The Edge Sports Blackwater Triathlon 2019
Fermoy was the centre ofattention for the Blackwater Triathlon Club on the morning of Sunday the 11thof August as the Edge Sports Blackwater Triathlon once again took over thetown. This was the 12th edition of the race and, as had happened inthe previous years, some of Ireland’s top triathletes competed side by sidewith first time triathletes. The people of Fermoy added to the atmosphere ofthe day by turning out in great numbers to view the spectacle and to cheer onthe athletes, despite the rather wet and dreary weather. Preparations had been ongoing for manymonths but things really stepped up on Saturday evening as various club membersand their extended families set about setting up the course. In the rowing clubthe registration area was open for business, while hundreds of goody bags werefilled by willing volunteers. Over in the park the transition area was set upand barriers erected in preparation for Sunday morning. More members were outon the run and cycle routes checking road conditions, putting out signs and,where necessary, getting brushes and shovels out to clean up gravel and grit.Fortunately due to the sterling efforts of the local council workers, the roadswere in excellent condition to start with. The previous week had been very wetand we were hoping that conditions would improve for the big day. There werealso concerns about the condition of the river following the combination of therecent damage to the weir and the heavy rainfall that had occurred over theprevious few days. The river on Saturday evening was running very high and veryfast. It looked like it might not be safe for swimmers and the club was facedwith the possibility of having to cancel the swim section of the events. Variousoptions were discussed at length by the members of the organising committee,but it was eventually decided to put off any final decisions until the morning.We were hoping to be able to run the swim, but prepared with alternate plans ifconditions didn’t improve overnight.
The race was due to start at 9am on Sunday morning andmost club members were up with the dawn and once again down in the park by 6am,erecting marquees (despite the lost instructions ), putting up more signs andcones and taping up half the park. Competitors started arriving just before7a.m. as transition and registration were about to open. We were very gratefulfor the support we received from many other clubs around Cork and inneighbouring counties. While most of our members were helping with theorganising and running of the event over 20 Blackwater Triathlon Club athletesraced on the day. For new club members, such as Anne Furlong, Sharon Morrison,Amanda Lenihan, Richie O’Brien and Pat Dunlea in the Try a tri race, it was afirst triathlon. We had entrants from South Coast, Mallow, West Cork, Crosshavenand Limerick triathlon clubs, but the biggest contingent by far came from the CorkTri Club, who had over 50 members taking part on the day. Fortunately theweather wasn’t too bad and the flow of the river had eased somewhat. Followingconsultation with Triathlon Ireland, The Blackwater sub-Aqua team, the kayakersand the Gardai, the club decided to go ahead with a modified version of theswims. There were three events due to place on the day; The standard, or olympic,distance race, consisting of a 1500m swim, 40km cycle and a 10km run; a sprint triathlon, which wascomprised of a 750m swim, 20kmcycle and a 5km run; and a try-a-tri event with a 250m swim followed by a 20kmcycle and a 5km run. For the olympic and sprint races the swimmers usually swamup-river for the first section before turning around and heading back down tothe swim exit. Since the river was still flowing a bit too fast for competitorsto swim upstream comfortably it was decided to convert both the olympic andsprint swims to a 1,000 metre down-river swim. The Try-a-Tri race would remainthe same since it was already a down-river swim. As a result over 250 wetsuitclad triathletes were introduced to the joys of a Sunday morning stroll downthe Barnane walk as they made their wayto the new swim start. Unfortunately the rain returned, but that wasn’t reallyan issue for the athletes who were in their wetsuits. Instead of the usual massstart the athletes had a rolling start, entering the water over a timing matthree at a time. This worked really well with the 147 olympic race athletestaking just over three minutes to get in the river, while the sprint racerswere in the water in about two and a half minutes. The unusually fast currentmade for some very fast swim times with some athletes finishing the 1,000 metreswim and getting back to transition in under eleven minutes! Once the Olympicand sprint swimmers had finished, the try-a-tri competitors had their chance toenjoy a quick dip in the Blackwater. They did have a mass start, entering thewater at the rowing club slipway. For most of these athletes this was a firstattempt at a triathlon and they were understandably nervous as they gathered atthe slipway waiting for the start. Once the Go moment came though the nervesquickly dissipated and they all set off enthusiastically for the other side ofthe river. By the time they were out on the other side they all had big grinson their faces and were ready to for the rest of the race.
The rain kept up for the start of the cycle section,but had eased off by the time most people were starting their run. It wasovercast but warm at that stage, with a little wind.
Once again the racing on the day was very competitivewith a number of past winners vying for honours. First athlete home was JohnO’Connell in the sprint race. He finished in a time of 1:11:10, soon followedby Owen O’Connor in 1:13:21 and Jonath Finn in 1:15:01. In the ladies sprintevent we had some new faces competing for honours, with Shauna Doellken O’Sheataking the win with a very impressive time of 1:16:39. Shauna is 20 years oldand this was just her third triathlon. Next home was Aine Kinsella in 1:21:24and Sian Egerton in 1:22:44. The first Blackwater athlete home was Donal Murphywho finished in 1:21:40, coming second in the 50-54 age group category. DeidreMorrison was first lady in the 35-39 category, finishing in 1:27:50 andSiobhain Steele came home in 1:56:33 to win the ladies 55-59 age group. In theOlympic race Donncha Kiely was first to cross the line in 1:54:01, followed byJohn O’Rourke in 1:55:17 and Luke Lyons in 1:59:07. In the ladies race thefirst three home were all former winners in Fermoy. The first lady home was KatieCooke in 2:08:04, followed by Joyce Wolfe in 2:09:45 and last year’s winner,Denise Compton, in 2:17:25. The Relay winners were the East Cork team, cominghome in 1:58:36, beating the Blackwater Triathlon Club relay team by just 38seconds. The first Blackwater Triathlon Club member home was Justin Ryan,finishing in Conor Bartley was thewinner of the men’s 45-49 age group, finishing in 2:03:27. Gina Lyons was thefirst BTC lady home in 2:22:52, winning the 40-44 category, with Ashleigh ByrneO’Brien crossing the line in 2:26:53 to win the 30-34 category. It was a goodday for the O’Brien household as Ashleigh’s husband Richie, who was competingin his first triathlon, won the Try-a-Tri men’s race in 1:08:00. The first female home in that event was CaitrinDe Bhal in 1:27:56. Everyone who raced on the day was delighted that the swimsection went ahead and much credit must go to the Race Committee forimplementing a successful Plan B in the circumstances. Credit must go to therace organisers and club members who have put so much time and effort intomaking the Edge Sports Blackwater Triathlon the best race it can be. We wouldalso like to acknowledge the huge contribution made by the Fermoy town council,the Gardai, local businesses and members of the local community, without whomthe event could not take place. We would especially like to thank PaulineMoriarty and Brendan O’Gorman and their colleagues on the town council,Blackwater Sub Aqua Club, Paul Hartnett and Eileen O’Sullivan of the AyrtonGroup, Killavullen Canoe Club, Fermoy Rowing Club, Suzie and Dave Horan ofRaffeen Parks for access to the swim exit and the folks from Triathlon Ireland.Without the marshals we couldn’t run the race on the day and we get greatassistance from the people of Fermoy every year. Thanks also to club membersand their very understanding families. A big thank you must also go to theresidents on the route, the people of Fermoy for their support and of coursethe competitors.
The Edge Sports are our main sponsors again this yearand we’re delighted to have them on board. We'd also like to thank our othercontributors; Zeus, Hanna’s Market and Café, Riordans Supervalu, Herlihys Centra , Synergy Credit Union Ltd.,Amber Service station, D & M Fruit and Veg, McCarthy Insurance Group, PodiumFit, Flahavans, The Circle K, LyonsFamily Pharmacy, O’Crualaoi’s, New Ireland Assurance, The Lagan Group, Texaco,McMahons, Zurich Life, Avondhu Physiotherapy Clinic, The Irish Examiner andAbbeyville House. Part of the proceeds from this year’s race will go toBlackwater Sub Aqua Club. We can all take a few days off now before we startpreparing for next year’s race. Hope to see you all in 2020.