Race Report #1 - 8 October 2023

Welcome back to everyone who raced, volunteered and cheered for the first race of the 2023-24 season. It’s going to be a cracker! With so much change happening behind the scenes moving to our new location and going mobile for a while, it was a credit to everyone who chipped in to move gear, arrive early and stay back to ensure we had the best opportunity to kick off the season with great camaraderie and sportsmanship.  

To the hardy early adopters hitting up the new course and transition, well done to you all. There were 30 intrepid souls that took on the Enticer, Sprint, Aquathon and Aquabike in somewhat cooler conditions than we have had of late. The Jetty turned on a reasonable swell and shore break wave to start the chillier swim. Heading first out of the water in the Sprint was visitor Piet Eagleton followed by Trimob member Robert Briggs. So good to have Trimob athletes competing with us, Giinagay Robert and welcome to our Club Tri! The longer run along and up the shifting soft sands challenged a few legs. Arriving in transition the new timing system worked well and picked up everyone’s swim times.  

Despite the changes and slightly damp roads there were some impressive times on the bike leg* with brothers Pat and Michael Brennan posting the fastest males while Alira Bayndrian posted fastest women’s ride. 
(*With the change to the bike course layout, please remember to stay left at the carpark exit onto Jordan Esplanade and avoid cutting the corner.)

Out on the run Ben Rose and Jamie Newling went head to head for a while with Ben out-doing all with the fastest run at 19.26 while Shaun Banyndrian posted an impressive time at 19.46. Alina Hill clocked up a handy 22.15 that was the fastest female run leg.   In the Sprint event Alina Hill took out the fastest female in 1:18:25, followed by Andrea Burth in 1:24:22 and Alira Bayndrian third in 1:28:34. Good to see Kathy Robson and Shirley Sneddon having a go at the challenging swim after some off-season training and coaching. 

In the males, Pat Brennan clocked the fastest across the line in 1:07:22 followed by Ben Rose in 1:08:53 and Shaun Bayndrian in 1:09:00. These guys were followed by strong first-up races from Michael Brennan, Michael Singleton, Jamie Newling, Chris Hamilton, Mark Garner and Mark Kirstein in 10th place. Of note was a smashing time by the legend Pete Timothy with a great bike and very solid run. To our new competing member Sage Linden Flick - well done for getting around the Sprint course first up, a great effort!  

On the road to recovery, Mel Sylvester clocked first in the Enticer followed by Ian Nash and Club Treasurer Maria Wood. Great to see Cecil Tempone back taking on the Enticer and Karyn O’Reilly.  

After a relaxing chat with a few of us in transition, Stephen Boyd took to the Aquathon with Caron Mackie keeping him company on the run. So Stephen has set a new course Club Aquathon swim/run record with a time of 56:49 on this course and we look forward to seeing more of him racing after the end of the school term. The swim run event is a perfect introduction to Triathlon for those who may be looking to build bike confidence. Over in the Aquabike, Bella Bowes rode across the line in a time of 1:01:44. Well done Bella!

Full results here. For those using Strava, the race report can also be found there. Of course our racing can’t take place without the support of our sponsors and Race 1 sponsor was Faircloth & Reynolds! The Faircloth & Reynold families are long term supporters of the club specialising in refrigeration, air conditioning, and catering equipment across design, manufacture, installation and maintenance with 300 employees including subbies and 90 apprentices. Faircloth & Reynolds are passionate about supporting communities and we value their ongoing commitment to the Club and the broader Coffs Harbour region. Thanks David and team!  Thanks to all the volunteers, too numerous to mention. Some special thanks to Craig Cusack and Shirley Snedden for assisting with the move from the Yacht Club last weekend and coming on Saturday to load up the gear for Sunday’s race on Craig’s very long ute and trailer, a well deserved Volunteer of the Day with a $50 voucher from the Fisherman’s Co-op. Thank you to the Fisherman’s Co-op for support.   And to Kath and Mick on timing having only received the new equipment on Monday, they have been working behind the scenes to put it together and were able to post results on the day, such a great job - thank you!  

Through the off season with the move from the Yacht Club and new location, the Committee have been hard at work redrafting the course, having maps prepared (thanks Alison Fidge) and seeking approval from the myriad of authorities. Well done to Adam Cox, assisted by Chris Hamilton, for making that happen. Great work. Hopefully that will be a lot easier next year!   

We took the time at yesterday’s race to recognise our Club Coaches Trent Renshaw, Annette Lee and Mel Sylvester for their commitment to provide support at no cost to members for running, swim and bike spin classes at Mel’s Beachbodies Health Club. Each received a $25 voucher from our premium sponsors, the Moonee Beach, Sawtell and Toormina Hotels. Get along, hang out with your mates and support our coaches at:

-  Spin bike: Wednesdays at 5.30pm at Beachbodies Gym Coffs Harbour ($5 hire fee)
- Run sessions with Trent at 7.00am Fridays at Fitzroy Oval (bring a yoga mat or good towel for stretching after) and 
- Annette is hosting an open water swim session at 7am Sunday 29 October after a successful off season swim program

So as we kick off the start of the season, thanks for racing safely and fairly. If  you're thinking of a few events, remember the North Coast Inter Club Series starting with Yamba Tri on 19 November. We look forward to seeing you at the next Club Race in a couple of weeks on 22 October.  

Peter Birch
Race Director