The Tramore Duathlon
As the spring starts to make an appearance it’s once again time to dig out the triathlon gear and start competing again. It’s still a little on the cool side for open water swimming (Frank Hallissey and his ice mile colleagues excepted) but a few hardy souls took to the roads of Tramore at the weekend to take part in the Tramore Duathlon. Blackwater Triathlon Club member Karen McNamara was just one of 6 BTC members who took part on the day and she sent us in a report of the race, once she regained feeling in her fingers. A cold blustery day awaited the 379 participants of the 2018 edition of the Eirgen Pharma Tramore Duathlon. Six blackwater triathletes represented the club at this years race; Bernard (Barney) Kiernan, Stephen Collins, Marie MacAree, Dave McGrath, Karen McNamara and Deirdre Morrison. For most this was their first duathlon of the season so it was sure to be a testing morning. On arrival it was clear that the organisation and marshalling would be excellent and there was no shortage of friendly faces to guide the athletes to registration, bag drop and transition. It was a relatively flat and fast course around the seaside town of Tramore. For two of the six from Blackwater one could say it was almost their home race, given the proximity to their "second homes" and undoubtedly this gave them an added advantage! The first run was, as described, 5km and bar one or two small inclines was a course that certainly provided a few seasons best run splits. The bike leg fell somewhat short of the 18Km distance that had been anticipated- probably not a bad thing given the headwind on the return part of the bike leg. The last and final leg was just short of a 4km run- despite being a similar course to the first run leg it was much more challenging given the tired legs. The first male home from Blackwater TC was Stephen Collins with an impressive time of 1:05:28, garnering him a spot inside the top 40 men while Deirdre Morrison took the honours for the females with a time of 1:19:19 which made her the 20th fastest female of the 120 who participated. Deidre was closely followed home by Dave McGrath in a time of 1:20:00 and Bernard Kiernan in 1:26:39. Marie MacAree finished in 1:30:19 with Karen crossing the finish line in 1:32:46. Great performances all round from all the competitors and a really good start to the season. Kudos to Waterford Triathlon Club for running an excellent race and to everyone who braved the wintry conditions to take part on the day.