Isle of Man Triathlon Championships

With my parents living on the Isle of Man I’ve been threatening to do this event for a few years now, and our diaries finally aligned so I signed up for the Olympic event. There was also the option for a sprint with either a 750 or 400 meter swim, and team events. Annoyingly I did my ankle in at the July aquathon, two days after signing up, so I wasn’t sure how I’d get on in the run, but I’d had time to recover.

Registration was on Thursday, when I was in the boat feeling sorry for myself 🤢, or Saturday afternoon when they were setting up transition, which was fine. Lovely bunch of people, the guy with the registration kit was a bit late so I helped out with setting up until they arrived.  There was some nice swag in the registration pack – water bottle, buff, and a bag to put it all in (See picture above).

Race day dawned cooler and less windy than the first couple of days on the island, perfect racing weather.

Bike racked and transition set-up, we were waiting for the all important water temperature announcement (I was worried about being forced to wear a wetsuit, everyone else was worried about not being allowed one). Luckily, at 20°C, we were all happy, although I did manage to talk one local out of wearing theirs.

The swim is in a shallow sea-water lake, which is why it was so warm. Really good visibility and loads of canoe support for those who needed it. This was my first mass start event since pre-pando times, and I’d forgotten how nice it is to start at the back of the pack and pick the odd swimmer off. But as all distances started at the same time I was caught and passed by a couple of sprinters, not a problem in a huge lake. The extra buoyancy from the salt water must have helped as I was 2 mins faster than usual, one less reason for a wetsuit!

T1 is just a short walk from the swim exit, where I had a sit down while I dried my feet and put on my shoes and socks – I still refuse to engage in competitive getting dressed – and headed out on the bike.

The bike starts easily, heading north along the coast road then there’s a right turn on to the loop. 5km in, there’s the only significant climb 700mtrs at an average grade of 4%, with pitches at 12%. The rest of the course is gently undulating and generally fast. The second lap went really quickly.

Coming in to T2 I got stuck behind a car that couldn’t decide where it was going, but a marshal got them out of the way for me.

I tentatively set off on the run and I was surprised to find my ankle was totally fine, not sure it was a nice surprise! 4 flat laps on the run did feel endless and I was constantly going backwards, but the marshals were really supportive and I just kept on keeping on until the end finally arrived.

I finished in 2:50:13, taking five minutes off my previous best for a standard distance event. I even picked up a couple of spot prizes – one for being an ‘off island’ competitor (towel and a cap), and one just because (some Troq gummies).

A really well organised event, with friendly and supportive people from Manx tri club. I highly recommend doing an event with them, they had five events this year, including a junior tri, relays and a middle distance. I’d also recommend the Isle of Man for a cycling holiday, ok the weather isn’t that reliable, but the roads are generally better than around us and the drivers are much safer than they are here on the ‘big island’, as they refer to us!