Bowood House Sprint Triathlon.
It was a lovely romantic gesture from Ian Robson to his wife Becky, both members of SIDMOUTH Running Club, saying he would be taking her out to the beautiful Bowood House in Calne, Wiltshire for the day.
What he had forgotten to tell her until the last minute was that he had entered both of them into the Event Logic Sprint distance Triathlon taking place there for the fourth year.
The Sprint comprises a 750 metre lake swim, followed by a mile uphill run to the transition area where competitors race to climb out of their wetsuits onto their bikes. The 21k fast bike ride around the estate begins with a few technical corners and hill climbs to enjoy before the descent on each lap. Returning to the transition area once again the competitors change into running shoes for the 5K hilly but scenic run around the stunning gardens and waterfalls.
Ian and Becky have been competing here since the event started in 2013 and have watched it grow over the years. Both were competing in the 45-50 age group. There are quite a few rules within the sport with a penalty of disqualification if you forget them so it keeps you focused.
Becky who had not been doing a lot of triathlon training lately had a storming event and a big surprise when it was announced that she had come first in her age group with split times of swim, 00:15:40, bike, 00:48:22, Run, 00:28:13 with T1 & T2 a combined time 0f 1:38:50.
Ian held his own coming 8th in the age group with splits times of swim, 00:15:36, bike, 00:40:40, run, 00:27:05 with T1 & T2 a combined time of 1:29:27.
Becky is hoping that their next day out together will not be so energetic.