Weekly Newsletter 14 October 2013

KONA
Another Ironman World Championships is done and dusted, and Australia has come out on top once again. This time around it was the women’s time to shine with Mirinda Carfrae setting a new course record of 8:52:14 and taking out her second championship title. The men’s race was won by Belgium’s Frederik van Lierde who put in a consistent performance throughout all three legs to win in 8:12:29, overtaking Luke McKenzie 17km into the run and winning by a three minute margin.

By all accounts, the course was made more pleasant this year with cooler temperatures and milder wind conditions which resulted in better times across the board. 

Christine Lefeaux was one of those to come in faster than last year, with all her hard work, lovely new Cervelo P5 and steely determination combining with the favourable weather conditions to post a time of 11:28:20 (38 minutes faster than last year). Chrissie completed the swim in 1:21:15, the bike in 5:42:06 and the run in 4:15:07.  Congratulations Chrissie. That was an incredible effort. Hope you enjoy a well-earned recovery and rest.

RACE REMINDER
Hopefully the favourable conditions will continue for our next club race this Sunday 20 October. At this stage it’s looking good, with a mostly sunny day that will top out at 25oC. Winds should be light and high tide will be at 9:41am. So once again the swim will be done on the incoming tide.

Another reminder to please remember to be punctual to the race. The race will start at 6.30am sharp.  Registrations will close at 6:20am and there will be no exceptions. Those on duty need to be there by 5:45am. To check your duty, check the duty roster at http://www.coffstri.com/duty-roster.html.

OTHER EVENTS
It is a busy time of year for CHTC members. Lots of events see members travelling near and far to compete in all sorts of races. Here are just a few (and as always, apologies for any omissions).

Yamba
The inaugural Yamba Triathlon Festival was held on the weekend with two members competing in the Classic event, two in the Sprint Distance, and another two acting as Technical Officials. There were a series of events across the weekend, culminating in the Classic (2km/60km/15km) on Sunday.

Sarah Brazenor put in a characteristically fast performance and came in 2nd in her age category with a time of 3:47:57. Belinda (Pim) Heaney completed her first step up into longer distances and posted 4:21:06.

Michael and Tenielle Stubbs both competed in the Sprint distance event. Michael completed the course in 01:20:35 and Tenielle in 01:22:39. Both were second in their respective categories.

Despite a 500m run from the swim to T1, the course was held in a lovely setting that was mostly flat and took in some great scenery. There is talk that it will be put on a weekend earlier in the season so that it doesn’t clash with Port Macquarie Ironman 70.3 and therefore will draw more competitors. Whenever they decide to stage it, Yamba Triathlon Festival is a welcome addition to the race calendar and a great race for those wanting to step up in to longer distances without the huge numbers of people, exorbitant race fees and pressure to sign up as soon as possible.

Melbourne Marathon
Bridget Diffy tackled another marathon on the weekend at the Melbourne Marathon Festival. She crossed the line in 4:39:38. Well done Bridget!

Coffs Adventurethon
Lots of club members took on the inaugural Coffs Harbour Adventurethon. Full results are available online at http://www.adventurethon.com.au/cms25/index.php/results-coffs.

The full Ultra event was won by Jarad Kohlar, a well-known name in Adventure Racing circles. He completed the 16km paddle, 35km mountain bike ride and 16km trail and beach run in an incredible 4:34:59. He was only beaten by a team of locals from Bob Wallis Cycles, whose combined efforts came in 8 minutes faster (perhaps assisted by Richard Pearson’s fastest Ultra run in 1:08:33).

Other CHTC members to compete were:
Enduro (7-10km paddle, 29km mountain bike ride, 8km run)
Tim Jacobs 3:33:29, Michael Doughtery 3:33:30

Taste of Adventurethon (1km paddle, 10km mountain bike ride, 4km run)
Briana Rooney (overall winner) 1:10:12, Lyn Fulton 1:18:15, Tracie Paton 1:29:24, Simone Saunders 1:30:51, Steel Beveridge 1:38:16

Well done to everyone who participated. This is sure to be an event that will grow and bring more people to the area to compete.

Upcoming Events
Some events to look out for in the next few weeks are:

• Port Macquarie Ironman 70.3 is next Sunday 20 October – lots of members are doing this one both as individuals and as teams
  
• Lyndal Green will be heading to the National Aquathlon Championships in Yarrawonga, Victoria on 19 October
  
• Coolangatta Gold in also on this Sunday with several members competing in teams.
  
• Dorrigo Show Fun Run is on 24th November with a 13km challenge, a traditional 6.5km and a kids 1.5km run. It all kicks off at 8:30am and entries are available at the start. Contact Contact Kellie Cochran on 66 574006 or 042980845 for more details.
  

All the best to everyone competing. Don’t forget to let us know your results for the newsletter. And feel free to send through a race report!

CHRISTMAS PARTY
No need to remind the more social of our members that the CHTC Christmas Party is soon approaching (it’s true – Christmas decorations are already on the supermarket shelves).

For the rest of you, don’t forget that our Christmas party will be held on Saturday 7th December at 6:30pm at Mangrove Jacks at the Promenade, 321 Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour. There will be heaps of food and vegetarians will be catered for. Tickets are $20. Come along and celebrate the season in true CHTC style.

For catering purposes, tickets need to be prepaid via EFT to the Club bank account (BSB 704 328 Account No 197693 S11). Please use your name as the reference in the transaction.

FRIDAY NIGHT GAMES ARE ON AGAIN!
Now that daylight saving has kicked in, our Friday night aquathlon is on again! Commencing from this Friday 18 October, every Friday night at 6pm a group of CHTC members will gather to run 2.5km, swim around the Jetty (approximately 600m) and run another 2.5km. It is not a sanctioned club event, just a casual training run. You can go as fast or as slow as you like and do as much as you like. No need to contact anyone, just turn up by 6pm ready to go.

WISE WORDS
"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit." – George Sheehan