop
one of his running shoes into a latrine
pit and had to retrieve it that first night I do not even want to THINK what that
was like.
Bed at 9pm. No blisters had sprouted by
this point. Plenty were to come however!
Day Two - Rich Merzoug / Ma'der el Kebir,
35km
would penalise you an hour's time per
bottle - to avoid you wasting your ration
of water. This was fine if they were giving
us enough in the first place; not so good
if the daily rations weren't enough due to
the unexpected freak weather…
We set off at 9, and immediately started
to climb a huge ridge. It lasted about 2.5
km of steep ascent, and was tough going
in the early morning heat. I could see
plenty of runners heading off at speed,
but I resolved to keep to a fast march for
now - I wanted to keep something in re-
Page 11
I was drinking water like a demon. Unfortunately for me, I ran out about 6 k
from CP3, which is a long, long way in
the desert. Although other competitors
were around, I wasn't going to bother
anyone unless I was in real trouble - everyone else was in the same boat with the
water. It was then that I decided I really
wasn't bothered about penalties - I was
going to get an extra bottle of water from
the next marshal I saw, and take an
hour's penalty - I'd rather finish the race
than collapse.
Unfortunately, it took me another 3k to
come across one, and by then I had a
mouth like Gandhi's flip flop. He was a
big surly French git, with "Directeur"
written across his back. I asked him for a
bottle, and (pretty reluctantly) he gave
me water and took my number for the
hour's penalty. While I was there, I told
him (extremely politely) that in my opinion there wasn't enough water on the
Looking back on the second day's start from Rich Merzoug
course, and that people were suffering.
He looked at me, scoffed, and said "Ha,
zis is ze Marathon des Sables, it iz always
was pretty easy underfoot at this point.
the two days and they were beginning
like this. It iz supposed to be hard".
to get on my nerves. Unfortunately for
After a while, I came to two wells literally A nice bloke obviously. I didn't waste
me, that was all I had for lunch for the
in the middle of nowhere - God knows
any more time with him, but carried on
next 5 days! On the food front (and in
how the locals knew there was water
up the jebel Ras Khemmouna, to a sumfact kit in general), most people were
there. We turned south east at this point, mit 1.5k further up. On the way I saw a
frantically checking their bags for any
heading past banks of vegetation and a
distress flare go off - trouble (every
excess weight they could dump. The
dried out lake before reaching CP1 after competitor is issued a flare for emergenextra bag of raisins, that other T-shirt
12k.
cies). When I got to the top, one of the
etc. were all being binned at a furious
German teams was there, with three
After
refuelling,
I
headed
on
up
the
rate, and people were already swapgirls surrounding their mate who was
slopes
of
Jebel
Zireg.
This
was
a
real
ping food rations. I grabbed a load of
unconscious, lying on the sand. I asked
b***ard,
for
want
of
a
better
word.
The
Skittles off a bloke who wanted to bin
them if she was OK - bad timing on my
climb
was
steep,
and
very
soft
underfoot,
them to save weight - not the sharpest
part, because, as I said it she suddenly
and by this point the sun was really
tool in the box, obviously (and they
went from limp to rigid, and started confierce
and
temperatures
into
the
40's.
We
really helped me later on!) Amazingly,
vulsing violently - just like something out
climbed
for
9
straight
k,
with
the
last
one
the gaiters had held up through the day.
of a TV show. I let off my own flare, told
being up the side of a steep cliff. The
Hopefully they'd do tomorrow too…
checkpoint was at the top, and it was like them I'd get help and set off sprinting
down the hill. It took me about 5 minutes
a war zone - people collapsed everyto find a Land Rover and marshals, who
where, the medical teams looking conDay Three, Ma'der el Kebir / Maharch, 38 km
promptly shot off to help her. However,
cerned,
one
girl
bawling
her
eyes
out.
I
The day started again with a 6am wake stayed for about 15 minutes, checking
the sprint had absolutely shafted me,
up call, and again cereal for breakfast. I blisters, gunning a Go Bar and raisins,
and by the time I reached CP3 I was abnow had the added task of dressing my and rehydrating. I then set off down the
solutely dry again - I took another penblisters however... and my feet had
alty to get an additional bottle of water,
other
side
of
the
Jebel.
swollen and were a lot more snug in my
as I wasn't confident of my ability to do
However, no-one really knew what we
trainers.
last 10k without it. At CP3 I chatted to
were in for in this section. The map said it the
This was the day when things really
a
Paratroop
captain, who was spitting
was a 12k stretch, in reality it was more
started to go ever so slightly mental,
bullets
about
the organisers. He said that
like 14k, with only a litre and a half of
although we didn't know it at the 9am
the
British
Army
Officer's Handbook rewater to cover it. I pushed on down the
start. It was hot, really hot even at this
quires
a
minimum
12 litres required
across stony, undulating ground and per man to operateofeffectively
point in the morning, easily into the 30's. hill,
in the
over some large rises.
As the gun went, we all streamed fordesert - the organisers weren't giving us
Between CP 2 and CP3, I hit real probward over undulating packed sand,
anywhere near that.
lems. It was as hot as I'd ever known, and
heading south across a huge plain. It
Page 12
Apparently his Corporal had already
dropped out due to the heat (they were
a team of six), and his Sergeant had
nearly sparked out a Marshal who had
tried to stop him getting some additional water. Madness.
Once I'd cooled down, I pushed on to
the finish. By this point I was tired and
was walking along at about 5 km/hour. I
was somewhere around the middle of
the field, but was walking by myself for
large sections through brush and rocky
outcrops on either side all the way to
the finish.
There was an evil mood hanging around
camp that night though. I was happy that
the girl I'd seen was OK - one of the lads
had seen her sitting up, with a nurse
plugging a bag of IV fluids into her arm.
However, the following had also happened during the third day:• A Finnish girl had run out of water,
just as I did, but decided she didn't
want to take a time penalty for getting an extra bottle. She carried on,
dehydrated and collapsed. When
the docs got to her they found she
had suffered a minor stroke. It took
her a few days to recover, with her
under close observation from the
medical team.
• Even more seriously, an Irish guy
did exactly the same thing and collapsed, this time into a coma. He
had to be helicoptered out to a university hospital in France, and was
in intensive care for a few of days.
Both competitors recovered OK,
thankfully.
Ha Ha indeed, Monsieur Directeur. It
was all so avoidable, and the organisers
as much as admitted so when they announced they were going to up our water rations by 3 litres per day for the
remainder of the race. It wasn't enough
for the 130 competitors who'd dropped
out by this point, unfortunately. The real
bad luck story on day three was that
someone had managed to knock himself
out of the race with his own distress
flare. He'd intentionally set it off whilst
trying to help someone else in trouble,
but fired it pointing the wrong way
round - the flare exploded into his
shoulder, and broke his collarbone on
impact... So, I counted myself lucky that
I was in one piece. The one good thing
to emerge from this mess was that water
rations were increased across the board
and no-one struggled for hydration from
this point in.
By now, we all had settled into some kind
of routine. Get to camp, have snack,
stretch, check feet, get feet seen to, get
sleeping bag and kit sorted, cook tea...
and only then could you sit down, and it
was generally time for going to sleep by
this point. I found time to fire out a couple of emails at the computer tent, then
collapsed into my bag.
PS Gaiter Watch - amazingly, they were
still holding at this point, which was a
real bonus! The longer you can protect
your feet for, the better (and there were
some pitiful sights knocking around - one
guy was down to raw flesh on his heel).
the sandstorm dropped, and the afternoon sun started to blaze down... and
that was where the trouble (for me anyway) started.
After about 4km of dunes, I started to
feel like I was running out of energy odd, as I'd been eating properly. I put it
down to day after day of glycogen depletion, and resolved to eat more at the
next CP. However, by the time I got
there I was in a right state - I could
hardly think straight. I thought I'd feel
better after 10 minutes of sitting down,
but was gradually getting worse - it was
only when I happened to put my hand on
my forehead that I realised I was burning up. I'd pushed myself too hard and
into heatstroke territory. Luckily, I had
the presence of mind to get in the shade,
get my shirt off and start pouring water
over myself. As soon as I did, I started
Day Four - Maharch / Jebel el Mraier: 72 km
shivering violently - another sign that my
(well 61km actually...)
body had lost track of its temperature
... 61km because the organisers knew
control mechanism...
the weather was going to be at its worst
today, and shortened the course accord- Luckily for me, a nurse called Katie (a
ingly. The purists weren't too happy, but fellow Cumbrian, from Kendal) had armost people could see the sense in what rived by this point, and she sat with me
for an hour making sure I was OK - what
had been done, especially with all the
a superstar. As I started to cool down, it
dropouts.
obvious that I wasn't the only one in
10am - heavy rock music at the start line was
a
mess.
A writer from the Sunday Times
again. Again we set off into the desert,
was
in
exactly
the same state as me, with
across a huge plain flanked by huge
one
of
her
mates
water over her
mountains off in the distance. This contin- to try and cool herpouring
down.
A
guy was
ued for the first two hours or so. Us
propped
up
in
the
shade
with
a re"mortals" were being set off 2 hours behydration
drip
in,
and
the
medics
were
fore the current top 100 placers in the
crowding
round
someone
who
was
in
race, the theory being that we could get god-knows what kind of state.
to see them overtake us.
All in all, by the time I left CP3 I'd been
A few hours in, as we were crossing a
for about 2 hours. I counted myself
series of dunes, sure enough those guys there
lucky
my race might have finstarted to whizz past us. Alright, it wasn't ished though;
there
had
I been less fortunate. By
as if they were doing 4.30 minute pace
this
time
it
was
dusk;
northeast
across the dunes, but they just seemed to with Katie and GrahamI walked
(a
Welsh
copper)
zip past you, which in the heat was unbe- at an easy pace through some small
lievable.
dunes and across the occasional rocky
The first checkpoint was about 12km,
outcrop. As night fell, the organisers
with the second on 25km set in the ruins turned on a green laser beam which
of a village in the middle of some sand
shone 20 ft above our heads, pointing
dunes. I was happy to stop for a rest at
the way from CP3 onwards towards CP4
CP2 to be honest, since yet another sand- - it looked amazing, and it was nice not
storm had dropped on to us and the wind to have to worry about navigation for the
was blowing directly in our faces. Once I next few k's. Katie, Graham and I were
set off, it was down a stony track for 4km, absolutely goosed by this point, and we
then the killer - 8km of dunes before the had no concerns about trying to get a
next checkpoint. For all of this section, I
good time - we just wanted to finish the
was chatting to a triathlete called Michael stage.
from Preston, which obviously helped
pass the time. As we entered the dunes
Page 13
(yet again - why do I always get them?!)
a surly French bloke. I showed him the
blistering on my calves - his eyes went
wide and he said "C'est Bizarre!" - Nice
bedside manner there, fella. To be fair,
he sorted out both the calves and my
feet as well, and I was confident they
wouldn't bother me till the end of the
race.
The day was spent eating, snoozing and
chatting. I seem to recall the last competitor coming in at about 1pm, but it
could have been later - either way, that's
over 24 hours out on the course, and the
"less fit" guys actually did it tougher than
anyone in the race. At 4pm we were
given a free can of Coke, courtesy of one
of the sponsors. It was hilarious seeing
the effect the sugar rush had on some of
the competitors - and I've never seen
someone have the p**s taken out of him
as much as the lad who asked for a Diet
Coke - come on pal, if there's any time
you can eat what you want to it's now!
The final morning - I'm the idiot in the headscarf
Team Tent 96 finished the day cooking
and chatting about films.
asleep outside tent 96 within a minute or
We arrived at CP4 9km and 1.5 hours
Day Six - Jebel el Mraier / Kourci dial Zaid,
later - that was how slow we were mov- two (I wasn't going to bother disturbing
42.2 km
the lads already in there!).
ing by that point! I broke out my stove,
Marathon day! We had about 42k to do
and we each had a Pot Noodle (the food Day Five - Rest @ Jebel el Mraier
and psychologically we knew if
of choice among MdS'ers) to keep us
I was rudely awakened by the sun at 7am today,
we
could
through today, it was in the
going till we reached the end. As we
- I got out of my bag, got into the tent and bag sinceget
the
final day was only a short
tucked into them, Katie nearly sat on a
12k stage to the finish.
scorpion which was nesting in the rocks went back to sleep!
I got up about 10.30am, and got some
near her - the blokes in the medical
AC/DC again (oh yes) on the start line,
breakfast (you guessed it - Fruit and Fiteam were laughing, until it scurried
along with some (shockingly) Bryan Adunder their Land Rover and they all sud- bre with brown sugar... Why? I can't even ams "Run to You" - bloody French.
look at the stuff now). Today was a desigdenly scattered - big girls!
The start was over undulating small
nated rest day, as long as you finished
Darkness had well and truly fallen by
dunes (think Blackpool Sands). I set off at
Day
Four
in
time...
however
there
were
this point, and you could see head
an easy run, and felt a hell of a lot better
still
people
out
on
the
course
from
the
torches bobbing up and down into the
before, so for them this was a con- than the fourth day. In time the dunes
distance both in front of and behind us. night
gave up into packed sand and rock,
tinuation
We packed up and set off again to cover poor sods.of the previous day's stage mixed with the odd palm tree in the disthe final 7km to camp, following our
tance. The first checkpoint of the day
Wandering round the camp, you saw
compasses and the glow sticks which
at 10.5 km, and came pretty easily,
some interesting sights - loads of people was
had been set on the ground at 500m
much
easier than I expected but I guess
intervals ahead of us. As we walked, we hobbling on bandaged feet, one person the day off must have made a big differbegan to see figures moving in and out weeping, people collapsed and snoring ence.
inside and outside of tents and, unbeof the shadows on either side - local
Once I'd picked up more water, I set off
lievably, some City Banker (no pun invillagers, who then came over to say
East and then North East across a huge
tended) phoning his stockbroker on a
hello in French and ask us how we
plain. You soon began to find that in the
were. They had just been to the village satellite phone to check how his shares
desert, you can see vast distances but
were performing - what's all that about
the other side of the Wadi and were
when you're trying to reach something in
lad, you're in the middle of the Sahara!
walking home when they came across
the distance you can run/walk for hours
us. God knows what they thought of us
I had to visit the medical tent too - apart
and it never gets any bloody closer! This
though - we looked like 3 extras from
from more blisters on my feet, the skin
was certainly the case here, as we were
Mad Max...
on the backs of my calves had blistered
heading towards a water tower at CP2,
We finally got into camp at 2am. I gave badly due to the rubbing from my gaiters and it took ages to get there. I'd traveled
Katie a big hug and Graham a big hand- - about a fifth of the skin had bubbled up. most of this distance with Ian and
shake, got out my sleeping bag and fell I went in to Doc Trotters, and was sent to
Page 14
Mike, but when I got to CP2 decided to
let them go ahead and travel at my own
pace - I'd learned the lesson of pushing
myself too hard on day 3.
I headed off from CP2 and shortly hit the
b****d section - 7km of dunes to reach
CP3. These were the worst yet; really
tall, and every time you tried to move
up one, your feet sank in and you were
slipping back down. The best solution
seemed to be to plant your feet and
walk up slowly - running was completely out. The weird thing was, there
was no "right" way to pick your way
through the dunes; with no navigational
features and nothing to see but sand,
you had to find your own way, and there
were pairs of footprints going everywhere!
After a real slog (that was one of the
hardest sections for me) I eventually
reached CP3. It was again incredibly
hot in the post-lunch sun, and there
were quite a few casualties knocking
around. Also, since this was the penultimate day, the organisers had shipped in
all of the event sponsors for a day to see
what their money was being spent on.
Consequently, there were loads of
"civilians" milling about at CP3 - and
they were all looking at us like we were
aliens. I can't say I blame them though...
none of us had had a bath for a week
and we'd raced about 130 miles through
the Sahara by this point. Someone from
a sponsoring company was walking
about draped in gold chains and huge
Sophia Loren sunglasses. I talked to her
briefly - she told me "there iz much
longer to travel to the finish for you, I
think"... Well thanks very much my
dear, you've really cheered me up
there.
Into the desert again, this time NE towards CP4, with pretty much flat territory between me and the end. I was still
moving quickly after about 30km, but all
of a sudden bonked (that's ran out of
carbohydrate energy for any nonathletes) in a spectacular way and
slowed to a crawl. To be fair I hadn't
eaten particularly well that day, but it's
strange how day after day of hard exercise takes it out of you. I got stuck into
the emergency bag of skittles in my
pack, followed by a bottle of superstrong energy drink. (I have even
greater respect for professional cyclists
who race day after day now - the de-
mands on your body are unbelievable). I
also opened the "Open in case of emergency" letter that Cat had given me before I left the UK - reading that gave me a
big boost to keep moving to the finish.
By CP4 I was marching along with no
pretensions about running. I didn't stop
there, but just kept on moving for the
finish 4km away (a guy there was in a
right state though - his mates were trying
to get him off the ground to do the final
4000m and he just couldn't stand up).
Finally crossing the line was a surreal
experience - for one thing all of the people from the sponsors (New Balance,
Buff, Coca Cola etc) who'd landed on
camp were lined up on the approach,
and you got a real reception as you came
in to the stage finish. But more, it was a
feeling that the hard work has over now;
the finish was only 12km away over some
dunes, and was so close you could taste
it.
I was seriously tired though, so I found
our tent and went to sleep for an hour. I
woke up with Bob's sweaty feet half an
inch from my nose (nice) - enough of an
incentive to break out the stove for one
last night to cook some noodles.
After tea and sorting my pack out, it was
pitch dark. Unbelievably, the organisers
had shipped in about 20 of the Paris Symphony Orchestra and various opera singers, to give us (or, probably more accurately, the sponsors) an open-air concert.
The stage was set up in the middle of the
competitors' tents, and at 8pm I took my
sleeping bag into the open air to sit out
and watch the show. It was a magical way
to finish the day; the music and setting
was spectacular. Also, although I didn't
want to count my chickens, by this point
you could be fairly sure you were going
to finish barring a freak injury on the final
day.
There was a definite change in mood
around the camp that night. Upbeat because I'm sure we were all confident of
finishing; but also a hint of sadness because this was the last night of the race,
and one way or another it would be all
over the next evening.
Day Seven - Kourci dial Zaid / Merzouga ,
11.8km
One last early morning (5.30am) start.
One last breakfast of Fruit n flipping Fibre. One last trip into the dunes for a
toilet stop. I wasn't going to miss any of
those things, believe me! We all got our
kit together, cleared the tent, and
watched as the Berbers took all 100 competitor tents down for the final time. It
was a shame that not all of the 8 of us
from Tent 96 who started the race managed to finish; but 7 out of 8 wasn't bad
going.
The final 12k was a blur; despite all the
efforts on the previous days and the
dunes at the end, I ran it at sub 8-minute
mile pace and so did a lot of other people. As usual, you just get caught up in
the atmosphere and push yourself that
bit harder.
The finish line suddenly appeared out of
the dunes at about 12km, and I put in a
sprint finish to just pip another Brit to the
line (we hugged after we'd crossed the
line though - so much for that stiff upper
lip). The finish line was a scene of utter
lunacy - people laughing / crying / hugging and taking photos (and also some
enterprising Moroccan kids selling soft
drinks).
I found out later I'd finished in 436th position, well down the pecking order and
in more than double the time of the
eventual winner. However, I honestly
didn't care. I'd crossed the line intact,
and that was good enough for me.
After race
It took a 6 hour bus journey through the
desert to get back to our hotel - by
which time we had all stiffened up and
could hardly walk. Having a shower
back at the hotel was great - though it
took two attempts to get clean! I'd also
managed to lose at least half a stone (if
not more) in weight over the event, and
most of my body fat seemed to have disappeared.
I made up for it at dinner that night - I
think all the competitors ate like they'd
not seen food for a week. Also, most
people (me included) got drunk on two
beers and went to bed early!
The real party was the next day. Like any
good Brits/Irish, Tent 96 found an off
licence (not easy - you try finding somewhere to buy booze in Morocco), got a
load of tinnies in and sat in the sun having an afternoon drink reading the papers. The party carried on till about 2am
that morning, though it got a bit hazy by
then...
Page 15
Final Thoughts
The race director Patrick Bauer, had this
to say about the 2006 race:"With 731 at the start (from 32 countries)
585 finished the race, so 146 pulled out.
This unusually high level was due
largely to extreme weather conditions
as from day one: high temperatures (up
to 42°C), sandstorms and very high hygrometry levels (up to 35%). Nature
took over. You realise how small you
are compared to the elements. In these
conditions what counts is having good
mental and physical preparation. We
saw that some competitors weren't as
well prepared as other years. The majority however did manage their course
well and I take my hat off to them."
What are my thoughts on the experience? Now I've been back a few weeks,
I can put the whole thing into perspective a little easier. The whole experience, from stepping off the plane into a
wall of heat at Ouarzazate airport, to
drinking our last beers at 3am on the
final night (including a 17 stone Kiwi
doing the Haka in the hotel bar) was
amazing, and I would recommend it to
anyone. I definitely had a few hard
times, chief of which was blowing up due
to the heat on the fourth day. However, I
made myself a promise at the start that as
long as my body was still working I'd
keep on pushing, and it eventually carried me through. Post-race (a bit like a
new mother I guess) you conveniently
forget all the pain you pushed through,
but you remember all of the great experiences. The camaraderie and team
spirit shown by complete strangers was
brilliant, and it was a privilege to be
involved in the race.
PS If anyone is thinking of doing this
race, please drop me a line and I'll be
happy to help in any way I can. You CAN
do it, it isn't just for super-athletes - I'm
certainly not one of those! Also, thanks to
everyone for the inspiration to do this
race, and to keep on training.
Ian
The Finish Line
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Page 16
more than those in Sainsburys. Please The next phase will involve higher resisdress for all weather. Any questions, ring tances for similarly long intervals.
me on 07968 140 256.
If you are in the process of buying a
turbo trainer, don’t spend too much.
Computer screens have their uses but
are not necessary. I use a basic fluid
trainer which is spring loaded, very
Over the next few weeks T pace will be smooth and quiet. Others prefer adjustgradually introduced, with reps becom- able magnetic trainers, but it’s a pering gradually longer. Please concentrate sonal choice.
on achieving (and maintaining) 90 steps /
I minute / leg during this phase. You can Benefits of the session include:
practice this stride rate at any pace, so
count every few minutes during other
runs in the week. Making the effort now • You can watch Steve Clayton as his
to improve technique will pay dividends heart rate reaches 200 during the warm
during the season.
up.
Track Sessions
Winter Scrambles
Turbo Sessions
John Murray trains with his top off
(Jo only attends because of this)
• Chris Clarke training in only his
Speedos (Jo leaves because of this)
•
Over cadence work is coming to an end, What we need now is a sporting female
Last month the first winter Scramble and hopefully technique and efficiency to even things out by also training topattracted over twenty people of all abili- has improved over the last five weeks. less.
ties. We met in Disley and ran around
Lyme Park, passing every landmark
including Bowtones. The run was entirely off road with more than enough
hills for most people. Highlights included Chris Clarke getting dropped
Manchester Aquatics
8.30-9.30pm
SWIM
by a young whippersnapper and then re
running the course looking for his retarded dog, and the third group going
Moss Side
6.30-8pm
SWIM
completely off course within five minutes of starting. Afterwards, around ten
Longford Park
6.30-8pm
RUN
of us met up and had breakfast at the
Sainsburys in Hazel Grove.
Moss Side
6.30-8.00am
SWIM
Training Timetable
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
The next Scramble is on Sunday 17th
December at Whaley Bridge. It will be
slightly longer and hillier than the previous one and pass over Shining Tor.
Again, there will be a long and short
route to choose from, and I will run with
the back markers on the short run.
The meeting point will be on Long Hill.
Drive up the A6 through Whaley Bridge
and start the climb up Long Hill towards
Buxton. Within one mile on the right you
will see a lay by. Meet here at 8.30 for a
9am start. Afterwards, we’ll decamp to a
cafe in Whaley Bridge for breakfast,
where hopefully the staff will smile
SWIM
Manchester Aquatics
8.30-9.30pm
SWIM
Salford Quays
6.30-8.30pm
Stretford Leisure
Centre
Moss Side
9.00-10.00pm
Friday
SWIM *NEW*
Saturday
SWIM
BIKE
Sunday
BIKE
RUN *NEW*
Moss Side (turbo
session)
Didsbury
Winter scramble
(fell run)
8.00-9.30am
10-11am
(Winter only)
9am (Winter
only)
Monthly
Dave & Dave
Bumper Christmas
Special
Its bvllocx and that’s official.
le if you know
Dear Dave and Dave,
way to meet peop
d
goo
a
s
wa
it
d up
at
th
e
mis
do
down and wn an
I joined this clubellonI'mthefedproup. All I've done is swim up andody
slightthe
t
no
and
in
ga
what I mean. W and around and around and around a blo nt my
oney
m
hip
mbers
and run around t of anky panky! I've been duped and waeen theme
off
I'm
s.
ar
leb
nd
ha
est chance of a biuldn't know a good time if it hit you betw
back, You lot wove, at least they know how to party a bit.
to Northern Wa
Outraged
haw
of Oppens
mbership for the price of
me
s
Dear Outraged,
nth
mo
13
ut
abo
hat
ve us. W
Oh, no, oh, please don’t lea
12?
at the Rams Haed at Dilsey. I was looking forward to my liesurely morning
Dear Dave and Dave,
chalenge, but too my sirprise
I am quite shocked and disgusted scrabble
everyone
turned up with off road shoos,
to see the front page of last
to
go
running
up hills. I had bought my
months newsletter. A druggie
board
and
letters!
pictured with a baby athelete.
What sort of shambolic message is
that sending out. If this matter is
Dear Dave,
not looked in to I will have to go
Your brain is so scrabbled you should
back to reading Angling Times.
join the committee.
Dyslexic Dave
Yours Pete Doherty.
Dear Pete,
You have a valid point, but please
Pete, keep chasing the Dragon
(Kate).
Dave & Dave
Dear Dave and Dave,
I turned up four the first outing of
the winter scrabble wear we met
Dave & Dave
Dear Dave and Dave,
Please, you've got to help me.....I have
been unfaithful and now I'm suicidal
with guilt and there's no one else I can
talk to. You see it all started by accident
but then it turned into a regular quickie
on Wednesday nights and now I find I'm
TOP TIP FOR NORTHERN TRIERS. On hot summer nights go to
bed wearing a shower cap full of frozen peas to cool your head. And when
you wake up you'll have a tasty mushy pea snack ready for breakfast
going for long ones on other days
too. But now its so awful because
I've been spotted by a club member and she's a real jealous cow
and I'm so scarred she might tell
Harry. What can I do?
Love and kisses, Miss Naughty
Tri
Dear Naughty,
Our advice is simple. Keep your
washing machine regularly serviced. Then you should not suffer
the sort of breakdown that originally led to your infidelity. And if
you still can't always wash your
club kit in time to use on your training runs you must get a second set
(a bargain at only 2 thousand
squid). Then whenever you’re out
and about you will always look
dapper in Man Tri uniform and
have no fear of reproach from H.
Oh and do remember if you enter
an event you must wear Man Tri kit
else the consequences could be
severe. The last person not to wear
Man Tri kit in competition
(Turncoat) was banished to Sheffield. Yes, sent to Sheffield just for
refusing to wear Man Tri kit!
Dave & Dave
Dear Dave and Dave,
I've a great idea that I need to
share with you. Club underpants!
Yes that’s it, y-frontals, pantaloons
shortus, brief de sportif, Man Tri
grits. I can't think why our intrepid
committee haven't come up with
this idea before, but wouldn't that
be great.
yours, Buster Gonad.
Dear Buster,
Although our own preference in this area is for Marks and
Sparks scratchy wool specials we
have to agree that this is a Top Idea
and that in future all club members
should rightly be expected to wear
club underpants at all times. Maybe
you could get them with a picture of
a 'favourite' club member on that
might like to $*!* on from time to
time. Trouble is, judging by the cost
of the club vests these would be
some of the most expensive grits
known to man. Also we assume they
would of course have to be fashioned from some swanky technical
material such as 'CoolMax' and we
don't want to imagine the effect this
might have on unfeasibly large gonads like yours.
Dave & Dave
Dear Dave and Dave,
I also have been unfaithful and
want to repent my sins. Last Friday
night at around 10pm after a hard
effing week at work, a fight with the
neighbour and a volley of verbal
from the Mrs I sloped off down the
boozer for a laugh and a pint with
my mates. I know it would have
been preferable to have been at
club swimming session that runs at
Streford at that time (and then gone
directly to midnight mass afterwards) but despite the holy calling
(club emails) I was weak and the
devil got the better of me. What
can I do to make sure this doesn't
happen again?
Dear Dave & Dave,
I joined this club because I wanted to
do some proper training and triathlon. I now see I was duped and that
its nothing more than a front for a
jumped up dating agency for those
that like to hang out in Lycra. There’s
more dating, weddings and affairs
going off than you get in an average
run of Emmerdale. Its all Rambo
meets Lara Croft at the track stuff.
Makes me wanna puke. And as for
you two, I'd like to shove your little
column somewhere you could only
enjoy one at a time.
Yours, Disgusted of Disley
Dear Disgusted
What's wrong with meeting Lara Croft
at the track? We asked a random selection of two people and they both
said they'd rather meet her there than
Gollom Thomas.
Dave & Dave
Dear Dave and Dave,
I joined this club on the promise that
it was a good way to meet people if
you know what I mean. Well I'm fed
up. All I've done is swim up and down
and down and up and run around and
around and around and around a
bloody gain and not the slightest
chance of a bit of anky panky! I've
been duped and want my membership money back, You lot wouldn't
know a good time if it hit you between the handlebars. I'm off to
Northern Wave, at least they know
how to party a bit.
Outraged of Oppenshaw
Dear Outraged,
yours, Johnny Fartpants Oh, no, oh, please don’t leave us.
Dear Dave & Dave
We haven't seen Joe Weeden
around for a long time. Can you tell
us is she in the club or isn't she?
What about 13 months membership for
the price of 12?
Dave & Dave
Dear Dave and Dave,
Love from Fat Slaggs. I've just got back from an ab fab hol
Dear Fat Slaggs,
Err..We'll she’s been spotted at
Tuesday swims so we have to assume she is in the club.
Dave & Dave
in Guatemala and I can tell you boys
it was dead dead brill and even when
it wasn't it was ace. Anyhow did I say
how great it was, oh yeh its great
there and my fave bit is the Guatemala Llama. Bit of a tonguey twisty
when you've had a Llama milk or
three but great don't you know.
Have you heard of him? Well he's
in a field over there. Kinda spiritual seeing him it was, I've always
wanted meet him since I was a
small girl who couldn't fill a ManTri
running vest. Anyhow I was just
ringing to say thanks to the committee running the ManTri travel
agency for booking it all. They handled all the paper work and money
for me all I had to do was turn up
and race (in club vest) to the check
in, just joking, Hah! And hand over
wads of money I suppose too. I'd
not even heard of Guatemala. I just
told them I fancied an audience
with the Dalai Lama and they did all
the hard work tracking him down
and fixing it for me to meet him.
Thanks guys, love and snoggs this
Christmas, Suzy B.
Dear Suzy,
Where can we get some of that milk
from in Chorlton?
Dave & Dave
Dear Dave & Dave,
We hear that congrats are in order
and there is going to be a summer
wedding. Can you give us the details?
Best wishes from all on the committee.
Dear Committee,
Yes its true, Dave and I finally
popped the question to each other
and are going to be wed.
Of course it’s going to mean a few
changes in our lives. Dave is stopping Dave from seeing any more of
that foxy Clio chick and Dave is
stopping Dave from swimming with
Northern Wave. But some things will
never change, like Dave scrounging
inner-tubes off Dave. We know
some of you will be wanting to
shower us with gifts and to assist in
this we advise that the wedding present list is at Rick Greens, store in
Handforth.
Dave & Dave
AMA
ZIN
G facts
about
about Triathlon
Triathlon &
& Triathletes
Triathletes
THE FIRST modern day Triathlon
was held in 1974 at San Diego's Mission Bay in Southern California. devised by a group of swimmers, cyclists and runners, notably, Jack
Johnstone and Don Shanahan.
DID YOU KNOW that ”Blue Andy”
has been to more cricket grounds
than Ian Botham?
TORTOISE ...Clio Kirwan holds the
club record for running the slowest
marathon, in 9hours 44 minutes.
ACTION MAN ...Chris Clarke has
the largest collection of “Action
Man” memorabilia in the UK.
PORK PIE ...Joe Weeden has be-
come the World Champion pork pie
eater, beating the Japanese, previous title holder, with a whopping 28
pies consumed in 60 seconds.
DID YOU KNOW... that Carine van
Schie (honorary member) is a world
age group champion track cyclist .
GINGER...Did you know that Jason
Pickford is not a real “Ginger”.
DID YOU KNOW... that Cathy Atkinson beat Nick Thomas in a bike
race.
DID YOU KNOW... that Clio Kirwan
has overtaken Perry Huizer in a
marathon .
SACRE BLUE...The first triathlons or
“Les Trios Sport” were held in France,
nr Marseille, in the 1920’s and 30’s and
involved a channel crossing of 200 m,
a bike competition of 10 km around
the harbor of Rochelle and the Parc
Laleu, and a run 1200 m, in the stadium André-Barbeau.
A Bicycle Story
A triathlete was walking around town
one day when his friend, another triathlete, rode up on an incredible
shiny new bike.
The first chap was stunned and
asked, "Where did you get such a
fantastic bike?"
The friend replied, "Well, yesterday I
was out running in the forest just
minding my own business when this
beautiful woman rode up to
me on this bike. She threw the bike to
the ground, took off all her clothes
and said, "Take what you want!"
The first chap nodded approvingly,
"Good choice. The clothes probably
wouldn't have fitted you anyway."
READ ALL ABOUT IT...Did you know
that Jason Pickford advertises hair dye
in the back pages of the Sunday Supplements.
SHAME...Did you know that Nick Tho-
mas has never won a triathlon.
ANYONE FOR TENNIS...Did you
know that Jonathan “Flabbs “ used to
play in the Cheshire Clydesdale Tennis League
Catch Johnny “Goggles” Murray
on his annual Christmas run.
DID YOU KNOW...Steve“Death”
aka Ivan B, has a sideline in making
coffins for deceased parrots.
HELP...Did you know that Steve
Clayton’s pet Iguana “ Merlin” ,
locks himself in his cage between
the hours of 12 midnight and 6am, in
mortal fear of Steve’s nocturnal
snacking behaviour
FINALLY...The Triathlon was actu-
ally invented by Leonardo Da Vinci
in Florence in the 15th Century. Leonardo, who also invented the first
bicycle, would swim across the River
Arno, on reaching the other side
jump on his bike and cycle around
the streets of Florence, dismount
and then run home over the Ponte
Vecchio. It never caught on, as
Leoanardo only ever made one bike.
But in the only competition held,
three Florentines took it in turns to
complete the course whilst being
timed by Galileo (a mate of
Leanardo’s) who invented the first
stopwatch, (in reality, a very sophisticated sundial)
EDDIE McGRATH CYCLES
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Dauphine
Mortirolo
Gavia
San Remo
Aspin
Marmolada
Mente
Enol
Larrau
£1199
£ 999
£ 999
£ 799
£ 699
£ 899
£ 799
£ 599
£ 479
£ 379
All Models Available in all sizes. And a range of
new colour choices.
Check out www.orbea.com
iSAAC Frames
Joule Aerotic NEW £1795
Check this one out,it’s a Beast!!
www.Isaac-carbon.com
GIANT“2007” TRI-ROAD BIKES
0% FINANCE ON ALL BIKES
GIANT: TRIATHLON
Trinity C Zero
£4000
Trinity zero
£2000
Trinity 1
£1600
ROAD:
TCR Advanced Team £4150
TCR Advanced Zero £3999
TCR Advanced 1
£2999
TCR C Zero
£3350
TCR C1
£2350
TCR C2 Team
£1800
TCR C2
£1800
TCR C3
£1450
TCR Alliance Zero
£1250
TCR Alliance 1
£1050
TCR Zero
£1099
TCR 1
£ 899
SPORTIV BIKES
SCR C1
£ 2250
SCR C2
£1800
SCR C3
£1450
SCR C4
£1250
SCR 1.0
£ 850
SCR 2.0
£ 525
SCR 3.0
£ 450
www.giant-bicycles.com
Features:Compact Road Frame
.Sport-Tuned Geometry
.Wide-Range Triple Gearing
.Mudguard compatible.
SET YOURSELF UP
Berfore you purchase any new bike.Get yourself
measured up with or BIKEFITTING service.
This gives you 2 Drawings of your bike set up.
Cut the messing about out and start the new season
with the right bike position.
BIKEFITTING.com £35.00
Half price if you purchase a new bike from the
Drawings.
POLAR
* Heart monitors 0% pay over 4months
Polar AXN300HRM
£115
Polar AXN500HRM
£185
Polar AXN700HRM
£255
Polar CS100HRM
£ 55
Polar CS200HRM
£ 70
Polar CS200 CADHRM £ 78
Polar CS300HRM
£105
Polar F11 HRM
£ 80
Polar F4 HRM
£ 45
Polar F5 HRM
£ 40
Polar F55 HRM
£110
Polar F6 HRM
£ 53
Polar FS1 HRM
£ 24
Polar FS3 HRM
£ 30
Polar RS100 HRM
£ 54
Polar RS200 HRM
£ 80
Polar S120 HRM
£ 42
Polar S150 HRM
£ 79
Polar S410 HRM
£ 95
Polar S510 HRM
£125
Polar S610i HRM
£141
Polar S625X HRM
£195
Polar S720i HRM
£175
Polar S725X HRM
£195
Polar S725X with power
Sensor HRM
£305
Polar S810i HRM
£215
Cadence sensor
£ 31
Speed sensor
£ 31
Bike mount
£7
T31 – Belt
£ 30
T31 - Coded
£ 35
T61 – Coded
£ 40
Check them out on:
www.polarelectro.co.uk
Lets see if we can match the prices you have seen
on the internet.
Give us a call*******************
SNUGG WETSUITS
Made to measure :Give phil a call and order it early .
Stealth £220.00:Made to size
Triathlon clearance offers
ORCA:Tri-suit
X1 (Size8)Black/White £40
X2-(s/m/l)Black/White
£40
X2-(s/m/l)Gold/Blue/White
£60
Ladies twinset (8/10/12/14)
£45
Mens racetops(s/m/l) £25
*Whilst stocks last
Wetsuits
Orca Apex size 6 Now:£225
Orca Apex MT Now:£225
Orca Apex Size7 Now:£225
IRONMAN
Instinct small/med Now:£125
TINLEY
Medium
NOW:£100
QUINTANA ROO
Ultra Full XL (Slight Damaged) Only£90
SNUGG
Snugglite Lad:size14 £ 150
Snugglite Lad:size 15 £150
Snugglite Lad:size 16 £150
Snugglite Mens Med: £150
Snugglit Mens Small: £150
AQUASPHERE
Rookie
Med £135
XP
Med £175
BIKE BOX HIRE
Going away then get you bike to it’s destination in
one piece
£30.00 a week Book Early
Service
Any Problems with your bike then call the Bike Service team.
Membership cards needed to claim discounts.
Page 22
Message From The Editor:
Christmas greetings folks … Things are pretty quiet on
the race front,.. I thought, but these offroad triathlons
sound like fun . I’ll have to hope that Santa brings me a
mountain bike for Christmas.
Apologies for those articles that are missing… or never
arrived, but I’ve had to stick to my December publishing deadline, as like the rest of you I’ve got a million
and one things to do or get ready for Christmas. I’m
sure any important messages will be posted on the MTC website . But for next
year take heed of the deadline dates for submission of articles (in the red box)
if they are to be included in each issue. I hope you all enjoyed the bumper
edition of Dave & Dave … oh and by the way, I take no responsibility for any of
the views expressed in these articles.
Notes for
Contributors
Contribute including stories, race
reports, news item’s, classifieds or
event listing may be submitted either as Microsoft word document or
excel document. Images are excepted electronically in JPEG, TIF
or GIF format.
Deadlines for submissions in 2007
are :
January 26th (for February)
March 23rd (for April)
May 20th (for June)
July 20th (for August)
September 21st (for October)
November 23rd (for December)
Send contribution to
[email protected]
Finally… I hope you are all coming to the MTC Christmas Party , Saturday 9th December at the Kro Bar Abbey Inn. Manchester Science Park,
61 Pencroft Way, M15 6AY
The event will start at 7.00pm (for 7.30pm) and will include a buffet,
fabulous annual awards, including Club Member of the Year and live
entertainment from my band, Yes Sir!.
And in case you missed the band cartoon in the last issue, here’s an old
action photo, … when I used to have hair.
Merry Christmas