Celtman
2013 Race Report
Well it was a long journey getting
here…over a year of training as much as a job abroad and a young family will
allow. Then the actual trip up to Torridon which was stunning. Scotland really
is one of the most beutiful countries in the world.
This was the view that greeted us! Not bad
is it. Slightly scary but stunning.
Anyhoot, my team and I were going full
luxury and decided to use a motor home and stay in the local campsites which
were perfect. We stayed at Torridon Thursday, Shieldaig Friday (swim start was
near there) and Torridon again Saturday post race.
Showers and toilets provided and just a 5
mins drive around the loch was the Torridon Inn which does the best chicken and
haggis I have ever had. Oh and some nice beers to settle the nerves before the
race J
We came up Thursday night and regd on the
Friday and did race briefing etc.
Here
I am on my way to reg and behind me you can see the stunning loch Torridon.
Race day arrives, we bimble our way down to
the coaches after a small breakie:
I’m sat on the coach and suddenly remember
that I am very stupid and that I don’t have the little electric tag I need so,
in my crocks and wetsuit ,I run the fastest 2 km I have ever done to the other
end of the village to find that all the officials have left! I think that I
have missed the event and screwed everything up! I get back to find that my
brother has done a Tiananmen Square and stopped them leaving and that the tags
have been brought to the bus!! Phew, so now sweating like an elephant seal in a
sauna I relax on the bus and try to find a happy place to be. Drama number 1
taken care of…Thanks Ed for stopping them! Arriving at the swim is very strange
as it’s a scene I have been watching on youtube for a year! Wow I’m here and
this really is happening!! I meet up with my mate Angus and he is just as
nervous as me. Photos are taken and off we go…first thoughts…damn this is
really very cold!! I have never
ever attempted to swim in water this cold! The weather is rubbish and the tide
is pulling us out…to not beat about the bush basically I have a horrific swim.
I shout at myself in the water and finally manage to get to the shore and see
the funny side of how stupid this whole idea was!
I’m a pretty good swimmer so I wasn’t
worried about this section but I paid the price for underestimating it! What
should have taken me less than 55 minutes takes me 1 hour and 7! T1 is very
funny as I can’t use my hands and all of my clothes stick to me. Bike gloves
don’t go on and my brother has to work hard to help me get into my kit. But
finally off we go:
I soon settle into a decent rhythm with a
strong tail wind and I’m flying. Loving it and trying hard to stay calm and not
get carried away. I really enjoy the first 100k or so but when I hit the big
hill and headwind I suffer, I look around and I am still over taking so I
realise its not just me. At the top of the hill I meet up with my super support
team and they give me the good news that I just did the big hill!
How things change quickly in the hills of
Scotland. The rest of the ride is truly horrific and I have to work very hard
the whole way. I haven’t dropped many places so am thrilled to be where I am
which is around 27th overall.
Somehow I make it to the end of the bike:
My team help me change and get on my way
again. The whole atmosphere is great in T2 and everyone is pumped. I push
myself as fast as I can all the way to T2A as I want to get there within the 11
hour limit so I can get a blue t shirt! I make it with 30 minutes to spare so
am pretty thrilled. That is then destroyed by the news that due to the terrible
weather the mountain is closed! My moral crashes and I want to quit. My brother
comes running up to me ready to roll and tells me it will still be wroth it,
white t shirt doesn’t matter, its Celtman and its supposed to be damn hard. Can’t
tell you how close I came to throwing in the towel but thanks again to my great
crack support team I am on my way. The low course is not easy! Firstly we climb
a hell of a trail and my legs hurt but I start to pick up my spirits and think
about the end. The track isn’t really a track and we end up throwing ourselves
across a bog and rock covered landscape which actually is tough going but
really fun.
My brother gets me back to the road and we
actually run back to Torridon. I finish in a time of 13:41 and am thrilled to
have done it. I cant quite describe the feeling but its really amazing. My body
is used but my mind takes over and everything seems great. A few pints of beer
and my mind gives up Bed time!
Summary
Loved this event. Hardest thing I have ever
done. Loved the format of having your own support team. Loved the number of
other competitors too. Really great atmosphere and organisation! The mountain
rescue guys are incredible and the support from all the other support teams was
great.
The weather only added to the ”extreme”
part of this event and made it more special. In the end the Celtman guys and
girls decided to give some of us Blue T shirts as we made the cut off which I
was surprised about but very happy about too.
Thanks so much for a great day I will
always remember. Thanks also to my support team David and Ed who made the whole
thing great. Congrats to Angus Bateman who used this as his first ever long
course tri! Nutter.
For anyone thinking of doing this event DO
IT! I may well come back one day! It’s a tough event but I couldn’t think of a
better place to do it. Get up there early on, get into the atmosphere and enjoy
the build up. Train like you would for an ironman but just add in hills, lots
of hills and swim in cold water at least a few times first! Also, run off
road…its mostly off road so get used to it. Read the race info and DON’T FORGET
TO PICK UP YOUR RACE CHIP!!!
