2nd June 2019 Challenge World Championships, Samorin, Slovakia

1.9km Swim 90km Bike 21km Run - Temperature 26oF

Swim 33:19 - T1 04:28 - Bike 02:14:17 - T2 03:16 – Run 01:34:30 Total Time 4:29:53

World Champion 55 - 59 Age Group, 71st overall

The second stop in my championship campaign was Samorin, Slovakia. Back in December I had shoe-horned the race in Daytona into my calendar in order to win my slot to compete in the Challenge Championship, the world champs for that race series. My back has been pretty sore since October and the right thing to do was rest up and let it heal but with the packed diary of exciting events, I had pushed through to Pontevedra. Since then I hadn’t run in order to help the back ease a little but there was no real improvement. Right through to the morning of the race I was deeply conflicted as whether to race or just stand on the side lines and watch. In the end I resolved to swim/bike and pull the pin on the run if it got too painful.

Up until an hour before the race start the organisers were still uncertain if the swim would be cancelled due to unseasonably strong currents and cold temperatures in the Danube. The day prior to the race the water was between 12 and 14oC and it needed to be over 14oC to be safe for the full distance swim. Race morning it was



14.4oC so it was game on. The first wave of age group athletes launched themselves forwards as the gun went but about a third found themselves making no forward progress as they wrestled with the current, it was going to be a long swim! I decided to take a very conservative position on the start line and sit behind the front group in order to mitigate the effects of the current. After 500m the river bank gave us some protection from the current and I moved past a few athletes and much to my surprise found myself pretty much at the front. I didn’t know at the time, but I exited the water at the front of the age group, the first time ever I have led out the water.

It was a long run from the river to T1 and onto the bike then 2km through the village and onto the main part of the course. It was a very straightforward flat 90km loop alongside the Danube and offered the possibility of a very fast bike split. I was excited to try and lay down a really fast time and build on the gains I had made on the bike this year with a goal of exceeding 25mph and going under 2:15 . The winds were stronger than predicted and the temperature steadily climbed but I stuck to the task and just kept pushing right through to the dismount line, just scraping under my target. I was thrilled to have hit my goal but then entered T2 with some trepidation as the run was looming and with an evaporating run fitness and unhappy back it could all come to a grinding halt very quickly. I racked my bike and saw a bike in my age group already there, it must have been someone who had pulled out, but you never know. It later transpired he had been fished out the water after  15 minutes, not strong enough to cope with the conditions. I set off on the run and decided to run until my back became too sore but keeping a very conservative pace so I had a chance of completing the event if it held up.

I targeted 4:30 min/km for the first lap and that seemed ok although it was getting hotter and my heart rate was soaring. With two laps to go Mary confirmed I had a lead of 9 minutes off the bike, enough of a buffer to run 5:00 min/km and still make it across the line in first place. What she deliberately didn’t tell me was the guy in second was running 4:15s and closing in on me. I kept my cadence high to help stave off the potential cramping and eating and drinking to ensure I had the fuel to keep going. I continued to propel myself to the line and the prospect of a second championship win. What a feeling to cross the line in first place and get the double, beyond words. The next guy had come in just 3 minutes behind me and had run a blistering pace, something I would be envious of even at my best, he just ran out of real estate!

I have still not really taken it in but I do have to now take some time off training and racing to get the back properly fixed so I can race again either this year or next. I am seeing an army of specialists this month and I have promised a few people I will do what I am told, even if that means an extended period of time off. I love the sport too much to jeopardise all the great years of training and racing ahead and I have had an incredible year. I’m a lucky guy.