Race date: Saturday, 8 September 2018

Race report by Adam Newell

[This was the 74th event of “Nasser 94”, the Newell family’s epic 94-event fundraiser in memory of their grandad. Find out more at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/nasser94]

Event 74: Buttermere Triathlon

What was thought to be a gentle sprint triathlon following the previous weekend’s half Iron man, actually turned out to be an Olympic distance trail triathlon. It pays to read up on the races you enter. Anyway, early on Saturday morning I found myself making the way into Crummock Water for a very cold mile swim. Lovely and crisp would be polite way to describe the water. One circuit and I managed to leave the water in 18th place and made my way across the field to the bike. The bike course has to be the most scenic and spectacular route I’ve ever had the pleasure to ride. The hills were really tough, going up Whinlatter and Honister was the hardest I’ve taken on in a race, but was totally worth it for the views. Onto the run: a nice smooth road run it was not. Trail running at its best going around Crummock Water on the boggy fields, wooden bridges and narrow footpaths, dodging tree branches and climbing over rocks. It was certainly a challenging route but I still had enough in me for a sprint finish. A finish made all the more interesting when a disgruntled chap shouted at me for overtaking him with 100m to go “I’m going to get you. I’m 50 years old and I’m still going to get you!” Needless to say when I crossed the finish line I ran straight to my wife to avoid any further dialogue with this chap. 3h54m total time and a race to remember for a long time. I would strongly recommend this race if you like a bit of adventure. Check out the video on YouTube for the course. https://youtu.be/9DO51VxwXyQ

Striders result