Inaugural Beast of the East was unleashed at the weekend

Race Report by Craig Doyle 

Wicklow is the talk of the triathlon community this week after the inaugural 53 degrees North ‘Beast of the East’ triathlon. To date the Hell of the West was seen as the toughest test for mutli- discipline athletes - well it now has serious competition. Just ask the competitors who swam, cycled and ran around the Garden County on Saturday. 

It all started on a grey chilly morning on Lough Dan when athletes from across the country and the UK took to the water for the 1500 metre swim. There was a strong headwind for the first 700 as well as strong undercurrents - already ‘the Beast’ was living up to its name. Fernando Fuentes of the Wheelworks club tore the field apart exiting the water after 26 minutes. By the time he had ripped off his wetsuit and jumped on his bike, he was two minutes ahead of the chasing pack, headed by Sean Collier.  

The bike section was extremely tough, with a series of gruelling climbs that would have had the most hardened tour cyclists gritting their teeth. It took them from Lough Dan into Roundwood and out to Laragh - 40 kms of pain and pressure on the race leader Fuentes. Collier made up huge ground on Fuentes, putting in an astonishing 1 hour 8 minute bike, considering the course and conditions, it was an exceptional performance. 

In the women’s race, it was all a little tighter after the swim section, but it was Jacqueline O Hagan who dominated proceedings on the bike with Aoife Lynch in hot pursuit. Whilst the leaders battled it out at the top of the field, the rest battled with their bodies and minds as ‘The Beast’ did it best to break them. They huffed and puffed their way up the hills, whilst the spectator’s en-route held their breath as they raced downhill at break neck speed. This sport knows how to thrill racers and viewers alike.  

The weather, as you might expect was as varied as the terrain; gloomy and wet followed by bright warm sunshine followed by stiff winds and more rain – welcome to Wicklow! Thankfully the sun was shining when competitors donned their runners for the 10km run. Fuentes sensed the finishing line, and was unbeatable - but their was quite a battle going on behind him for second place, which Michael Lyons won with an impressive run, beating Sean Collier into third. 

In the women’s race, O Hagan from the Pulse tri club took top place with her club mate Aoife Lynch in second and Pauline Griffin from the Belpark club in third.  A tough course in such a stunning setting is heaven for triathletes and the post race buzz on the banks of Lough Dan was incredible.

Already the Wicklow race is set to be one the most testing and popular fixtures on the triathlon calendar and the hosts, Wicklow triathlon club, and the race director Gabriel Dillon, did themselves and their county proud. One of the sports biggest tests is now in our own beautiful back garden. So, can you tame the beast?

For Race results please click HERE and some of the early photo's can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryue65/collections/72157606269640151/

We also have some great footage from the day so please check out  http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=beast+of+the+east+08+wicklow+&search_type=&aq=f

Thanks again to all who made this a great event and if you have any comments positive or negative please send them to info@wicklowtri.com so we can make it an even better race next year as the Beast will be back!

Ever dreamt of Olympic gold? Ever wanted to know how you would fare against world class Olympians in your sport? Now is your chance…   

As part of the Gatorade Dublin City Triathlon on the 24th of August, an Olympic Dream Relay Team, will race against the clock with Paddy Power donating €1000 to the Irish Cancer Society for every minute that they achieve under an agreed time limit The team comprises of three Olympians 

 10km run leg - Catherina McKiernan (Running: Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 & Irish female marathon record holder) 

So if you know of friends from running/cycling/running/triathlon clubs that would be up for this – please put a relay team together and get involved in a great challenge….   

This is a unique opportunity to compare your race times with genuine Olympians on race day as all relay teams will receive a specialized printout (suitable for framing) of their official splits for your individual team members compared against our Olympians. There is also the added incentive of winning the relay prize – as the Olympic Dream team is only competing to raise money for charity and as such, will not be eligible for great prizes on offer for the winners 

If you are stuck for finding numbers to make up a full relay team – please drop a mail to steven@stevenmoodyconsulting.com and he will assist you in getting touch with other potential relay members.

Well it was another great night on Bray sea front (and certainly a little dryer than the last Aquathon).  With 130 competitors on the night it was going to be a great race and it did not disappoint.  With the Bray festival on in full swing there was plenty of support for the racers and even Mundy decided to turn up and support ;-)  The swim was a good challenge and slightly on the long side approx 900m looking at the swim times, so once out of the swim it was on to the Prom and up towards Bray head with a steep incline which challenged all the athletes especially the second time round.   

So for the results, leading in the men it was again Tim Downing with a blistering swim and run but Darragh Halpenny chased hard and was only seconds behind with Tell Coura running in third.  For the Ladies it was Briane Mulvihill who came home first with Elizabeth Lee in second and Jess Britton from Wicklow Tri coming in third. 

Unfortunately we missed a hand full of athletes and we are very sorry but we did the best we could. Thanks a million to everyone that took part and we hope to see you all for the last one in the series on Wed 20th August 08. 

For full results click HERE 

A selection of photographs are in the Media Gallery, with most of the finishers captured crossing the line.

The second batch of new tri suits have arrived so there are now medium, small and extra small available.  Dominic will have them on Friday and Saturday ready for collection at the race site.

With all the hard work that is going on over the next few days and especially on Saturday during the race it is only appropriate that we take a little time out afterwards ;-) 

So the plan is to meet up in The Woodlands Bar (under new management) beside the South Beach Car Park in Greystones from 8pm where we have a large area reserved.  There will be pub food available until 9 for those who want to eat out and the bar has a late licence.  For those who fancy a little dancing (you now who you are!!) we have the option of heading to the latest dance spot in Greystones the New Greystones Theatre. 

So hopefully we will see you all there. 

WTC Committee

Orders are now being taken for WTC cycling gear for Autum delivery - orders must be recieved by 31st July

It's time to get your orders in for the WTC Winter/summer Cycling gear. We are offering a huge array of options for kit for the winter to keep you nice and warm on those Saturday Spins and some lighter gear for the occasional warm day ;-)

Options are:- Short Sleeve Jersey, Long Sleeve Jersey (both with full length zipper), Winter Jacket (Windtex), Gillet, Regular, 3/4 and Full length bibs and Winter Gloves.

Full visual image of the gear is available (in PDF format) HERE - we recommend you view it to get a full appreciation of colours and for sizing if possible speak to someone in the club who is the same size and has the gear or check out the sizing chart below.

Sizing Chart HERE

Click HERE to download an order form, fill in your requirements, attach payment and send to Dominic O' Hanlon by the 31st July.

There is a 2 month lead time on order, so we need to get orders in by this date at the very latest.

Any Quereis please contact Dominic O'Hanlon at nicolon34@gmail.com as soon as possible.

NO LATE ORDERS OR HARD LUCK STORIES ACCEPTED!!!!

Entries for the 53 Degrees North Beast of the East Olympic distance triathlon are Now Closed and the race briefing is now available on the race website or click HERE

CALLING ALL WTC MEMBERS WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!

We are less than a week away from our inaugural Olympic distance triathlon in Lough Dan. The race is being organised by members of the club for everyone.

The race committee urgently requires your availability confirmation for Saturday 19^th July 2008. In order to run a safe and successful race, we need marshals/stewards on the day and it will only take a few hours of your time – we cannot do it without your involvement. Anyone who has not yet had an opportunity to let us know, please e-mail Edel or Gaby (oreillyedel@hotmail.com or gmrdillon@hotmail.com) asap (before Friday 11^th if at all possible).

Thanks to all those who have responded to date.

The WTC and Amphibian King Aquathon series is due to launch our second race in the series on July 16th next.

Places are very limited for this event and are filling up fast so reserve your place as soon as possible! It promises to be a great event and part of the Bray summer festival, with live screens projecting the race to the bars along the seafront.

Mundy are playing live as part of the bray festival after the race itself so it will be a great show for both competitors and spectators alike!

10th Sporting Proud Ireland Triathlon 2008 

SATURDAY 6TH. SEPTEMBER 2008 - Brittas Bay, Co. Wicklow 

In Aid of St. Catherine's, Co. Wicklow - St. Catherine's is a non-profit making organisation which provides education, training, healthcare and residential/respite care to children who have intellectual and other disabilities.  

Registration @ 9am The event in 2008 will be similar to previous events and will be run in line with the International Olympic standard. Input from previous events is used to ensure operations improve each time; a number of ideas from last year will be considered this year. The event, to be taken as a whole or as a team with members relaying sport-to-sport, will therefore be:  Triathlon –
• 1.5 km swim (slightly under a mile)
• 40 km cycle (about 25 miles)
• 10km run (around 6.2 miles)ational Olympic StandardThe venue will be Brittas Bay, Co. Wicklow(sports are in order of running and all activities are subject to conditions and health and safety rulings) 

For More information please go to  http://www.sportingproud.com/