Pembrokeshire Quadrathlon - 1st September 2007

800m swim / 38k bike / 10+k kayak / 10k run

Report by Dave Astins

This was my first foray into the bizarre, but entertaining, world of quadrathlon.  Such lunacy was only prompted by my inability to raise a Tri Club men’s team for the Team Challenge….

Three club members had thrown their hats – well kayaks – into the ring for this one and given that there would no doubt be some stiff competition from away, my focus was on doing battle with Merv & Dr Dick.  Merv had completed the quad the previous year, and had come a close second in very challenging conditions.  We’ve also had some very close triathlon races this year so I thought I had a chance if I could match him in the kayak – usually just about reeling him in during the run.

My first battle had been to locate a kayak that I felt would “get me ‘round” – having not kayaked “properly” before (sit-on-tops only) I was therefore delighted when Ian Hipkins agreed to loan me a sit-on-top with a fairly pointy front bit (I think it’s the bow? The front end anyway).  Not quite a racing sea kayak or a K2 which was needed to be competitive, but exactly what I needed to enable me to take part – cheers Ian.

A few test paddles around the course in the 3 weeks leading up to the event (each time one lap of the two required) had given me some confidence, though my quickest lap had been around 39 minutes – two of them was going to be a challenge!  However, one paddle with Dr. Dick in his ‘proper’ kayak borrowed from Clair Davies (incidentally Merv borrowed one from Clair too!) actually gave me hope that my sit-on-top wasn’t that inferior in terms of speed and it was more down to the paddler, i.e. me!

On to the race and it had been timed to coincide with a spring tide.  This was fine for the first 375m of the swim upstream with the rising tide, but after the turn – what a nightmare.  Apparently the fastest swimmer (Merv was second) took 4 minutes to swim up to the first buoy, and 12 minutes to swim back, which gives you an idea how fast the tide was moving, even just 30 minutes from being high.  At one point I realized I wasn’t making any progress, and lost about 30m in about 5 seconds to a guy who came up on my inside who obviously missed the main flow I was battling against.  The weaker the swimmer the harder it was – many were battling just to stay still.  I managed to get out in third place but with nearly 20 minutes on the clock going onto the bike, it had been a lot tougher than expected.

The bike was as expected, a course most of us had ridden several times in training.  I lost a place, and another 2 minutes to Merv, but was pleased with getting back and onto the water in 4th place.  A little frustrated at having to stop and give way to cars twice, but that’s life.  Things were about to change for the worse though….all I can say is that the kayak section was an ‘experience’.  Not only did I slip from 4th to 9th, and not only did it take over an hour and a half, but I had been so good at not capsizing in training that when I capsized less than half way around the first lap, in the middle of the main channel, it was a bit of a shock to say the least!  Looking back at it scared me more than it did at the time, and luckily I stayed calm and got myself (and my camelback and my paddle) back onboard (at the second attempt!).  I was off and paddling again within a couple of minutes, just as the safety boat arrived to see if I needed any help.  It was reassuring to know that I would have been rescued had I needed it!

Coming around to complete the first lap of the kayak was at once a great and awful feeling - – paddling within a few metres of people cheering me on was positive, but I so wanted to stop and get out, I really was tired and had enough!  Anyway, never wanting to admit defeat, I ploughed on and towards the end actually had Merv in my sights.  Alighting on dry land almost brought me to my knees in a sort of pope-kissing-the-tarmac kind of way, and I was pleased my legs still worked OK after spending that long in the kayak (the first time I’d spent 45 minutes in the kayak in training I’d fallen over with a leg that had gone to sleep when I tried to get out!).

Finally the run and I’m pleased to say that I felt quite good once I got going – turning in the fasted run split of the day.  In hindsight I went off too hard as I caught Merv by 2.5k, which woke him up a bit and after striding side by side to around 6k, he had that bit extra left to open a gap and deservedly pip me to the line – I think 12 seconds gap by the finish is no more than a pip though!!  After being mashed up a bit by the swim and a tough kayak, Dr Dick completed the event in 11th place and with a smile on his face.

See you at the quad next year???  Maybe……

Results for our members follow:

Pos	Name	Swim / T1	Bike / T2	Kayak / T3	Run	Total
4	Mervyn Williams	18:28	1:07:16	1:34:55	40:07	3:40:46
5	David Astins	19:59	1:09:06	1:32:24	39:29	3:40:58
11	Richard Thompson	32:12	1:17:39	1:50:17	43:50	4:23:58

Full results can be found at:  http://www.onlineraceresults.co.uk/quad07.htm