Newsletter - Feb 2024

Newsletter Feb 2024

Chairman’s Update

Dear Tri2O’ers

Welcome to your first Newsletter of 2024! Well done again to Sunil for pulling it all together.

Thanks to everyone who came along to the “Vault” at the Market Place last Saturday for the annual club awards evening. It was so nice to see everyone in real clothes and not lycra for a change!

Congratulations to both our Club Champions and Nominated Award winners for 2023, it was a pleasure presenting you your trophies and helping celebrate your successes and achievements. A full list of the category winners are below.

The main committee had its first meeting in January. We discussed some exciting plans for Tri2O in 2024 with some new and varied club races and events for all members to enjoy. Also a new initiative that will help provide support for new members and encourage new members to get involved with club sessions and activities.

You are in for a real treat with some brilliant newsletter content ; a great article from our Head Coach, contributions from other members of the committee plus a super article from our Multi Sport Club Champion Adam Phillips.

After careful consideration I feel it is time for me to stand down as Chairman at the next AGM. It has been a pleasure and a privilege representing such a great club and working with all committee members over the past 6 years, the club does however deserve a fresh face in the Chair moving forward. 

As a member since 2014 I have personally gained so much in terms of friendships, support and knowledge being part of Tri2O. The last 6 years as Chairman has given me the opportunity to give a little back, we had some challenges with covid and lockdowns thrown into the mix, but I know that the club is now in a really good place for the future with a good membership base and a strong team of committee members.

If any member who may be interested in the role of Chair wishes to have a chat, please feel free to drop me an email chairman@tri2o.club to arrange a call. 

I look forward to seeing you soon or at one or more of the new 2024 Club Championship events later this year.…..

Best Wishes

Mike Nash
Chairman

Membership Update

• Ian Emmett
• Graham Hitchman
• Hannah Evans
• Gareth Preston
• Clare Watson
• Dan Buchanan 
• Max Siddiqi 

Coaches’ Corner – Swim, Bike, Run – What does it mean to YOU?

When I first joined Tri2O, multisport was very much dominated by the familiar format of triathlon: swim, bike and then run. In the winter, duathlon was an option (run, bike, run), with a limited number of off-road (mountain bike) duathlons too. Since then, the number of possibilities falling under the umbrella of “multisport” has exploded. I welcome this wholeheartedly; there really is something for everyone now. I love the fact that we have a lot of members who haven’t done a triathlon for years, or have never done one, or never plan to do one (never say never though).

“Variety and Diversity” is one of the foundation principles for the Yoga Teacher Training course I’m currently doing, and this has encouraged me to reflect on the variety and diversity of opportunity within multisport; if I hadn’t been able to try so many different race formats, I think I might have fallen by the wayside! Let’s look at the options available.

Different distances

Starting at Super sprint (400m swim, 10km bike, 2.5km run), there is a distance to suit everyone: moving up through, sprint, sprint plus, “standard” (Olympic – 1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run), PTO Tour, middle distance (or 70.3), long distance and through to iron distance (3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km run).

For more crazy endurance challenges, some people think doing iron distance races on consecutive days is fun, or you could consider the Blenheim Palace Weekend Warrior event, where you do as many sprint distance triathlons as you can over two days of racing, one after the other.

Different combinations of disciplines

This is where things get really fun. This is not by any means an exhaustive list, but gives you an idea of what’s out there. If it has a GB next to it, this means it’s a discipline/format available for age-group racing at European and World Championships.

• Aquabike – swim then cycle, often run alongside triathlons. Usually standard or middle distance (GB)
• Aquathlon – swim then run, again often run alongside triathlons. Usually sprint, either 750m or 1km swim, followed by 5km run (GB)
• Cross triathlon – off-road/trail versions of triathlon and duathlon (many of the global races are Xterra branded) (GB)
• Duathlon – run, bike, run
• Cross duathlon – mountain biking, trail running
• Winter triathlon – running, cycling, cross-country skiing
• Swimrun – adventure style racing, usually with a partner, combining multiple open water swims & runs, with no transition zones, where you must take all your kit along with you – think swimming in trainers, running with a pull buoy strapped to your leg.

Other forms of adventure racing usually involve combinations of biking, running and kayaking. The famous Coast to Coast on New Zealand’s South Island comprises a 3km run, 55km cycle, 33km mountain run, 15km cycle, 67km kayak, and 70km cycle (total 243km).

There are more esoteric options, not governed by the ITU (International Triathlon Union):

• Biathlon – cross-country skiing, rifle shooting (Internal Biathlon Union!)
• Biathle – running, swimming, running (part of the Modern Pentathlon family)
• Quadrathlon – swimming, kayaking, cycling, running.
• Winter quadrathlon – cycling, running, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing.
• Rowathlon (?! – not sure if this is a real word!) – indoor rowing, cycling, running.

As you can see, there really is something for everyone. Whatever your reasons, whether it be injury, a passionate dislike of one discipline, a desire to play to your strengths, a need for a new fresh challenge and to try something different, I would encourage everyone to consider all the opportunities out there. I believe that this variety is one of the greatest assets of our “sport” (because it isn’t just one sport!), and what keeps so many of us continuing to participate for many years. Interests change over time, and these options stop it getting stale. I also love the fact that we welcome members from so many different sporting and other backgrounds, with different goals and motivations, united by a passion for one or all of swim, bike and run.

Next time you’re at a club event or session, how about asking the person next to you what they’ve done and what they have planned – you never know, you might be surprised and inspired!

Club Captain’s & Swim, Bike, Run officers Report

As a club, we are really proud of the amount of training opportunities we offer – catering to everyone across all three triathlon disciplines.

We really want to use these as both an opportunity to improve but also come together as a club and get to know each other! It also looks cool to have loads of team members all together in the standout orange and black kit (ordering window opens soon!).

The respective run, bike and swim officers talk about the opportunities and plans below, but I’d like to promote three big regular social opportunities:

1. On the first Saturday of every month, we’ll be taking on Tri2O  parkrun in the Berkshire area, with coffee (and maybe cake) afterwards. Keep an eye on TeamApp,  Facebook for more details!
2. When the weather improves, we plan to hold an open water swim session on the third Saturday of every month – again with coffee (and maybe cake) afterwards.
3. For those of you with virtual access, a mid-week social ride will occur every week (usually Wednesday at 6.45pm but subject to change) on the Zwift platform until we can be out and about in person again. It’s an great way to pick up some winter miles when it’s still a bit dark outside!

Hope to see you there!

Tri2O running has a social and race focus. Come and join in on the first Saturday of every month, we hold a Tri2O club event at a local Parkrun. These are a great opportunity for a free 5k run, walk or volunteer as a Marshall and have a coffee, cake and a chat with your fellow Tri2O’ers! Next key dates

• 2 March Prospect parkrun
• 6 April (TBC) parkrun
• 14 April Reading Half Marathon ( great turnout at GutBuster in Dec – let’s see how many Tri2O’ers are up for the best local half!

Run Officer
Edwina McDowell

Aquabike – why?

by Adam Phillips

Those who know me will know that I’m a huge advocate for, and somewhat evangelical about, the growing sport of Aquabike racing. Following an injury and surgery in 2019, and subsequent arthritis diagnosis, the concept of me being anywhere near competitive in the run is nothing more than a pipedream, in spite of the endless squats and lateral lunges. In fact, I’ve not managed more than a dash for the bus since my knee flared up again in June last year. If it wasn’t for discovering Aquabike, I wouldn’t be able to be involved in multisport any longer, and would probably have taken up lawn bowls.

I thought I’d share some musings around Aquabike, and why it may be of benefit to everyone.

1. Inclusion – For me, and many others with long standing lower limb injuries, Aquabike has given us a new lease of life in the sport. Prior to its inclusion in the World Triathlon calendar, we would have been cast by the wayside and forgotten about.
2. Less recovery time needed – Due to both sports being low impact, the physical stress on your body is far less, meaning less time is needed to recover afterwards. Previously, I’ve raced hard on a Sunday and been back in the pool on Monday morning with no impact on the quality of my session.
3. Consistency through injury – Do you have a sprained ankle, calf strain, plater fasciitis? (thanks autocorrect) Aquabike gives you an opportunity to keep the intensity going whilst recovering from these injuries, meaning that you won’t lose the fitness you’ve worked so hard to build up over the preceding months.
4. T1 Practice – We all know that transition is the 4th discipline in triathlon (or 5th , if you count fuelling). Most of us diligently practice our flying dismounts in multiple brick sessions. But how often do we actually practice T1? For me, my heart rate is usually highest in the dash between water and bike, it’s also when I’m most likely to be disoriented. Aquabike gives you the chance to practice this skill, and will help you sail through T1 in your next A race.
5. Getting aggressive with your bike position – You don’t need to run off the bike, so you could sacrifice some comfort in the TT position and get lower into the wind (whilst still actually being able to see where you’re going!) these small changes soon add up!
6. Going full gas – For years I was accustomed to using the bike leg as ‘energy conservation’ for the run. Aquabike is effectively a Time Trial with a very wet warm up. A lot of races are run concurrently with a triathlon, so you’re often likely to have another rider to chase down in the latter part of races.

If this has whetted your appetite, you’ll be delighted to hear that there is a global website dedicated to the sport: https://www.aquabike.world/ on here, you can find races around the world, keep up to date with race results, read previews for the major races, and even find your global age group ranking (I slipped to 20 th last year, due to an injury from running…)
So, perhaps it’s time for you to give Aquabike a tri?

Future Tri2O member

Tri2O Annual Awards

Congratulations to all our winners at the Annual Awards.

• Henderson Award – Pete Gough
• Against All the Odds – Sian Vaughan
• Most Improved – Sunil Fernandes
• Most Engaged Newcomer – Kirsten Sellick

Tri2O Club Championships 2023

• Sprint Triathlon – Sian Vaughan
• Standard Triathlon – Martin Cook
• Middle Distance Triathlon – Teresa Robbins
• Full Distance Triathlon – Andy Tucker
• Multisport Event – Adam Phillips

Club Championships 2024

Get ready to sweat it out! These exciting Sprint, Standard, and Middle distance events will make up the 2024 club championships.  We’ve chosen a curated race list to boost Tri2O participation and foster mutual support at events.  There are races for everyone here.

Members can compete in any of the categories selected below. There is no minimum number of races to qualify for individual titles. Your best Age Group performances will count to decide the club’s 2024 champions.

Sprint: 750m Swim | 20km bike | 5km Run

• 29th Mar – Radley Triathlon (pool swim)
• 06th May (TBC) – Hart (pool swim)
• 09th Jun – Royal Windsor Triathlon  (AG qualifier for 2025)
• 23rd Jun – Oxfordshire Triathlons
• 03rd Jul – Dorney Evening Triathlon
• 01st Sep – Newbury Triathlon (pool swim)

Standard / Olympic | 1500m Swim | 40km bike | 10km Run

• 09th Jun – Royal Windsor Triathlon
• 18th Aug – Oxfordshire Triathlons

Middle Distance | Swim 1.2mi | Bike 56mi | Run 13.1mi

• 02nd Jun – Cotswold 113
• 14th Jul – Cotswold Classic

Full Distance

• Any

Multi-sport

• Any

Dates for your diary

• 02-Mar-2024 : First Sat parkrun – Prospect parkrun (09:00 am)
• 06-Apr-2024 : First Sat parkrun – (location to be confirmed)
• 14-Apr-2024 : Reading Half Marathon 
• 04-May-2024 : First Sat parkrun – (location to be confirmed)
• TBC-2024 : Katie’s Pink Ride. 
• Jun-2024 : Tri2O Famous Fish n’ Chips Ride (to be confirmed)
• 08-Sep-2024 : Reading Triathlon 2024

We would love to hear from you