Hills of the Harbour Sprint Triathlon
Organised by Midleton Cycling and TriathlonClub, the Hills of the Harbour Sprint Triathlon took place in Whitegate, East Cork on Sunday July 7th.The event began with a 750 metre open water sea swim in the heart of Whitegatevillage. This was followed by a challenging 20 kilometre out and back cycle in the direction of Midleton. It then finished offwith a challenging and hilly 6 kilometre run around the back of Whitegatevillage before crossing the finish line in the centre of the village. Sevenmembers of The Blackwater Triathlon Club took part in the race on the day: Harry Feeney, Michael Mulcahy, Justin Ryan, DeidreMorrison, Eleanor Fennessey, Donal Murphy and Julian Boeg.Club member, Niamh Fleming, was down there in a support role this year and gaveus an account of the race from her perspective: It was a lovely "local" race, very wellorganised and friendly. There was a bit of a chop in the water, causing quite afew to take on some salty water which didn't go down too well! A tough enoughbike course with some very fast descents with some of the cyclists clocking speedsof up to 70km/h! A misty rain began to fall as swimmers exited the water whichmade the road quite greasy and good bike skills were necessary for the tightturn at the turnaround point, causing the back wheels to lock up for some. Therun was a challenging steep up and down course, testing everyone’s run fitnessand it finished on a long descent to the village below. There was a lovely spread of food put on for allfinishers and supporters. I'll definitely give it a shot next year.
It was a good day out for the BTC crew with Justin, Eleanor and Deidreall finishing first in their age group categories. Justin was the first BTCathlete home, finishing 7th overall in a time of 1:10:48. He wasfollowed by Michael Mulcahy in 1:19:10 and Harry Feeney in1:20:24. Eleanorfinished in 1:23:41, just 8 seconds ahead of Deidre, who was hot on her heelsin a time of 1:23:49! Donal and Julian completed the Blackwater effort on theday, finishing in 1:28:01 and 2:05:14 respectively. Well done to all of them,everyone who took part on the day and to the Midleton Cycling and Triathlon Club fororganising the race so well.