PERFECT
Days like last Sunday’s club race are a great reminder how beautiful the Coffs Coast can be. Silky smooth water conditions, little or no wind on the bike and cool sunny run conditions made it a treat for those who competed. We also had glowing reports from our “Undercover” Technical Official who observed cyclists from the safety car. However please remember it is not a social ride and you need to stay nine metres behind the cyclist in front of you to avoid a breaking a very important rule, so best leave the chatting on the bike until after you finish.

RACE THREE
It feels like ages since we had a club race, with 3 weeks between races and so much going on in the world of triathlon, both locally and further afield.

This Sunday will be our 3rd race of the season. As usual, please be racked and ready to race by 6:15am. It was great to start on time at our last race, so please let’s keep this up.

Those on duty need to be at the Yacht Club by 5:45am to set up transition, etc. If you are unsure whether you are on duty, please check the duty roster at http://www.coffstri.com/duty-roster.html. There are still a couple of spots vacant, so if anyone can spare their time this weekend, it would be most appreciated. Please contact Mark Griffiths at roster@coffstri.com if you can volunteer, or if you have any questions about the duty roster.

RACE TWO ALREADY DONE
Congratulations to all our members who turned up to Sunday’s race. Not only did the race go off without a hitch, but everyone set their clocks correctly to daylight saving time and avoided the embarrassment of a “Cliffy” award at the season’s end.

Thanks also should go to our TO Allan Harrison who wandered around giving advice on the rules and regulations of Triathlon. One common issue that needs to be addressed is that tri bars and handle bars must have their ends covered and tapped in properly. TO officials won’t be so forgiving at events outside club races, so if this concerns you best take your bike to one of our sponsors Rainbow Cycles, Woodseys Wheels, Ventoux Cycles or Bob Wallis Cycles. No excuses!

KONA
True to form, Kona gave competitors a hot, blustery island day for the 2014 Ironman World Championships on the weekend.

And also true to form, an Australian was one of the winners – there has been an Australian winner in either the men or women’s race every year since 2006.

Mirinda Carfrae gave the race of her life to take out her third Ironman title by making up almost 15 minutes during the marathon to take the win in 9:00:55. This included a blistering 2:50:26 marathon. Carfrae is now the fourth woman to win three titles or more, joining the likes of Paula Newby-Fraser, Natascha Badmann and Chrissie Wellington.

Germany dominated the men’s race with Sebastian Kienle winning in 8:14:18. USA’s Ben Hoffman was just over 5 minutes behind, followed by Germany’s Jan Frodeno who has made a very successful transition from ITU racing to Ironman. Tim Van Berkel was the first Australian over the line in 7th place and a time of 8:23:26. Craig Alexander’s John Farnham-style return to Ironman saw him come in at 13th place in 8:36:25. Not bad for someone who retired from Iron distance racing in an emotional farewell at Melbourne Ironman back in March.

Full results are available HERE.

RACE NO 2
Don’t forget that daylight saving time starts this Sunday 5th October. This will be our 2nd race for the season, so be sure to change your clocks before you go to bed on Saturday night so that you won’t miss the race. Clocks go forward by one hour.

We really do need to get started on time, so please ensure that you have walked across the blue timing mat and have your bike racked by 6:15am. Conditions are looking pretty good with a minimum of 15 degrees and heating up to 28 on Sunday. There should be some light winds about. High tide is at 4:14am so you will get a nice outgoing tide to start your swim.