The North Norfolk coast is one of the nicest parts of the UK with beautiful flint cottage villages speckled across the coastal countryside. Every time we have visited this year, the weather has played ball and this weekend did not disappoint.
Last year the guys and girls of OSB knocked it out the park on their first hit. They put on such a fantastic event that I took no time in deciding that i was coming back for 2nd helpings this year.
With a few refinements they managed to take it up a notch again this year. The biggest change from my point of view was the introduction of an elite wave. Last year I was first across the line and had a 14 minute window of being the champ, until Reece Barclay crossed the line and pushed me off the top step (the bastard!).
This year with all the big hitters in one wave, everybody would know where they stand and what a stacked field it turned out to be (despite the last minute withdrawals). Mark Threlfall (Would have been my pick for the win) & Reece Barclay choosing not to defend his title opened the race up a bit as those two would have most certainly been fighting for the podium.
It was one of the strongest domestic middle distance line ups I've raced in. It was like the unofficial national middle distance AG champs with lots of athletes sniffing at the £1500 prize money for breaking the course record.
Looking at the line up before I was telling myself a top 5 here would be a good result and if I could beat my time from last year I would be very happy. But more importantly I was racing for the prestigious unofficial award of ‘King Of Cambridge’. Since Lucy Gossage has abdicated the crown of Cambridge, it was going to be like an episode of Game of Thrones with all the main players in the race. Outlaw Holkham was set to be the battleground for establishing the pecking order;
James ‘Quadziller’ Gill - The Wiley Veteran, Kona Athlete, Swim daemon.
Andrew ‘Monster’ Diplock (Dippers) - Monster Middle Champ, General all round beast
Barney ‘Not Harry’ Palmer - Young Gun, The up and comer, got some great results this year already.
SWIM 28:46
It is quite a hard swim to navigate. The lake has a gentle curve in which combined with a low lying morning sun, means it is easy to lose your direction and you have to concentrate to make sure you are on the right lines. I did not feel like I was swimming that well and the front swimmers shot off which soon left me in no mans land, but with the experience of doing the race last year I picked a cleaner route with less zig zagging. The same cannot be said about the lead swimmers who took a wrong turn at a buoy and lost a bit of time. That Dr James Gill all muscle and no brains!
BIKE 2:24:22
Upon leaving the water I could see Dippers just in front of me. Knowing how close I was to him made me feel a lot better about my swim. He did not have a great swim for his standard, but it filled me with confidence. I jumped him in transition (standard) while he was drying his hair and putting his make up on. I rode hard out of T1 as I was going to need to squeeze the most out of my legs on the bike to get a good result today. Dippers caught me after 10k or so and came past hard. I put my foot to the floor to stay with the pace and if it wasn't for taking a few corners aggressively, I would have had to let him go. We caught Sam Begg (4th last year) and then Ben Webeck joined us. Once we established that we were all fairly even the pace settled. Once again I had a front row seat to see the ‘Matt Bottrill Express’ come steaming past. Dippers tried to go with him for about 5 seconds. I actually laughed out loud watching him attempt it.
It wasn't until 70k or so when the fatigue took its toll that it all broke up. Ben Webeck put down a hard pace on the tail wind section. I just put my head down and tried to stay as aero as possible to stay with the pace. I was getting worried that I would get to the end and be very short of matches for the run! It seemed Dippers forgot to bring his match box. It wasn't going to be his day.
RUN 1:21:20
I got off the bike in 11th place, but was now into my home territory. Unlike Nottingham a few weeks ago where my legs felt fresh and springy in Holkham I almost had to stop in the first 1km as my quads were cramping up. After the first drinks station they loosened up and I could begin the chase. My first target in the hunt being a certain Dr Gill. Now James Gill runs like a muscle bound orc from Lord of the rings, but he cannot be underestimated (he pulled out a 3:25 marathon in Ironman Wales!) I caught him on the first lap and knew as long as I did not blow my doors off the ‘Iron Throne’ would be mine! (that reference is not going to mean much if you don't watch Game of Thrones). I knew crossing the line in first was out of reach, but there was other battles to be fought for. Simon George was on my mind I had locked horns with Simon George before, last year i only just caught him in the closing miles. We are polarised athletes with him being front loaded (swim/biker) and me being rear loaded. We chatted before about the buffer he would need on the run it turns out he needed 8min and 35sec he only had 6min 03sec.
Overall 4:16:56
I took 2min of my time from last year and broke the old course record, but 4 guys broke it by more with Craig Twigg leading it home in style. That guy is a monster! I’m pleased with my performance will have to up my game if i want to crack that new course record!
Well done to two of my athletes who also competed at Holkham. Ed Lewis (4:57) Paul Forester (5:40). Its a pleasure to share your journey and help in your progression.