I was not expecting more than a handful of athletes to attend today after the biblical levels of rain overnight, but I was happy to be proved wrong as we had 21 starters in the end and everyone got round the bike course unscathed (and although there was plenty of water on the course, it wasn't actually raining).
With the conditions as they were I was also not expecting the Open Category course record of 32:58 to get toppled, but both Louis Ansfield (our winner with the new record time of 30:04) and Ric Hill (second in 31:11) managed to get under that time. Third place went to John Poole who clocked an excellent 33:10.
In the women's category, Sharon Coultart and Karen Tang were pretty much level after the bike leg, but a quick transition and a strong final run-leg saw Sharon claim first place in 40:37 while Karen was only half a minute behind, finishing second in 41:10. Third place on the podium went to Lottie Sims who finished in a time of 42:34.
Heavy rain on our rural-lane course often means more likelihood of punctures and this time round it was Mark Wilkinson who was unlucky, though fortunately he was still able to finish in a decent time.
Thanks to the marshals and others who managed to snap a few pics of the race which are now in our gallery at https://ukgallery.srichinmoyraces.org/Bristol/2024/Autumn-SwimBikeRun-Mini-Duathlon/i-CGpHxsH.
Thanks to everyone who made the race happen, hope to see you at our 3 Duathlons, Try-a-Tri Triathlon or Eastville Park runs next year!