Saturday 29th August saw the 13th edition of the Vitruvian Triathlon, and the award-winning middle-distance race was blessed with the best of the weather from an otherwise soggy bank holiday weekend.
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In warm temperatures and bright sunshine it was an early start as always for the 800 entrants, with waves starting from 6:15am to begin the the 1.9km lake swim. Swimmers completed two 950m laps, broken up by a brief exit from the water and a 25m run back into the jetty to complete the swim course.
The 85km 2-lap bike course had some nasty surprises packed in, including a huge, lung-busting climb halfway into each lap – however warm sunshine ensured the route was well-spectated and dry throughout.
At the front of the race, Ben Terry of RAF Triathlon was first into T2, after putting in the second-fastest swim split of the day and one of the fastest bike legs (2hrs 14mins). Terry’s lead was to be short-lived on the run course, as Richard Ebbage, who had initially clawed back significant time by putting in the fastest bike split of the day (2hrs 11mins) also ran a blistering 1:17:35 half-marathon to win in a time of 4:02:21. Daniel Sims was 2nd with a time of 4:10:01 and Terry held on for 3rd with a time of 4:11:30.
In the women’s race Kelly Murphy was victorious in a time of 4:35:55, and also put in a monster bike leg to give herself a comfortable lead for the remainder of the race. 50-year-old Melissa Dowell also put in a stunning performance to finish 2nd female overall in 4:40:28.
The event, as always, wasn’t without a collection of unusual and inspiring competitors, from a pair completing the bike-leg on an aero-tandem to regulars Rob Argles and Howard Davies, who have completed all 13 Vitruvian events since the first in 2003.
After another successful event, race organiser Mark Shaw said: “After 13 years of the Vitruvian we should be getting things right, and the athletes certainly seem to think so!
“We’re lucky to have such great support from the volunteers and marshals who turn out every year to make this a special race – and of course the one thing you can’t control is the weather, but we were lucky with that one this year as well!”
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Did you take part in The Vitruvian, and if so what did you think of the race? Let us know in the comments!