Crowborough Triathlon Club
Early Autumn Newsletter October 2025
As I begin to write this next instalment the morning is dark, wet and windy. I guess the beautiful summer mornings have gone. However what an amazing summer the club has had. So many competed and completed events, small and large, short and long and for some, just the act of being in the club and swimming cycling and running for fun.
In July we had all sorts going on. 20th July Iain, our coach, competed in the Eastbourne 70.3. He said -
Eastbourne 70.3 (a training event) a cancelled pier jump replaced by a two lap choppy swim before a wet and windy TT ride finishing over Birling Gap and Beachy Head and finished with a flat seafront 21km….. nice course shame about the weather! 6:06 10th in my age group.
Sounds rather hard work in dreadful weather. Congratulations for completing it!
On 27th Josh went to Leeds for his first Ironman event. Fabulous well done. It is no mean feat to complete an Ironman. In his own words -
Leeds was an amazing event. I was feeling very nervous but had the best training and advice from the coaches and members of the club. Wouldn’t have been able to do it without CTC!
Adam also did an Ironman on the same day in Nottingham. He said -
My swim was 2.4 mile, started at 6 a.m. and I managed that in 1 hour 22 mins. Then the bike was 112 miles and took 7 hours 5 mins. Lastly the run was 1 hour 40.
It was my first full distance and really enjoyed it (afterwards ).
I’m looking to book another for next year so I have something to aim for.
Congratulations Josh and Adam. A great achievement.
31st July. Dean, Andrew and Will. There is no stopping these three triathletes as they headed to France to do the Alpe d'Huez Triathlon. Sarah Smith was already in France for the race. Dean reports that the swim was in the lake. The the cycle was a 15k ride down to the bottom of Alpe d'Huez and then a further 14k up the mountain. The 7k run then took place along the ski fields. An extremely hot day to race, particularly when it didn’t actually start until 2.30 pm. What an experience, what an achievement. Well done all four of you.
7th August. Sarah and John Russell were in Iceland taking part in Rat Race, Coast to Coast. 260 miles including 100k mountain biking then hike/run a marathon. One heck of a race!
She reports:
Not so much a race, but more of a ‘really hard’ expedition, involving 267 miles crossing Iceland from North to South across the mountains by mountain bike, hike/running and pack rafting over 5 days. Camping in tents and trekking huts in the middle of nowhere, we battled the Icelandic head winds and driving rain over tough terrain including lava fields, glaciers, mountain passes and many river crossings on foot and bike, and tackling grade 3 rapids in pack rafts. Each day took around 10-12 hours due to the difficult terrain underfoot, the elevation and the wind. An incredible experience with out of this world scenery, taking in some famous sights including the Skogafoss waterfall. The best part... there was no swimming.
What an experience. Well done both of you.
9th August. Wes was at Eton Dorney to take on a marathon. I would imagine very flat and relentless. Congratulation to him for a PB of 3hrs 28.53. Very speedy!
30th August. (Sorry, this one's about me!)
After a lot of packing and travelling with a bike box (never done that before) I found myself in Istanbul for the European and Asian Tri championships. Where? In Istanbul, where the two continents meet. We did the swim in the iconic Bosporus, then a cycle ride which took us from the Asian side up a steep hill to towards the huge bridge and over into Europe. They had closed half of the massive motorway for the race. Turn around, eventually, and headed back over the bridge and into Asia. The run was a lovely little coast road along the side of the Bosporus. However the cycle turn around had been put in the wrong place and the ride had been 26.5k and not the advertised 20k! My legs did not enjoy the run after the tough cycle, but I did make it back to the finish. 3rd place in AG. Happy with that.
The following weekend of 7th September was the final triathlon race at Southwater, for the relays. The club put up three teams this year, a smaller number than in previous years as many were in training for Ironman events. Nevertheless it was huge fun and under the new format it has made the morning a lot more fun and faster. Also all team members started in fairly quick succession. As soon as the first wave had finished the swim, the second wave was started, and then the third wave. It meant that all the cyclists were off the roads before the Sunday traffic built up.
Teams: 1.Camilla, Sarah Smith, and Wes. 2. Botts, Rosie, and Annie 3. Shay, Gabe and Bex.
On the same day Heather was very busy at Bewl taking on a swim/run event. Here in her own words is her experience.
Swimrun Fun
After injuring my back a few years ago, I have struggled to get my cycling fitness and confidence again, as it feels the riskiest discipline for my flexion intolerant discs. With marathon training earlier in the year, I had something to keep me occupied, but after that I was looking for something fun to do and had heard from Pete (of Crowborough Runners fame) that there was a Swimrun at Bewl, which he did last year and really enjoyed.
I knew a bit about Swimrun, as I had watched videos of crazy people diving off slippery jagged rocks into the nippy Baltic Sea (search for Ötillö – pronounced something like “uh-til-uh”). The sport originated in 2002 with a drunken bet between friends as to who could win a 70km race across 24 islands in the Stockholm archipelago, without boats. Since then, the popularity of this adventure race has been growing.
Instead of opting for Sweden, I signed up for Bewl, as a more gentle introduction to the sport; although I did take on the longer 21km distance round the reservoir – 6km and 10km routes are available.
Prior to the race I did the requisite amount of geeky research into all the extra kit I would need:
1. A Swimrun specific wetsuit: zip up the front, short legs, tougher material, pocket for mandatory kit.
2. Yet another pair of trainers: grip is crucial, as is the ability for water to drain quickly.
3. Paddles: the bigger the better, while being mindful of potential shoulder injuries.
4. Pull buoy: there is a maximum size allowed, with various options as to how to mount this onto your leg or strap it round your waist.
5. I also came across a Kangaroo bra: this was bought on a bit of a whim but turned out to be a game changer – it was very useful for gels.
On the day of the race, I had the usual nerves (would I get there on time?!) and it was a lovely sunny day, so obviously I was fretting about the chances of overheating while running in a wetsuit. As it turns out, one of the many joys of Swimrun is that when you are getting sweaty on the run sections, you know you will be able to throw yourself into some cool water in the near future.
I thought I would probably enjoy the race, but I loved it. I was out in nature, navigating my way through beautiful surroundings, getting more skilled at transitioning between running and swimming and swimming and running, chatting with other competitors, getting cheered along by supportive marshals and finding my flow.
I enjoyed it so much, that when I got a flyer for another “As Keen As Mustard” event – this time at Grafham Water, I signed up! The format of this race was different: the Swimrun Survivor is a battle against the clock with a 2.5km loop that has 2 swim sections and 3 run sections. You have to complete each loop in the time allowed, which gets shorter the more laps you do (from 40 mins down to 16 mins) and the last person left completing a loop in the time available is the winner. It’s a really brilliant race format so I hope I can tempt some of you to join me there (and at other Swimruns!) next year.
Heather
I have included Heather's story in full because it is so inspiring, and shows there are many different types of race to try.
Here endeth my incredible list and reports on the late summer events. There are of course many other adventures that people have had, but not necessarily triathlon based, but nonetheless great fun. There's lots to do out there from sprint tris to Ironman, but also duathlons, aquathlons, swimruns - all sorts to have a go at!
In other news …
Now that the autumn is starting you will all be aware that the Thursday evening cycle rides have stopped, and the turbo session in the Freedom Leisure gym have now started. 6pm for 6.15 start. The Monday swims continue and are a great way to keep fit and prepare for next year.
The date for the Christmas party is now confirmed as Friday 5th December. Keep the date free. More information nearer the time. It is always a really lovely relaxed evening of drinks and dinner, and a chance to catch up with other members of the club.
Thank you for persevering and reading this far !!
Annie
Communications