Woodhorn Museum Triathlon, 9th July 2022

Julie Cross is the latest Claremont Road Runner to turn her hand to triathlon. Here is her report:

“I like to dabble in triathlon, it gets you out of your comfort zone in a different way from running. I’ve done the event at Woodhorn Colliery before, with Team Claremont Ladies (aka Sarah and Mandy) and once before on my own.

Cracking setting and an event big and varied enough to be lost in… to some extent. It was billed as suitable for beginners & seasoned triathletes alike and I would agree with that. All of the marshals were super friendly and encouraging at every stage. But my goodness, there were some serious athletes limbering up and racking their bikes, a touch overwhelming. The event was also a European Championship qualifier, which explained why some folk had come from as far as the Isle of Wight. Yikes ?.

I really enjoyed the actual event, it feels less pressured when you are giving something a go, even when it is actually tougher than what you normally do. What’s to lose? 750m swim in QE2 lake, 24k ride via the coast, 6.4k run…. Just the sprint. Game plan was simple if there was one: swim to get round safely,ride hard, time hard. Encouragement at every stage from marshals.

I’d do it again but would now like to try something more low key. “

Julie finished in 295th place in a time of 1:43:14. Well done!