Congratulations to Ceri Ruzzi who was first female in the St Albans sprint triathlon on Sunday.  This event was Ceri's first ever triathlon last year.  She went back to race it again this year, and not only did she smash her time by about 10 minutes, but she also walked off with the winner's crown.  Well done Ceri on your first triathlon podium spot.  The first of many no doubt!

Ful on Tri added a third London League win to their tally this year with an excellent performance at Hillingdon Triathlon on a glorious sunny morning.  Over 20 Ful-on athletes took part in this friendly event, racing hard over the unusual swim/run/bike course and making short work of the free coke and doughnuts at the end.

The club was on the podium throughout the prizegiving, with Jess Taylor taking second overall female, a 2-3-4 in the men's event for Euan Lees, Stu Archer and Nik Haynes, and Simon Kenyon second vet and 7th overall.  Tim Lewis recorded the day's fastest bike split, and Holly Barker completed her first ever triathlon.  Also racing were Phil Roker, Mark Hayman, Andy Brewer, Jaco Geyer, Sarah Gailey, Steph Robson, Laura Fulton, Mark Curtis, Victoria Collins, Adele Schulz, Julie Milroy, Jo Macinnes, Mike Powell, Rafaella Valentino, Chelsy Dudman and Matt Ford.

Full results are on the Hillingdon site here.

Another fine weekend of racing, and another set of great results for Ful-On athletes.  Tristan Shipsides dominated the Liverpool Triathlon on Sunday 21st with an outright win in a time of 1:56:35, dramatically overhauling fellow elite athlete Doug Hall in the last few hundred metres of the run.  Further south, Nik Haynes was on the podium at Harwich Triathlon, placing third in an impressive 2:12:11.  Well done guys!

For the first time in the club’s history, Ful-On Tri bagged the overall win in BOTH male and female age group races at Windsor, with Tristan Shipsides finishing in a time of 2:03:13 and Parys Edwards finishing in 2:22:16, over 1 minute clear of the next female. Other podium places went to second-placed Kerry Trembling (F25-29), who was also 8th female overall, and Laura Fulton (F35-39) and third-placed John Thorpe (M30-34) who also finished 6th overall. Nik Haynes (M30-34), who finished 10th overall, and Greg Keers (M40-44) narrowly missed out by finishing 4th in their respective age groups. Twenty members finished in under 2hr30 and we also had some notable first time Olympic performances from Steve Kent, Ceri Ruzzi, Eleanor Resheph, Adele Schulz and Tristian Thornhill, and first time triathlete Claire Wells.

Basking in summer sunshine, Windsor attracted a good number of club supporters who were in full voice around the cafes on Eton bridge (and a slightly quieter ‘trying not to be biased’ voice from Siobhan as referee in transition!) encouraging all our gang around the course. With nearly 60 members racing, there were plenty of people to cheer for in a great and historic day for the club – well done all! The event is provisionally scheduled for broadcast on Channel 4 at 8am on 4th July.

Club Secretary, Mark Hayman, and Sarah Yates were the first two Ful-On Tri athletes to book their slots for Clearwater after completing Switzerland Ironman 70.3 on 6th June in 4hr51 and 5hr05 respectively, with Sarah also taking 3rd in her age group (F35-39).

In true Swiss fashion, the race went like clockwork, with our Ful-On Tri athletes matching this style by maintaining a constant, well-paced motion through chilled water, cogs in constant & even tension on the bike in repeated laps of ‘Witches Hill’ and ‘The Beast’ without a glitch, and rounding it all off with a smooth run, ascending the 'Stairways to Heaven' (twice), before gliding across the finish line. 

Also in the Ful-On line-up were Andy Bull (5hr32), Walt Rothon (5hr54) and Peter Heintzelman (6hr01). A great day out and great results from them all - well done!

2009's Crystal Palace Triathlon took place in glorious summer sunshine this Sunday.  With the mercury rising and Ful-On Tri out in force, competition was going to be red hot ...

With the competition pool reopened, this year saw the race return to the traditional format of a 750m swim in fifteen 50m lengths, nine laps of the crit circuit round the sports centre, and a hilly two-lap run.

Phil Roker kicked off proceedings with an early start and a creditable 1:07:59.  Most of the rest of the club raced in the midday heat, and once again Nick Malynn put in a superb performance to finish second overall in a shade over 1:03.  Next to finish was Uli Kraeling in 1:06:38, followed swiftly by Simon Kenyon who took second place in the vets' category in a time of 1:07:07.  Fresh from her triumph in Budapest, Parys Edwards won the women's competition outright in an incredible 1:08.

Also racing were John Cameron, Luke Carey, Eleanor Doody, Mark Dunlea, Alistair Duvoisin, Gemma Houghton, Steven Kent, Peter King, Iain Macleod, Rich Pigott, Eleanor Resheph, Steph Robson, Katherine Vile, and Nick Haynes, who despite making an unplanned visit to the pit lane, managed a solid 1:09.  Well done everybody!

Stu Anderson has written up an account of his brilliant performance at Ironman Lanzarote - if you're wondering what it takes to qualify for Kona, have a read  here ...

If you have a race report of your own, you can use the site's blog feature to let everyone know what you've been up to.  On the site menu bar, select Races / Race Reports (Blogs) and away you go.  There's a blog FAQ page here if you need any further help.

The inaugural club sprint championship race was held on Saturday at Eton on a perfect day for racing.

Our 2009 sprint champions are...

Senior Men: Euan Lees (Mr Reliable)

Senior Women: Tessa Keers

Male Vet: Phil Roker

Please send corrections to your fixtures secretary but am not sure that any vet women competed (none of you looked that old anyway!).

More top-level racing success for Ful-On Tri - Parys Edwards took the Silver medal in her age-group and third overall at this year's ETU European Duathlon Championships, held in Budapest. 

Parys came in just 3 minutes behind overall winner Emma Dews in a time of 2:07:13

More racing success this weekend, this time in the hot, lunar landscape of the Canary Islands.  Stu Anderson was out in the lava fields of Lanzarote for the 2009 Ironman, and posted a fantastic time of 9:53:46 in typically windy Canarian conditions.  Stu's time put him 42nd overall, 8th in his age group, and included an Ironman run PB of 3:08, which many of us would be happy with in a straight marathon.  Good work Stu!

It might only have been a Little Beaver, but it was a tough one, and Ful-on Tri had it well and truly licked ... The race was the first of this year's World Championships qualifiers, and the club was out in force to claim those coveted GB team slots.  

Result of the day came from Tristan Shipsides who romped home in an astonishing 1:56:35 to win outright by nearly 3 minutes. Nick Malynn also put in a speedy performace of 2:01:59 to book his slot for the Gold Coast in September and take second in his age-group.  Also racing were Stu Archer, Paul Knowles, Matt McDermot, Tim Lewis, Ben Shaw, Simon Kenyon, Donal Harte, Richard Thomas, Joe Turner, Rich Pigott and Leisl Packer. 

Later in the day saw the middle distance Beaver triathlon, with PJ Thibault and Caroline Jubb representing the club, finishing 26th and 63rd overall respectively - with Caroline taking the prize for the fastest female of the day.  Well done guys!

Results are online here

Get behind our girls!

Four members of FulOn Tri, Jessica Taylor, Natalie Creswick, Parys Edwards and Emma Williams will be attempting to cycle from Land's End to John O'Groats non-stop as a cycling relay this August.
Each team member will ride for 2 hours before swapping to the next cyclist and resting until their next turn. They will sleep and eat in a support vehicle that will be following each rider.
 
It is predicted that the attempt will take somewhere between 48 and 64 hours to cycle the distance of approximately 1000 miles.
The team is raising money the Dave Aitchison SportsAid fund and need your help to raise as much money as possible for this great cause. Please visit and support the team at http://www.justgiving.com/daveaitchisonfund_lejog_ttt
 
The LEJOG team thanks you in advance.

Some great results from Dorney this weekend - Saturday's race saw Mark Hayman win his age group in a storming 1:03:10 taking 12th place overall, with Paul Brockway not far behind in 15th in a time of 1:03:18.  Sunday's race saw Paul Knowles dip under the hour to take 4th place overall in 59:12.

Also racing this weekend were Phil Roker, Andy Brewer, David Sharpe, Richard Keers, Caelim Parkes, Will Bowen, Michael Pagnotta, Eleanor Resheph, Guy Eastaugh, Adie Hannah, Jason Purcell, Richard Thomas, Louis Holding-Parsons and David Wells.  Next weekend sees even more people racing at Barcelona Half, the Worlds qualifier at Little Beaver and of course the Club Sprint Championship wave at Dorney Lake.  Bring it on!

A big thanks to everyone who turned out to the Morden 6n6 Aquathlon.  Everybody seemed to have enjoyed themselves, and even the bike specialists commented on how nice a race it was, helped in no small measure by the glorious May sunshine. 

Provisional results are now available on the  Kingfisher Triathletes site.  Optima won the League match, with Thames Turbo a close second and Ful-On tri 3rd.  Euan Lees led the team home with an impressive 41:21, narrowly missing the podium slots.  Simon Kenyon took the vets trophy in 44:14 (15th overall), followed closely by James Deane in 44:22 (16th).  Matt McDermott completed the men's scoring in 45:38 (24th), and Kerry Anley led the charge for the ladies in 48:44.  Completing the turnout for the club were Tim Lewis, Rich Pigott, Uli Kraeling, Claire Johnson, Sarah Gailey, Sean Everett, Kerrie Trembling, Richard Bulkley, Ceri Ruzzi, Matt Honey, Julio Orsini-Hernandez, Vicky Grimshaw, Adie Hannah, Gemma Houghton, Christine Chambers and Siobhan Brownlow.

If that's has whetted your appetite for Aquathlon action, don't forget there's Clash of the Tritons on August 15th, a little further east in Eltham - another chance to do your bit for the London League, and an easy race to combine with a bike ride so you get all 3 disciplines done in one day.  Details as ever on the London League page.

Congratulations to all the Ful-On Tri athletes who competed in today's 2009 Flora London Marathon!

Results so far:

2:58:58 - Alex Hussey
3:01:53 - Luke McFarland
3:01:06 - Tom Robinson
3:07:12 - Ellen Pooley
3:14:52 - Willem van der Merwe
3:23:41 - PJ Thibault
3:27:46 - Sarah Yates
3:28:21 - Ben Parkes
3:36:58 - Sally Benton
3:42:55 - Mark Benton
3:43:08 - Joe Turner
3:47:16 - Samir Samara
3:51:36 - Tony Green
3:54:15 - Andrew Bull
3:58:18 - Andy Brewer
4:04:47 - Laura Williams
4:10:45 - Victoria Tunsley
4:15:22 - Eleanor Doodey
4:27:48 - Dom Guinness
4:28:03 - Morgane de Verdiere

(results based on people who entered with Ful-On Tri as their club, plus Siobhan's list from the forum. Results missing? Email captain@fulontri.com)

Congratulations to Parys Edwards, Kerrie Trembling, Mark Hayman and James Aldous who have all qualified in their age groups for the European duathlon championships taking place in Budapest later this year.

A big congratulations goes to Nick Kensington, first to qualify for Ironman World Champs this year in the club.  He battled searing 44 degree Celsius heat to come fifth in his age group at Ironman China, gaining that elusive spot to Kona.  Well done!

Congratulations to Nick Malynn on taking overall second place at today's Dragonslayer Duathlon at the Redbridge Cycle Circuit! 

Nick pulled off a solid bike leg and two very quick runs to romp home in an impressive 1:57:17, seeing off strong challenges from Optima and Thames Turbo in this hard fought London League match.

After Friday's downpours, it was great to see some dry and sunny weather today (though a little cold early on) for the Ful-On Duathlon. We were especially delighted to have Tim Don racing for Prologue Bikes, and showing us all how it's done by finishing over 3 minutes clear of the rest of the field in 1hr3:09. Tim promises to wear his new Ful-On Tri t-shirt at Blenheim Triathlon next month - something for the club to watch out for!

With the race now part of the Triathlon London League, the Men's Open race was hotly contested with Ful-On Tri's Tristan Shipsides taking the win from Andrew Mercer and James Brown (both Thames Turbo). The Men's Vet race was even closer, with last year's winner Gavin Francis (Optima Racing Team) pipping Simon Kenyon and Richard Staite (both Ful-On Tri) to the post. The Women's Open race was won by Lucy Bowen (Thames Turbo) in impressive form from Parys Edwards (Ful-On Tri), with Nicola Boyd (Optima Racing Team) third. Women's Vet winner was Sandra Blenkinsop (Kingfisher) over teammate Helen Millier, with Ann Marshall third. In terms of League points, it looks like Ful-On Tri took the win from Thames Turbo.

In the Men's Sprint race, Stuart McLeod (Larkfield AC) stormed to victory over 16-year old Tom Beetham and Dan Linley. The Women's Sprint was won by Chelsy Dudman (Ful-On Tri) with Lucy Helmore (Kingfisher) second and Claire Strong (Serpentine) third. There were also prizes for fastest men's team (four to score) which went to Thames Turbo (Andrew Mercer, James Brown, James Lock & Nick Clements) and fastest women's team (3 to score) won by Ful-On Tri (Parys Edwards, Laura Fulton & Joanna Gapper). Special mention also goes to 16-year old Matt Myers (1hr14:49) and 17-year old Steven Smith (1hr24:25), both Optima Racing Team, for finishing 26th and 55th respectively in the Men's Open race. Matt Myers is one of "Dave's athletes", so it was great to see him performing so well at our event.

Final Results from the Ful-On Duathlon are now up on our website: FOD Results. You can also check results, photos and race reportage on Tri247.com. Photographs from the event will appear on: Dodsworld.com.

We would like to thank all our sponsors for their generous support of our event: Prologue Bikes, This Water, Infinit Nutrition, Vacherin, Kalas, Swim for Tri, Physio4Life and Island Records (suppliers of the Jack Johnson CD in the goody bags!). We'd also like to thank Bill Black and all our marshals from within the club for making the day so successful, and look forward to seeing them let their hair down at tonight's post-race Ceilidh!

The 2009 London League got off to a far warmer start than the 2008 series on a mild and windless Bank Holiday Monday, and Ful-on Tri were out in force to start the bid to retain the League title. 

Thames Turbo Race 1 is always a tough race, with the host club taking things very seriously indeed, wheeling out the big guns and their disc wheels!

Big thanks to Phil, Eleanor, Laura, Adele, Adie, Kerry, Tamsin, Joe, Andrew, Luke, Jonathan, Stu, Tim, Matt, Mark, Uli, Tristian, Pip,  Rich, Peter and Simon for turning out for the club.  With a strong Optima presence at the top of the field, an eyeballing of the results printout suggests we came away in third place. 

Not a bad start to the season, and with few of the Ful-On athletes tapering, many of the team will be very happy with their performances in this season-opener - if perhaps rueing their decision to put on extra clothing in T1!

Some hard work beckons though - and we'll need to pick up the pace as the season unfolds.  League races are cheap to enter, easy to get to and easy to "train-through", and make a change from the usual weekend training routine.  If you want to get involved, click here for more details of the League and how it all works.

Next fixture - Ful-On Duathlon and Dragonslayer Duathlon.  Dragonslayer is now closed for entries but the Ful On Duathlon is still open.  We need a home win, so click here and get your entries in ASAP!

The start of the 2009 London League also sees the launch of the Ful-On Race Team. 

Unlike other teams, we're not sponsored, and unfortunately we won't be showering you with free energy drinks, wetsuits and powermeters - at Ful-On Tri, it's all about taking part and doing the best you can.

Membership is strictly limited - but in true Ful-On spirit is also within reach of every club member.  Simply turn up and race (and finish!) at three or more London League events, or score at one of them, to guarantee your place in the hall of fame.  For more information click here.

Thames Turbo Race 1 saw the first team members signed up for the 2009 season - Matt Ford blazing a trail as the fastest club member of the day with an impressive 1:02:51 (23rd), followed closely by Stu Archer, returning to racing after a long injury spell with a commendable 1:03:03 (26th).  Simon Kenyon wrapped things up for the vets in 1:03:21 (29th), with Uli Kraeling rounding off the senior men's scoring in 1:04:40 (39th).  A clearly delighted Laura Fulton completed the team as the fastest Ful-On female.

Want in?  Sign up for your London League races now...

Please read below the letter of thanks received by the club and Dave's family.  It is great to see the club's hard work and effort to raise funds for the up and coming stars.  Thank you to all for making these opportunities possible.

Dear Mr & Mrs Aitchison and Ful-on Tri

On behalf of my daughter, Lara Nyman, I am writing to thank you so much for the £1000 Sports Aid funding.  This will be prove invaluable in the coming year for equipment, transport, training and competition costs.

Whilst writing, I also wish to express belated condolences on the loss of your son.  I have looked through the pages on the club’s website of Dave’s achievements and would be delighted if my daughter could achieve only half of what your son achieved.  His determination and athletic prowess appeared to be second to none and I am sure it leaves you wondering, as it does us, just what Dave might have achieved if he was still around to compete.  However, with your generous help, Lara will certainly be attempting to elevate her performances.

With kind regards and thanks once again.  

JANINE NYMAN

A record 60 Ful-On Tri Club members travelled to Club Pollentia, Mallorca, for the Club’s 2009 Training Camp hosted by Richard Hobson of Tri Living. Some happy campers had the good fortune to arrive a day early and enjoy riding in the sunshine, but for the majority arriving on Friday afternoon to blissful sunny conditions, this was sadly the last they would see of the sun!

The weather proved to be the dominant force in determining all training sessions, particularly since bike riding was our primary reason for choosing Mallorca. It seems unlucky to have been battered by wind and rain for 6 consecutive days, but in addition we had to content with a mysterious lurgy travelling through our ranks and forcing those it hit to 24 hours in bed! However, it was not all doom and gloom, and indeed most achieved a pretty high level of bike mileage and made the most of what breaks there were. Shorter, quality sessions undertaken by a few included a series of gruelling 3km hill reps. Most achieved 3-4 reps, but notable mention must go to Laura Williams (5 reps) and Conan Gibney (an awesome 7 reps!). Richard Hobson, and his coaching team of Richard Smith and Ron Feeney took charge of our daily swim and running sessions, with two open water swims for the brave hearted. In addition, we got some great swimming, nutrition and strength/conditioning advice from the team.

Given the inclement weather, there was a heavy emphasis on the social side of the camp and a great sense of unity in “toughing it out”. Julia Howe hosted an excellent pub quiz night with a broad range of questions to test the diversity of tri club knowledge. Ever competitive, the winning team, Conan’s Barbarians, pipped the win by just half a point from Stew Ward’s team. There were a couple of nights down the Irish pub watching the world cup qualifiers and the traditional last night display of how much triathletes can really drink, with some ending up in a karaoke bar till the wee small hours. The bountiful buffet breakfasts and dinners also deserve a mention, and provided a good deal of sport in smuggling out food for lunch without getting caught.

Many thanks to Richard and his team, Richard & Ron, and also to Stewart Ward for organising the trip at this end and sorting out all the last minute changes. Next year we’ll need to work on the weather gods!

As the season comes upon us, many FOT members have been sharpening their winter base training with a few races.  A few have even had podium finishes to boot.  Special mention goes to Leisl for 3rd in her first off road running race in Devon, PJ slashing minutes of his half marathon PB – look out Nice IM, Nicole finishing her first half marathon and the Puncher sportive.  The most commendable result is that of Simon Kenyon getting on the British team to the World duathlon champs from coming third in his age group at the Clumber Park in Nottingham. 

If your results have been missed off please don’t forget to email me the juicy details as I can’t be at every race to get the low down!

Please be aware that there no overall triathlete of the year this year.  There will be three separate awards for standard, middle and long distance for both male and female.  To be eligible for the award you must have completed three standard distances OR two middle distances OR one long distance race.

Get your dancing shoes out.....the social event following the Ful-on Duathlon this year will be a ceilidh.  This will be taking place in the upstairs ballroom of the Star & Garter in Putney from 7.30pm on Saturday 18th April.   

For those of you unfamiliar with a ceilidh (pronounced Kay-Lee, in case you were wondering!), it is a fun evening of Scottish reeling.  Don't worry if you have two left feet or have never done any reeling before, as there will be a caller (man with a microphone) who will walk you through every step of the dance, before letting you loose on the dance floor.  It is always great fun and will require almost as much energy as a triathlon!  Invite your family, friends and neighbours - all are welcome.

Tickets are £12 and can be bought by emailing social@fulontri.com to book your place, and transferring your money to the FOT bank account.  Account details are:

A/c name: Ful-on Triathlon Club
Sort code: 40 02 35
Account number: 91424068

Book your tickets today...you know you want to!

This is your last chance to order any Club cycle, race or running kit.

I will be at Virgin Active with the sizing kit for the new Club Tri racing kit and the new Club Performance running T shirts between 7 and 8pm this Thursday 26th March

The order will then be sent off to the manufacturer on Friday 27th March with delivery 6 weeks later.  There will not be another order until the Autumn and I am not planning to hold any club kit in stock.

Please download the order form and e mail it to me ASAP at kit@fulontri.com.  Then transfer the payment to the club account electronically with your name as reference.

The first seven triathletes to benefit from Dave Aitchison SportsAid funding have been announced by Sports Aid. "Dave's athletes" are:

• Armanni Antoine-Chagar, Walthamstow Tritons, aged 13 years;
• Lucy Chittenden, Farnham Tri Club, aged 17 years;
• Sky Draper, Jetstream Tri Club, aged 13 years;
• Lewis Hawkins, Jetstream Tri Club, aged 12 years;
• Emily McLoughlin, Crawley Tri Club, aged 16 years;
• Matthew Myers, Optima Racing Team, aged 15 years;
• Lara Nyman, Jetstream Tri/Team Viper, aged 16 years.

Six of the athletes, 4 from London and 2 from the South East region, have received awards of £1,000 each, with one London athlete, Sky Draper, receiving a £1,500 award. We wish all of Dave's athletes every success in their 2009 race season, and hope to see many of them at our main fund-raising event, the Surrey Legs of Steel cyclosportive on 26th September 2009. The Surrey Legs of Steel event has raised over £12,500 for the fund in two years.

Full details of Dave's athletes and information on the Dave Aitchison Fund can be found on the Triathlon London Athlete Funding page.

As you should all know by now Kalas will be at Virgin Active Fulham from 7pm this Thursday with the sizing set for this years Club Tri racing kit.  This is your chance to try the kit on to get the right size and order the Club 2009 race kit so it arrives in time for the first races of the season.  Kalas will also have a sizing set for the club cycle kit  so you can order more of that as well.

There is a lot of demand from the club members  so please try and arrive in plenty time to try the kit on and make sure you order the right size. Full price list and samples will be available on Thursday.  We have spent a lot of time working with Kalas to make sure that this kit addresses all the lessons we have learnt from previous year race kit and should be the best yet!  The colour scheme will be the same as last years race kit just in the new Kalas design.

The fourth and final Surrey Ladies Cross Country League race was staged on 28th February in the rolling pastures of Lloyd Park Croydon having been rescheduled after the local Council banned all sporting activities due to the snow in early February. 

Low in number but not in spirit the Ful On women made it through the congested roads of suburban South London to reach the start line.  Lying in second position in Division 2 there was everything to race for.  Promotion to the dizzy heights of Division 1 was in reach and the attendant women were hungry for their prize.  

Conditions were favourable and the going was good.  The 5.7k course comprised a small lap followed by a large lap and included a handful of short sharp hills and speedy descents for good measure.  With instructions to overtake any other runner with a number 2 (indicating Division 2) on her back the Ful On fantastic five were definitely fit for purpose and with each stride edged their way to victory.  The squad consisted off Eleanor Resheph our first finisher, followed by Ceri Ruzzi, Vicki Grimshaw, newcomer Chelsy Dudman and cake-baker extraordinaire Joolz Howe.  Cheerleader Andy and Team Captain Sarah la Hausse screamed from the sidelines as the team romped home. 

Provisional results for Division 2 indicate that Clapham Chasers won followed by Ful On Tri in second and Runnymede Runners third.  This is an excellent result for the Club and means that the Ladies team will compete in Division 1 next season.  A huge thank you to all who participated – WELL DONE!               

Thames Hare and Hounds Hosted Mob Match on March 7th have invited Fulon Tri to come and show the harriers how it is done. Don't let the club down by not entering!
Steep in history, the Thames apparently it's the oldest X-country running club in the world. Chris Brasher has run for club. Sonia O'sullivan is a member. There are some great old photos and newspaper clippings mounted in the club hut. Most of the members are actually 140 yrs old so whilst there are a handful of very classy runners the race is low key and the standard will be wide ranging. A good opportunity for Fulon runners to do, what active member Nick Maylnn thinks is a great X-country course and for a bit of cross-club community building.

A little bit of info:
The Thames HQ is in the first floor of the Pavillion on the playing fields on the Wimbledon Common Side of the A3 opposite Robin Hood Gate. There is changing facilities and bikes can be locked outside the club hut and there is free car parking available. Other local running clubs have also been invited including Kingston and Poly and Stragglers. The course is 5 miles through the common. Spikes, trail shoes are generally recommended. There are a few hills and often a fair bit of mud.
The Thames website is here: www.thameshareandhounds.org.uk
There is a course map here: www.thameshareandhounds.org.uk/courses.php

Most importantly after the race, for £1 tea, sandwiches, cakes will be available in the club hut.

How could you go wrong?

We did it!  Thanks to a huge turnout and some strong individual performances the men's cross country team took the final match and the league, gaining promotion to division 2 next season.  The previous week's snowy and icy conditions meant that conditions were a little more challenging than usual, but Ful-on men are made of stern stuff, and 24 men turned out to race. 

The can of whoop-ass was duly opened by Tom Robinson, who led the team home with a storming second place overall and first in division 3, followed by Euan Lees (4th), PJ (5th), Simon Kenyon (12th), Barney Randle (16th), Mark Lander (21st), Nick Haynes (25th), James Deane (26th), Jon Scott (29th) and Jaco Geyer (33rd).  Keeping the scoring team honest were James Aldous, Jon Barks, Alex Hussey, Rich Pigott, Andy Bennett, Tim Lewis,Nick Sinfield, Christer Berggren, Rich Bulkley, Luke Carey, Peter King, Beau Alexander and Mark Curtis.  Guinness and sausage rolls rounded off a muddy, but thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.

Match score was 172 points, safely ahead of nearest rivals West 4 Harriers on 254.  Ful-on took the league with 958 points in total, to West 4's 1262 and Runnymede's 1786.

Full results are on the Vets AC website here
http://www.vetsac.org.uk/results%202009.htm#7/02

Meanwhile, ever-mindful of Health and Safety, Croydon Council ordered the cancellation of the ladies' race, which has now been rescheduled to Saturday February 28th.  The points tally at the top of the division is very tight, so we really need a strong turnout to ensure promotion next year, so if you can race, get in touch with Sarah la Hausse as soon as possible (details on the Cross Country page)

A large Ful-on Tri contingent battle the snow, sleet and -2 degrees to complete the Hell of Ashdown in Kent.  Richard Staite was the fastest from the club in an impressive shade under 3.38, with Mia Barry and PJ at 3.55.  Others trickled in frozen but enjoying the challenges seven rather large hills presented.  Andrea Hall and Jo Perriam finishing around the 4.45 mark.  Getting out there in those predicted conditions is what real athletes are made of!

Another stunning day for the Endurance Life series with some great results from Ful-on Tri.  PJ managed to follow the markers this time and being a two lap course he came in on 42km.  The lovely Caz came through to shine for the couple.  Out of plaster, Caroline tackled the course from the start and still had enough energy to float across the pebbles to come in second in the half marathon. James Deane bring in a bronze in the marathon. Simon K had a great race in new trail shoes brought that morning and Nick Kensington made a brave attempt at the marathon, having to come in after one lap due to a reoccurring injury.  Penny Comins nipped in under 2.30, cursing the pebbles.

Don’t forget to check out the London League races and represent your club. They all have supportive environments and aimed at all levels usually followed by a social event, which is a great way to meet old and new members. It is always harder to come in as defending champions, so get them in to your calendars, enter and be motivated to train on these cold nights!

Lining up in the pro ranks Vince Kamp, Stuart Anderson and Nick Kensington rubbed shoulders with all professional cyclists that were not off on training camps, to start a frantic 30 kilometre beach mountain bike race in Egmond, Holland.  Tackling -8 degrees Celsius, frozen sand and avoiding disappearing in to frozen puddles, the boys made it back in the top 10% of finishers. 

The following day, mountain bikes were exchanged for running shoes to race a half marathon on the beach and surrounding dunes.  Mette Kornum and Penny Comins joined the boys to race in to a monster head wind up the beach.  All finished and they boys got the ‘double race’ placard status. 

Ful on tri's Christmas warm weather training camp neared its conclusion this weekend with 3 members taking part in Sydneys North Bondi Roughwater Ocean 2km Swim.  No wet suits allowed!  Pete Doubleday braved the near 30 degree heat to lead the 1000 strong pack through the surf and into the waters where only the previous day tourists had been ejected  after a great white shark was seen just 50m off shore.  

Caroline Jubb powered through to be first out of the water in an impressive 36min 20 sec to take 10th place in her age group and  61st  woman overall. Pete made up 2 positions on the run up the beach to finish in 37 min 50 sec 30th in his age group and 240th male overall.  PJ kindly offered to act as shark bait at the back of the pack and was washed ashore in 43min 50 sec.  He had to use all  his ironman training in order to push past Tongy's 30 stone cousin who had powered past him in the last few strokes coming in through the breakers. 

A G'day was had by all.

Seven Ful-On Tri ice maidens braved the arctic temperatures of Coulsdon, South London for match 3 of the Surrey ladies cross country league.  Weather forecasters had promised milder conditions but they didn’t materialise and temperatures dropped to a frosty -3ºC.  The added low cloud made for a very bleak midwinter’s day. 

However, the bright and sunny spirits of the ladies squad were the perfect antidote and in true Ful-On fashion the ladies welcomed the challenge of the 6k single lap course across the hills of Farthing Down.  At times the route was more like a toboggan run than a cross country run.  The ground was frozen solid with many of the runners sliding their way around the wooded path. 

With a third position in Division 2 and the prospect of promotion the team had everything to race for.  Parys Edwards quickly slipped into her stride and headed off with the front pack. 
Newcomers Ceri Ruzzi and Eleanor Resheph started strongly while Bella Wlosowicz ran a steady consistent leg to be the second FOT lady home after Parys.  Ceri, Sarah la Hausse and Eleanor completed the scores for Team A.  Karen Triegaardt and Barbara Walshe battled it out to complete the line up. 

Special thanks go to Karen Neill who despite injury still provided the team with delicious homemade post race cookies…yum, yum!

Lloyd Park in Croydon, normally one of the muddiest places on earth, was instead frozen to a rutted, ankle-turning moonscape for the third outing of our men's cross-country team in the 08-09 season.

With ten athletes a prerequisite for a decent team score, we were a nervous nine until a few minutes before the race start, but the cavalry of Joe, Mark and Andrew arrived to rescue us just in time and bring us up to twelve.

Strong front running from Tom Robinson led home a team of Euan Lees, Nik Haynes, James Deane, Jon Scott, Jon Barks, James Aldous, Joe Turner, Andrew Sims, Andy Brewer, Beau Alexander and Mark Curtis.

Results are now available on the Cross Country Page.  We narrowly came second to West 4 Harriers, but still maintain a good lead at the top of the division, putting us in a strong position for promotion to Division 2 at the end of the season.

Well done to everyone who raced, and thanks also to Joe for the excellent cookies.

You can’t deny it Ful-On Tri has had an amazing 2008. In true tradition it is a time to look back over the year and reflect on the achievements and how to improve on those in the coming year. 

This year for FOT did not disappoint with many individuals on the podium at varying distances, an amazing camp in Lanzarote, our first duathlon, celebrating five years old, StarMark accreditation, Dave Aitchison Fund launched, membership capacity filled, London League winners and Mob Match champs again. How can 2009 possibly top that?!

Read about Ful-on Tri Tri-umph in the Surrey Comet.

Ful-On Tri chalked up their second victory against local rivals Thames Turbo at this year's 5k mob match, adding to their earlier London League win.

The race was held at the weekly Richmond Park Time Trial on 13th December, and while the weather forecast had been shifting all week from "unpromising" to "biblical", the fierce wind and horizontal rain that arrived on race day did nothing to dampen the spirits of the 52 Turbos and 60 Ful-On girls and boys who turned out to race.

The two triathlon clubs were joined by Clapham Chasers and W4 Harriers who were holding a match of their own. The record race numbers and the narrow course path ensured that the first 100m of the race would be an elbows-flying dash for positions, but the pace soon settled down, moderated by strong headwinds and stinging rain on the outward stretch towards Roehampton.

The uphill return section saw the field break up a little. Turbos Josh Varney, James Brown and James Lock stretched their legs to take the top 3 positions, but with Jon Rawlins and Nick Malynn from Ful-On in hot pursuit, and a 2-to-1 dominance in the top 30 placings, victory for Ful-On was assured, with an overall points win of 1,926 against Turbos' 3,261 (lowest wins). A semi-rigorous eyeballing of the results sheet suggests that Ful-On probably beat the two running clubs too.

A big thank-you to all those who turned out for the club, to Thames Turbo for accepting the challenge, and to the volunteers from Parkrun.com for their usual slick race organisation and irrepressible enthusiasm in some really filthy conditions.

If that's whetted your appetite, don't forget that the Surrey League Cross Country resumes on 10th January at Lloyd Park, Croydon for the boys and Farthing Down, Coulsdon for the girls. Both teams are well positioned for a win in their respective leagues, and just like the mob match, team size is just as important as the fastest placing - so make sure you get in touch with Simon Kenyon or Sarah La Hausse and sign up for glory!

A great night was had by all at the annual Christmas party and Awards Dinner. The seamlessly organised dinner, awards and dancing held at the Thames Rowing Club was attended by many club members both old and new. Committee members hosted a table each and ensured everyone had enough wine to cheer for the serious awards and laugh at the well delivered funny awards.
Thanks to all for a great night and providing some gossip for the chilly winter rides in the New Year...                                  

2008 Ful-On Tri Award Winners:
Male Triathlete of the Year 2008 - Euan Lees
Female Triathlete of the Year 2008 - Kerry Anley
Most Improved Male Triathlete of the Year 2008 - Will Bowen
Most Improved Female Triathlete of the Year 2008 - Laura Fulton
Best Male Newcomer 2008 - Uli Kraeling
Best Female Newcomer 2008 - Ingrid Hansen
Best Male Middle Distance Triathlete of the Year 2008 - Nick Kensington
Best Female Middle Distance Triathlete of the Year 2008 - Natalie Cresswick
Best Male Long Distance Triathlete of the Year 2008 - Stu Anderson
Best Female Long Distance Triathlete of the Year 2008 - Mia Barry
Zurich Club Member of the Year Award: 2008 - Euan Lees
Dave Aitchison Sportsperson of the Year Award: 2008 - Parys Edwards

A full range of size samples of the new club cycle kit will be available before and after training on Thursday 4th Dec.  This is your chance to order precisely the kit you want in the size you want from the full range of kit provided by Kalas our new supplier. 

The range includes - long and short sleeve tops in summer and winter materials, shorts, bib shorts, 3/4 shorts, bib tights, running tights, winter jackets, gilets,windproof jackets, speed suits to name just the basics. 

After the 4th you will only be able to purchase kit we hold on stock so this is your chance to order precisely what you want to ride in.  Go onto the club kit section of the web site and download the order form which includes a full list of available kit and prices. (and rememeber to bring cheques or cash on Thursday!)

December sees a break from the Surrey League Cross Country - but don't despair:  we've been challenged to a Christmas mob-match by Thames Turbo!

The race will be held at 9am sharp in Richmond Park on Saturday 13th December, the morning of the Christmas dinner.  What better way to work up an appetite!  The normal Saturday bike ride schedule will be adjusted to take the race into account.

Once again we will be holding the challenge at Richmond Park Time Trial, a weekly 5k event in the north of the park which uses a mixture of tarmac, grass and gravel path and follows an undulating route.  Calling it cross country is a bit of a stretch, so normal running shoes will be absolutely fine.

The race is free of charge, but you do need to make sure you have registered with the time trial website at www.parkrun.com .  This is a once-only registration that enables you to take part in any of the Park Run races in the future.   If you registered last year there's no need to register again.

Once you've registered, RPTT is a show-up-and-race affair, so there's no need to enter the race on the 13th as such.  However, to keep everything above board and score the mob match correctly, we need to know in advance who's going to turn out for the club, so please drop Euan Lees an email to say you'll be racing - details on the club contacts page. 

After that, it's just a case of showing up and running - mob match rules mean nearly everybody's finish position goes towards the final rankings, so the more the merrier!

When registering, please make sure you select Ful-On Tri as your club.  If you run first claim for someone else, please register as your first claim club but let us know so that we can keep things above board with the other side.

Seems that the boys were as lucky as the girls with the weather today - wave after wave of bad weather swept through Surrey as the Ful-on men's XC team made their way to Lightwater, but by the time the team assembled, the sun had come out, lifting the spirits of the eleven men who turned out to race: Joe Turner, Jon Barks, Simon Kenyon, Nik Haynes, Beau Alexander (Baked Goods Officer), Louis Holding-Parsons, Andrew Sims, Conan Gibney, James Aldous, John Scott and Rich Pigott.

The weather no doubt played a big part in keeping the numbers down - and the AGM of the Surrey Embroidery and Crochet Society kept a couple of the Woking Ful-On contingent away, but the team raced well in a strong field. Indeed, the team was lucky to complete the course without incident, with tricky underfoot conditions and brutally sharp gradients causing several wipeouts over the 8km course (GPS here - check the heart rate!)

UPDATE Another match win for Ful-on Tri! This was a much closer-scoring match than the last, with lots of teams scoring around the 400 mark, but we managed to stay 90 points clear of the next-placed team, West 4 Harriers. Well done to everyone who raced. It's important that we get as large a team as possible for the next race in Croydon on January 10th 2009 to maximise our chances of scoring well. Will you be man enough?

13 lucky ladies turned out despite the ominous rain-bearing clouds for the Surrey Ladies Cross Country League match 2 at Lightwater Country Park in Surrey.  As the starter blew his horn the skies miraculously cleared and the sun shone brightly. 

The 6.5k course comprised one small 1.5k loop followed by two larger 2.5k loops across undulating terrain including rooty woodland, sandy trails and plenty of mud, glorious mud! 

Our girls got off to an excellent start with Parys Edwards front running all the way.  Ingrid Hansen, Jess Taylor and Emma Partridge battled it out for 2nd, 3rd and 4th positions with Sarah la Hausse making up the scorers for team A.  Jo Perriam, the only lady brave enough to ride out, headed up team B followed closely by Karen Neill, Vicki Grimshaw, Barbara Walshe and newbie Gemma Houghton.  The final flourish came from strong finishers Jo Knight, Barbara Vintcent and Joolz Howe all crossing the line in style! 

Domestic goddess Ingrid provided the squad with some full on flapjacks, just what the doctor ordered!  Thanks also go to injured Sarah Watts who did a superb job at controlling wayward runners in the finishing funnel. 

The predictions are that we scored highly but the team can't afford to sit on it's laurels and will be hoping for another good turnout at match 3 in Coulsdon on Saturday 10th January.    

UPDATE Results now available on the cross country page - a second place for the A team. Well done ladies!

It's official: the results are in, the points have been tallied, and Ful-On Tri have sealed their dominance of the London League rankings by taking the overall League Championship title for the second time in three years!

The League was closely-fought, with Thames Turbo starting strongly by winning on home ground at their own Triathlon on Easter Bank Holiday Monday. With the Turbos winning both of the summer aquathlon events, and Ful-On failing to beat the home team at Hillingdon, by late August the League trophy looked to be heading back down towards Hampton.

Undeterred, Ful-On wheeled out the big guns for the last two races of the season, and despite a last minute team reshuffle, Thames Turbo were unable to hold off the challenge at Crystal Palace and were pushed into second place at the event.  Just one more win at Jekyll and Hyde was needed to seal the deal, putting both clubs on three wins but with Ful-On scoring more second placings, and sure enough, victory was sealed on a chilly October morning in Hyde Park.

Demonstrating that quality doesn't necessarily preclude quantity, Ful-On also won the Mob Match rankings, with Serpies placing second and Thames Turbo third.

Thanks and congratulations go out to everyone involved in this year's League races, and to outgoing Team Captain Phil Roker for rallying the troops. The club will be awarding League participation prizes at this year's Christmas Dinner - keep an eye on the site for details.

This is a record breaking year for membership! Lets hope that this will be reflected in some record breaking performances once the season kicks off again next year! 

In order to maintain the friendly feel of the club and ensure that swim training sessions are not over-crowded the number of full club members is capped at 200.  Last year this level was reached in about February/March but this year we have already reached this limit so will not be taking on any more Full members for the time being.

Associate members are still welcome, which gives full access to all the wonderful  training sessions and socials. Just the pool time is on a "pay per swim" basis and at busiest times of the year swim sessions are open only to Full members. [Sarah, Membership Secretary]

Congratulations to Stuart Anderson for an extremely successful race at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. Not only is this the second consecutive year that Stuart has competed at this level, he has honed his training and racing and successfully climbed the rankings in his age group to finish an impressive 22 places up from last year in a time of 9.39.43. This result of pure dedication and determination left Stuart with an impressive finishing place of 21st in his age group, 74th amateur and 139th overall. But the greatest result of all was he was the 1st non-professional British athlete over the line.

Click here for a story written about Stuart's Ironman Hawaii journey in the Telegraph.

A blog on the race reports page is soon to follow. 

A beautiful autumn day and good ground conditions greeted the Ful-on Tri Men's Cross Country team as they kicked off the 2008 season at Banstead's Nork Park.  The challenging course (GPS here) consisted of two short fast loops of a football field, a quick dash through the woods, and then three loops of Nork Park itself - a short, steep descent followed by a grinding climb back to the top.

With news of the success of the Ful-on Ladies' team earlier in the day, the chaps were keen to get stuck in to the race, and the lead group soon set a blistering pace with Ful-On right in the thick of the action.  The hill soon took its toll, though, and the field spread out in the second half of the race. 

No formal results just yet, but it looks like we've scored well and got the 2008 season off to a flying start, due in no small part to a first class run by Vince Kamp, who was first over the line.  Good work Vince!

A huge thanks to the rest of the team: Conan, PJ, Nick Walter, Nick Haynes, John Scott, Jon Barks, Simon Kenyon, Andy Bennett, Dave Gibney, Roberto Martignoni, Tony Green, Rich Bulkley, Mark Hayman, James Aldous, Tongy, Phil Roker, Ed Cook, John Coolahan, John Crick and Beau Alexander.  Thanks too for the brownies (John Crick?), and cheers to Dom and Mrs Guinness for the moral support and photos.

UPDATE  -  We walloped them - results now on the Cross Country page.  Well done gents!  See you at Lightwater Country Park on Saturday November 8th for Round Two...

A record 72 members attended the Club's fifth AGM last night to vote on the hotly contested committee positions. In the absence of Conan Gibney’s Ulster tones, Euan Lees delivered the Chairman’s message with a more Scottish flavour and a similar amount of celtic humour. Voting was extremely close, and following a recount the new committee members were duly elected:

Chairman - Conan Gibney; Vice Chairman - Euan Lees; Club Secretary – Mark Hayman; Treasurer - Sandy Sehmi; Head Coach/Welfare Officer - Alan Hanley; Membership Secretary – Sarah Watts; Social Secretary – Laura Fulton; Fixtures Secretary – Mia Barry; Communications Officer – Penny Comins; Webmaster - Greg Keers; Club Kit Officer – PJ Thibault; Team Captain: Simon Kenyon; and, Event Director: Siobhan Brownlow.

The winners of the Ful-On Tri Club Championship 2008 were announced at the AGM, with Euan Lees taking the honours for Male Triathlete of the Year and Kerry Anley as Female Triathlete of the Year. With so many racing longer distances, only 8 members met the 3 race criteria for the series with the men’s rankings as follows: 1st: Euan Lees; 2nd: Phil Roker; 3rd: Simon Kenyon. The committee will be looking at changes to next year’s club championship in order to boost popularity, with some ideas discussed at the meeting. Full details of the rankings can be found on the results page.

As a further mark of the Club’s fifth birthday and in recognition of the enormous amount of work he has put into making the Club such a huge success, Alan Hanley, our Head Coach, was awarded Life Membership. The Chairman's report on the year's activities will be posted on the website in due course. Many thanks to all who attended.

The Ful-On Tri Annual General Meeting will take place at 8pm next Thursday, 9th October, at Fulham Pools. There will be no regular training sessions on the evening, but we encourage as many members as possible to attend to ensure we reach our quorum. This is your opportunity to have your say in the running of the club. The meeting will start promptly at 8pm and ballot voting will close at 8.15pm in order for the votes to be counted. Only members are allowed to vote, so if you haven't yet renewed membership, please do so promptly. A list of candidates for the various committee posts will be posted on the forum in advance of the meeting. There will be tea, coffee and snacks available at the meeting, and we will then retire to the Chancery Pub on Lillie Road (from around 9.30pm) for a post-AGM social gathering.

Congratulations to all those that took part in today's Surrey Legs of Steel event at Box Hill. The event, now in its second year, is held to commemorate the life of Dave Aitchison and raise money for the Dave Aitchison SportsAid Fund set up in Dave's name to assist talented young triathletes in the Triathlon London region. A full report from the event together with the total raised for the fund will be posted here within the next few days, but for now we'd like to direct you to the provisional results which can be found using the following links:

Results (Short/Provisional)

Results (Long/Provisional)

Many thanks to all the marshals and volunteers from the Club and Dave's family for making this such a successful event. We'd also like to thank our event sponsors: Prologue Bikes, Infinit Nutrition and ThisWater for their generous support of our event.

Photographs from the event will appear on Dodsworld.com and Ful-On Tri's Shutterfly site; and you can buy your Legs of Steel merchandising on display at the event - t-shirts, technical tees, mugs and coasters - through Incrediprint.com to raise even more money for the fund. Plus check out our press coverage and coach Bill Black's blog on Tri247.com.

Having enjoyed it so much last year, we found ourselves regathered en masse for the belle dame, the Monaco 70.3 - an event full of glamour, sunshine and formula 1. Registration was a protracted affair, mostly because PJ carelenessly allowed his bike to get stolen last year. But the anticipation remained keen and we lined up on Lavrotto beach for a Sunday morning 7am mass beach star after a fine night's rest in one of Monaco's swanky hotels.

What a result!!! We recorded our second win in the London Triathlon League yesterday with some outstanding performances at Crystal Palace, against a strong Turbo team & big turnouts from several of the other clubs. Parys put in a spectacular performance to take 2nd in the women's race.

Our star performers were Nik Haynes (7th), Matt McDermott (9th), Euan Lees (12th), Phil Roker (18th), Simon Kenyon (21st), Matt Ford (23rd), Parys Edwards (26th), Bethan Hopewell (33rd), Sarah Watts (196), Vanessa Gibbin (224). It seems Crystal Palace always has to claim at least one victim, and this year it was Uli's turn as he punctured on the bike.

So - one league race to go, Jeckyl & Hyde duathlon on October 26th and if we win it, we will have won the league for the 2nd time in 3 years & confirm what we knew all along - that Ful-on Tri rules!!

While many of the club were rubbing tanned shoulders with the jet set in Monaco, basking in the glow of the M-dot brand or sipping fine wines during (!) the Medoc Marathon, the more down to earth FOTriers - Mark Hayman, Tim Briggs, Ingrid Hansen, Julia Howe, Jon Barks, Morgane Verdiere, Eoin Cannon, Jaco Geyer, Gavin Bradley, Tongy, Paul Tetlow, Nick Malynn, Alistair Duvoisin, Laura Williams, George Karolemeas, Richard Bulkley and Vicki Grimshaw -headed north up the A1, resisting the lure of the Little Chefs, to take part in the Vitruvian.

There were no warm azure waters of the Med for us. Instead we found ourselves wading into the grey, weed filled, choppy Rutland Reservoir as dawn and the rain clouds simultaneously broke.
And there weren’t many of the lungbusting bike climbs of the likes on offer in Dorset or Monaco, but we battled our way not once but TWICE up the ’notorious’ Rutland Ripple past juggernauts, tractors and bike crashes under gloomy skies and an ever-increasing wind before it was two duckpoo dodging laps out across the Rutland Dam fuelled by Jaffa cakes and bananas. What more can a triathlete wish for?
Jon Barks was first FOTrier to hear the words ’You Are A Vitruuuuvian’ from Bill Black on the mic with a cracking 4:41, closely followed by Alistair Duvoisin in 4:43 with Tongy and Mark Hayman just two minutes behind. Other great results included Ingrid Hansen who brought home a medal after coming second in her 30-34 age group in a fantastic 4:56.
The day was nicely rounded off with lashings of milky tea and butties from the caff followed later by hearty Midlands fodder down the local village ‘gastro’pub.
So while the sun and Chateau Lafitte may have been missing, when you can claim to be a Vitruvian, aka ‘the perfect human form‘, frankly who cares?
PS A word of advice for Alex Hussey, who despite leaving Putney at 3am on race day, found himself on the M1 instead of the A1 and went back home to bed: time to get Satnav?

Ful On Tri's very own Braveheart & speed specialist Euan Lees headed north to Glasgow for the British & Scottish Sprint Championships held on Sunday 24th August.  It was worth the trip by all accounts as the results table showed Euan crossed the finish line in 5th place overall with a time of 1:06:17.  He claimed two bronze medals, one in BTF category M35-39 & a second in the Scottish Championships.  He even threw a visit in to see his Mum & Dad - what a good sport!      

It was another great weekend of racing, partying and general fun in the sun (when it eventually stopped raining) at the Nottingham Club Relays with eleven teams battling it out against 500 others from all over the country at Nottingham's National Watersports Centre. Despite a rainsoaked night spent under leaking canvas and drizzly conditions during the morning races, our Ladies A team blasted round the sprint distance course finishing fourth - beaten only by three pro teams. Well done, Jess, Parys, Natalie and Emma. Our Mixed A team managed a fantastic 13th while Men's A and Ladies' B both came a commendable 18th. The Older, Wiser, Faster men's vet team were the second men's team home in the afternoon, and 6th in the vet category. The rest of FOT's teams including the Ladies Who Lunch (which included Jess Taylor's boyfriend - well done for 'volunteering' there, Tom, AND being labelled a laydee), Last Man Standing and The Foreign Legion all put in great performances in the afternoon when, despite sunnier conditions, a rather energy-sapping headwind had started to whip across the lake. Luckily, the pesky swans and ducks managed to behave themselves this year and keep off the bike route.

Then it was back to the campsite for the traditional post-race meal of Pizza Hut's finest 12 inchers washed down with lashings of Morrison's lager and wine - who needs Rego? - before the hardier contingent forewent Nottingham's finest nightclubs and their fussy shoewear door policies, for the local West Bridgeford boozer. Many thanks to Phil Roker, ably assisted by Shiv, for organising a great weekend.

Ful-On Tri were represented at the Long Distance Duathlon Worlds in Geel, Belgium on Sunday 10th August. Gavin Pape, long standing FOT member, club coach and former Treasurer raced with pride in his Great Britain vest to come home in a very respectable time of 4:05:42 in the 25-29 age group. The 18k run, 74k bike, 9k run took its toll on all the competitors. Despite Geel being a pan flat race, the bike course was into a very strong head wind, zapping the energy of most competitors legs, creating a slower second run split. Gavin battled on, and despite bombarding a local bar on his way round his second run for a "call of nature" he still managed an excellent 9th place overall, 2nd GB athlete home. Nice one!!

Ful-on tri were the best represented club at Upton Tri+ on Saturday 12th July in both the triathlon and the post-race party.

Our dominance was reflected not only in numbers but also in the results, including the top five places in the female senior standard race. Parys won this category with a time of 2:16:27, even more impressive when you consider she was still running up the river bank to the start as her wave started!  Followed by Kerry Anley (02:17:30), Julie Milroy (02:23:02), Liz Chittenden (02:24:31) and Laura Fulton (02:25:05).

The competition didn’t end there however as people progressed to the fourth discipline of the post race party, taking to the dancefloor with fellow competitors for some serious boogying into the early hours before retiring to the slightly muddy campsite.

On a personal note - thank you to everyone in the club for their support in organising the race again and especially to those who came and marshalled, Emma Partridge for the fantastically designed t-shirts and last but by no means least to ODESSA property investment for their generous sponsorship of Ful-on tri members. Click here for a full report. [Jess Surman]

What a great event - same format as Nottingham, but with teams of 3 instead of 4 - admittedly a bit smaller scale and low key, but a lot nearer, the racing was high quality, the weather was superb... and we won!

We took 7 teams in total, and walked away with 1st overall with the A team of Euan, Barney and Matt McDermott, 1st womens team with Jess, Bethan and Parys, 2nd womens team (Ingrid, Emma and Fran) and 4th overall (Greg, Phil and Simon). The prizes were some of the best we have seen, too, with the winning mens team taking £150 worth of Up & Running vouchers each, and the ladies a weekend break voucher! Definitely one to pencil in your diaries for next year as soon as the date is announced!

A final reminder that the Summer BBQ is this Sat July 26th from 7pm till late...make sure ya get there earlish for food (served from 8pm)!

Location: GJ's (89 Garratt Lane, Wandsworth, SW18 4DW  www.gj-s.com/wandsworth.htm GJ's is an apre ski bar theme in London) 

Dress: Informal but as always - dress to impress?!

Tickets will be on sale at Thursday night training. we welcome friends who could be interested in the club and I will have a limited number of extra tickets on Saturday if you have a last minute pal who is in town?

£6/ticket cash only please, this includes a spit roast & salad (veggie please advise) and a drink, (we have exclusive use of the patio/outside) after that its a pay bar and dancing usually unfolds later on!

Looking forward to seeing lots of you there, 

Tim

Over a dozen hardcore Ful-On Iron men & women braved the elements in Northern Europe on Sunday 13th July to compete in Ironman Austria, Quelle Challenge Roth & Ironman Switzerland.  While athletes competing in the UK experienced fine weather, for a change, this was not the case for the long distance contingent.  Experienced Ironman Daniel Mertens put in a solid performance in Austria coming home in a very respectable 10.58 hrs.  Not so far away in Roth, Germany James Deane completed his 2nd Ironman distance race this year in a fantastic 9.28 hrs.  Despite numerous punctures & replacing a wheel Tim Lewis crossed the line in 11.01 hrs & Caelim Parkes, competing in his 1st race of this length, finished in a worthy 12.54hrs. 

Meanwhile in Switzerland 2200 athletes lined the shores and started the race with Swiss precision right on 7am.  The swim was a pleasant reprieve from the rain and was only broken with an Australian exit to cross an island stacked with cheering sodden family and friends.  Nick Kensington lead the Ful-on Tri athletes out of the water where T1 was a challenge with everything so wet and 2200 bike covers all over the floor.  The smooth roads were like glass with a few millimetres of rain sitting on the top which meant no punctures (first time ever) for Mia Barry as she stormed through the bike course in less than 6 hours.  The drops continued to pelt down and then just when you thought you couldn't handle another sludgy bit of bar, the sun peaked through and there was hope!  For the fastest cyclist, Vince Kamp, this didn't happen until the end of the second lap, but for those who take a bit longer the second lap was nearly dry and the countryside was pretty again.  Running was a relief to be dry warm up; Vince took to the fast flat course and chipped his way around to come in 10th in M30 in a time of 9.26 hrs.  Penny Comins enjoyed all the support on the run and the awesome atmosphere managed a marathon PB and sliced an hour off her overall PB to come in at 12.05 hrs. Duane Sidford joined the Ironman club in 11.15 hrs & Sarah Yates also had a great race.

The latest round of the London Triathlon League saw Ful-on take two of the podium positions, with Euan 2nd and Tristan 4th, with Simon Kenyon also coming in as 3rd vet. It was a great race for all 9 of the Ful-on athletes, but sadly the home team were too strong on their home soil, leaving us in 2nd place in today's league result. The rest of our fantastic line-up today was: Phil Roker, John Coolahan, Sarah Clark, Fran Hanlon, Frank Burden and Peter Ive. Thanks to all of you.

It's even more important that we win the next London league race - Clash of the Tritons, August 16th - see you there?

Sunday 6th July saw club members competing in no less than six races including the National Age Group Champs (Wakefield), Ironman European Champs (Frankfurt), Cowman Middle Distance, Bournemouth (turned into a duathlon) and Norwich Sprint tri. 
Ironman Germany
Congrats to Richard Staite who scraped in under the 10 hour mark with 17 seconds to spare!
Having hit the wall with about 10 miles still to run, it was apparently the chairman's pre-race words of encouragement that motivated Richard in his desperate struggle to get over the line (rumour has it that Richard was told in no uncertain terms that if he didn’t do sub 10 he would not be allowed to show his face at the club). 
Wakefield
A tough day, made worse by poor weather conditions. Jon Barks did particularly well, actually beating his Windsor time when most competitors found themselves 5-10 minutes slower!

The full results for these races are available on the Results page.

Three races into the series of four and Ful-On Tri's Euan Lees is set to take overall victory having won outright all three races so far.
Also impressive results from Kerry Anley who was first female in both races 2 and 3.  Details of the race results are available on the Results page.