A large contingent of Knox Tri Club athletes were seen at last weekends Great Train Race against Puffing Billy.

Spotted running the gruelling 13.2km course from Belgrave to Emerald Lake were, John (Coach – not the train type!), Tony R. , Deano, Rachel, Bec, Yolande, Jana, Heather, Cam, Neville, Enzo, Darren P., Brendo, Caitlin and Gael.

Caitlin was having a last hit-out before heading off to the USA in a few days time.

Fine weather conditions were a recipe for success with some notable time’s and achievements by all concerned.

It is believed that at least two male runners beat the first train and final results are pending for our lady runners against the second train.

Hopefully, we will see more runners at Coach Mal’s run training sessions on a Thursday night to see more Knox athletes “beat the train” next year!

KTC Coaches

Now the 2007-2008 Triathlon Season has concluded, we can take some time to reflect on achievements of athletes within the club.  Two of our own have accomplished themselves to a high level by taking out 1st series places in their respective age group of the premier Gatorade Triathlon Series. Darren Hardstaff raced the tough 35-39 age group with 2 race wins and 3 second places to top his age group by a clear margin. In the competitive 45-49 age group, Tony Kolb achieved 2 race wins and 2 third places to also win the series.  Congratulations to both Darren & Tony for their great racing and for holding high the Knox Tri Club banner.

KTC Coaches

The 2008 Ironman race has been run & won and all eight of our intrepid Knox athletes completed the gruelling 3.8k swim, 180k cycle and 42k run on the Port Macquarie course.

Two gallant athletes placed in the top 100 overall with times below the magic 10 hours! I am sure there will be some tales to tell when they get home, but for the record here are the latest results:

Niall Mai, 9:48:34, 66 place
Glenn Tournier, 9:57:13 96 place
Scott Bisset, 10:34:05
Paul Legg, 10:40:55
Glenn Coller, 11:36:37
Andrew McKenzie, 11:54:03
Dave Leversha, 12:11:04
Michelle Goodwin, 14:51:01.

Next time you see Dave, ask him how many Ironmans he has completed now? Congratulations go to both Michelle Goodwin & Glenn Coller for completing their first Ironman in the immortal words of Mike Riley You are an IRONMAN!

Only two races on over the weekend that we are aware of with some success in both.

A very hot day at both Cape Patterson and Brighton with minimal wind early on although the wind did pick up at Brighton as the morning rolled on. Not enough to really affect the standard of the race when you consider the conditions of the previous 4 races. A limited number of club members raced but those that did all had an enjoyable time with a number of podiums and positive achievements.

Cape Patterson, which was going to be well attended, ended up with only one race, Matt Currie, the owner of Cycling Obsessions who after having only just finished Ironman New Zealand in a blistering 9.59 put in a big effort two be second overall. Lucky for Matt another new member of the club Brad Campbell was away. I am sure Brad would have given Matt a fair race after finishing New Zealand in 9.08 and being twelth overall and first age grouper finished. Brighton had a few more starters with the big news that the tide turned in the friendly competition between Andrew Bisset and Chris Legg. After many races Andrew has finally got the better of Chris. Word has it that the long swim and the improvement in Andrews riding was a bit much for Chris. Although not one of his better races Chris still managed to be third overall in the series. Dazza again put himself on the podium with a strong performance with his usual strong ride and run combination. Racing was a last thought this week but I am sure he was pleased for the efforts.

Darren Pocock again raced well but as he admits the swim makes it hard. Darren rode and ran well but as the swim gets longer so does the gap between the leaders. Darren, its all a matter of spending time in the water with our coaches who are happy to help. Just keep at it or you could be embarrassed as a young Pocock was out on course in the kids race and swam like a fish. One of the older blokes of the club managed to toe the line for the first time this season just to remember what it was like to have those nerves. And yes, as you get older the nerves are still there. A podium finish removed some of the pain at the end.

Only two girls hit the water. If you are at run training you will generally see these two running together. Heather and Isabelle spend a lot of time running and pushing each other and I am sure that this is helping both on race day. Heather had a strong race in the Mini Tri with a time of 46 min., while Isabelle had her first race outside of the Weetbix. She is already planning next years season of racing in the mini tri series with a request for a race bike that fits.

Happy Training. KTC Coaches

Knox Member off to the Worlds... Congratulations to perennial Age Group triathlete, Tony Ruddick on his selection (two years running) to represent Australia at the 2008 World Olympic Distance Championships in Canada.

The event is held together with the World Sprint Championships over the 5-8th June in Vancouver, Canada. We all wish Tony well for his race and look forward to hearing about his experiences with the Aussie team!