Members from Aycliffe Tri Club travel far and wide for competitions and 3 of them going went to Nottingham on Sunday 29th May. With 6 months training behind them to get them ready for the start they began their epic adventure on the road for the middle distance tri event know as The Outlaw. Holme Pierrepont.
The race consisted of a 1.2-mile lake swim, 56-mile bike ride and a half marathon run. For Penny Johnson it was her second year running and although she had lost training through injury, she was delighted to knock 36 mins off her previous attempt.
She was spurred on by raising money for her local primary school, in Aycliffe Village, where she is a teacher. Her finishing time of 6.03.26 placed her 7th in her age category out of 46.
Tracey Warrior and her partner Stuart Rimmer had stepped up to the middle distance for the first time. The weather on the day was overcast and the lake was choppy but they both proved strong swimmers leaving the water in only 40mins.
The bike section was windy in the first 20 miles, but the return leg allowed the triathletes to race to transition ready for the gruelling 13.1 miles run. The 2 lap run course was a tough challenge but supported by their own cheerleader Diane Savage, the team was encouraged all the way to the glorious red carpet finish.
Stuart was delighted to see the finish and whizzed across in 6.08.30. Tracey was amazed to smash her personal goal of under 7 hours achieving an outstanding time of 6.24.06 placing her 13th in her age category.
The triathletes train regularly with Aycliffe Tri Club and if you would like to try some thing different check out the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/aycliffetriclub/