Moby Dick Triathlon

For many years The Moby Dick Sprint Triathlon, which takes place in Youghal, has taken pride of place as one of the last triathlons on the year’s racing Calendar. This year was no exception and once again, last Saturday, the 22nd of September, the South Coast Triathlon Club pulled out all the stops to make this year’s triathlon as fast, friendly and enjoyable as they possibly could. Unfortunately the down side of having such a late date on the year’s racing calendar is that the weather in late September can be a little unreliable and Saturday morning was no exception. The day was very wet and windy and as the race start time approached it was decided that the sea was far too rough to risk competitors’ safety and the race was changed to a duathlon event instead. Instead of the swim section of the race a 3km run was added to the start, followed by a cycle to Killeagh and back and then a 5.7km run along the boardwalk and back to finish up. Approximately 270 competitors took part on the day, including 6 of Blackwater Triathlon Club’s finest. The 3km run was soon dispatched and the riders were on their bikes and heading to Killeagh. The gale force winds from the East made the ride to Killeagh great fun, with cyclists averaging speeds in excess of 40km/h . Unfortunately the ride back to Youghal was a little more challenging into the teeth of the gale. The athletes were glad to get off their bikes by the time they got to Claycastle and proceeded on the run. Dave Murphy was the first BTC athlete home in a time of 1:11:49, followed by Mick Beston in 1:15:42 and Peter O’Brien in 1:18:31. Bill McAulliffe, Pat Finn and Paul Barry finished close together with just a minute separating Bill in 1:21:31 and Paul in 1:22:31, with Pat separating them in a time of 1:22:08. Despite the weather conditions everyone agreed that it was a very well run race with plenty of stewards and marshals ensuring everybody was safe on the day. Well done to the South Coast Triathlon Club and everyone who braved the conditions to take part. Once again it was a really good way to finish up the domestic triathlon season.