The Woodhorn Triathlon returned after a Covid-induced hiatus in 2020. A number of Tyne Tri athletes turned up, with Angela winning the Sprint Aquathlon, a cracking finish for first-timer Holly and a tough day out for Scott.

After a cold, wet period in June and July, I was certainly glad to see some hot, sunny weather coming in July! We had a few people at their first Woodhorn including myself (Scott) and Holly. Chris and Bella couldn’t make it, unfortunately, after being pinged by the Covid app to self-isolate (boo!) With some help from my mother, I was able to give Holly a lift up, where we bumped into Angela who was doing the Sprint Aquathlon. Dave Bell was also up supporting!

Sign-in followed the usual Covid-secure routine: 2m distancing, alcohol gel, self-collection, etc. Everything was well-organised—nice work Tri Northumberland and VO2Max!

The sprint competitors were off at 4pm sharp, the standard distance was about 4.25 and the aquathlon distances were between that. Holly was 12th out the water for the sprint distance, with Angela last out for the sprint aquathlon. Not being the best swimmer, I came out the water in the standard tri some way back. My aim was to try and get under 30 minutes, squeaking in at 29:54.

The bike leg is Holly’s weakness but she still finished the lap in a respectable 50 minutes. Angela put in a fantastic turn of 48 minutes on the bike, putting her in first place overall for the sprint aquathlon with a final time of 1:09:03! The bike is normally my favourite discipline, and today was no exception. There’s something about putting power down on a hot day that invigorates the soul. Unfortunately, it didn’t last and a stomach issue I’d been carrying all week reared its ugly head in the final stretch through Cresswell and back to Woodhorn.

The final leg saw Holly putting in a solid 30 minute run (6.4k) for a final time of 1:36:48 and a 5th women’s finish! A fantastic first attempt! I can’t say I matched it as my stomach issues got worse in the run. Despite Dave’s and Angela’s cheers, my pace faded quickly and I was in survival mode. I finished the 9.6k run in 53 minutes for a final time of 2:47:15. Still a PB but let’s just say I needed a week-long lie down after that!