The reality of the weeks counting down to Ironman Wales is now starting to hammer home for those taking part and the training has ramped up, but still some events taking place.

Ocean Lava Wales - The Wales Triathlon

Activity Wales, again moved their excellent operation up to Fishguard for the running of the Ocean Lava and the Wales Triathlon, with Ironman in the near future, nobody from the club elected to take on the Ocean Lava this year, instead opting for the Wales Triathlon Sprint Race. The distances for the sprint were standard with a Sea Swim of 750 meters, followed by a 13-mile bike course and then finishing off time of 256:07 and an overall time of 1:33:05.

Cotswold 24-Hour Relay

Last weekend saw another slightly different event for members to take on with the Cotswold 24 Hours. Purely a running event and we are well aware of the challenge of taking on 100-mile bike rides, but to do 100 miles running is another matter. The Cotswold 24-hour is a 24-hour individual or team relay race held in the beautiful Bathurst Estate, just outside the town of Cirencester, set right in the heart of the Cotswolds. Now we are well used to heading down that way for the Cotswold 113 events, set around the lakes there, but this is something quite different with the race being run over an off-road 9km mixed course, including forest trails and open tarmac paths. The Tenby Aces entered as a mixed team of five people with Wayne Diggy Duigan, Jake Duigan, Ceire Merrison, Janina Evans and stepping in Ceire’s partner Will Lewis, who is better-known for standing as a great supporter on the sidelines. The aim is to complete as many laps of the 9km course as possible in 24 hours. This is a test of speed, fitness, endurance, mental toughness, tactics and teamwork. Janina got the race underway, followed by the Wayne and then his son Jake, before handing over to Ceire and then Will. The team completed the race in 24:05:04, running through the night which must be a new experience for those involved. And having to go again after taking time in between sessions, when you have cooled down. A very well done to the whole team.

The last week has truly been an international affair with members away in the Netherlands and in France, it makes the two events besides, sound a little less glamorous, but then one of them is the Tenby 10k and we get to run around our beautiful town, then maybe not.

ALPE d’HUEZ TRIATHLON

The Tenby Observer’s own Andy Adamson is certainly pushing boundaries this year, and after his success in Ironman Wales last year, he has taken on some exceptionally hard triathlons with the Isoman recently and now taking on the famous Alpe d’Huez. Now some of you will ask what is it? Well it is a triathlon set in the standard format, just like any other. What is different is the location. It is set in, around and over one of the serious climbs from the Tour de France. The swim is set in the crystal clear waters of Lac du Verney, this is where the magic starts as swimmers are only allowed into the water during the triathlon. Then once out of the water, it is onto the bike of which the course is legendary, with three mountain passes on the programme - the Alpe du Grand Serre (1375 m) and the Col d’Ornon (1371 m),,as well as the climb has 21 switching bends on the way up to Alpe d’Huez, with the views that go along with the climb, which you can’t but admire. Then it is onto the run, which takes place in the resort of Alpe d’Huez and is held over a mixture of tarmac roads and mountain paths, this they have to complete three times. The distances that this is over is swim 2.2km, bike 11km and the the run over 22km. Andy completed the swim in a time of 36:02, the bike leg in 7:08:55 and then following up with the run in 2:49:39, giving him an overall finish time of 10:44:13, an excellent performance on a very tough course. And I must say, Andy you need to learn to take a break after seeing him run the Tenby 10k on Sunday.

IRONMAN MAASTRICHT, HOLLAND

Adam John decided to head over to the Netherlands and take on a different Ironman, and Maastricht seemed like a great course to attack. Unfortunately, the trip did not get off to the best start when his van was broken into. Thankfully nothing was taken, but still enough to put you off your preparations. Back to the race, and one with some significance at the moment having just gone through the recent Brexit decision in the country as Maastricht was were the treaty was signed to bring in the Euro. The swim was a one loop in the Maas River, going around the provincial government building, and then similar to Tenby there is an Australian exit, where athletes have to exit and re-enter the water, and then swim back. The bike course is over two loops of 90k and is based around Maastricht and the Limburg region and Belgium. There is approximately 1,400 metres of elevation on the course. And then the run course is again similar to Tenby as it is over four loops, each of approximately 10.5k, and it is run through Maastricht. Adam completed the course with the following times, swim in 59:33, bike leg in 5:52:35, run leg in 4:45:05, giving him an overall time of 11:47:48, very well done and hope that you will remember the weekend for the race and not for the bad luck before it.

TOWY VALLEY GRAN FONDO

Gareth Rees and Colin Barrett, who are keen to keep the focus on the cycling at the moment, especially for Colin who is leaving triathlon to really concentrate on the two wheeled element, signed up and entered the Towy Valley Gran Fondo last weekend, which had been organised by Cranc Cyclesport. It is a challenging 75-mile course cycling through the beautiful and picturesque Towy Valley. There are some challenging climbs on the route. The course was down to be well sign posted, although Colin still managed to take a wrong turn and go a little further than needed, which is becoming a bit of a pattern for Colin as he was part of the group that went the wrong way on the 200-mile charity ride, there is talk of whether Colin was at the front when the wrong turn was taken that day also. Both completed the course, so well done even if there were a number of extra miles Colin.

Tenby 10k

Last Sunday saw the now annual running of the Tenby 10k, which has become a great event and very well-supported by locals, members and competitors from away, with this year being no exception, and the new entry system this year caught a few people out, myself included, but worked very well and we will have to be better prepared next year. The weather on the day was kind to the competitors and it was great to see so many Aces running, either in club kit or for other good causes, indeed there were quite a number running under different names I believe. The race has become a great event with some excellent athletes taking part, but also some there just for fun, or doing that distance for the first time. The support again on the day was great from the locals for all concerned and showed off how great it is in our little town.