REP Firle Half Marathon & 10k now online

Photos of the Raw Energy Pursuits Firle Half Marathon and 10k are now available online. Click here to go directly to the pictures : http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=460zev2

Once again the team from Raw Energy Pursuits had booked the good weather for the Firle Half Marathon and 10k events. Held in the grounds of the Firle Estate with the course climbing up onto the South Downs this is challenging and scenic event.


The day was well supported with over 430 runners taking part with plenty of local club vests on display. Greeting them at the finish, a sports drink and shoulder bag, with massage available, Cliff bars on sale and Countryside Catering providing much needed bacon rolls and cake for re-fueling.


First to get underway were the runners in the Half Marathon followed 45mins later by the 10k


The Half Marathon was won by Robbie James from Lewes A.C beating last year's winner into second place.

Matthew Eade of Seaford Striders came home first in the 10k to retain his title for this event.


After the winners prizes had been presented there was a prize draw for all those who had put their race number into the pot. As you can see there were tons of prizes to go round and it was a good excuse for people to stay on a while after they'd finished the race and swap race stories. It also stopped the second half of the field from feeling left behind as there was good atmosphere and support for everyone as they came in to the finish.



Once again a another well organised event from Mick, Steve, Nigel and the rest of the Raw Energy Pursuits Team, the last for 2009, and we look forward to more in 2010.

All the photos are now available, simply follow this link to the gallery page http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=460zev2 and enter your race number in the search box at the top of the page, or browse through the pictures.

See you out and about at another event soon !

FGS Extreme Terrain Festival photos now available

Photos from the For Goodness Shakes ! Extreme Terrain Festival are now live. Click here to view the photos: http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=advzev3

Runners, riders and swimmers were greeted by a misty lake and the promise of warm weather on the MOD training area at Hawley Lake for the 2009 For Goodness Shakes! Extreme Terrain Festival. With a record entry field and some 6 different events taking place it promised to be a great day of cross country racing.


The finish scene was set and it was time for the action to begin.

First race of the day was the Extreme Terrain 10k (XT10) a challenging cross country 10k run across heathland, woodland tracks and fire tracks.

William Clark took the front right from the start and held on to win in 35:40 closely followed by Adam Przedrzymirski who finished in 35:45.


Then with the bikes all racked and the last of the mist clearing from the lake, it was time for the duathlons to get underway.

First off was the Extreme Terrain Duathlon Sprint (XTD Sprint) one 5k lap of the run course, followed by 12k on the bike, then topped off with another 2km cross country run. Here's a quick video of them getting underway.








Elite athlete Sam Gardener, was well supported on the day as he won the XTD Sprint by a clear margin.


In the Extreme Terrain Duathlon Full (XTD Full) Jim McConnell (285) was the early leader and maintained his lead to finish some 7 mins ahead of a strong field.

Paul Davies running into transition during the XTX Full to finish second overall.

Out on the bike course there was plenty of water so those without a swim didn't feel left out!


First into the lake were the athletes in the Extreme Terrain Aquathon (XTA), followed closely by the triathletes.

After the 1.5km 2 lap swim in the lake, local athlete Stuart Boswell of Farnham Tri Club heads out of transition to start his 10km run and finish overall in 10th place.

The last two events of the day were the Extreme Terrain Triathlon Sprint and Full Distances (XTT Sprint & XTT Full)

First out of the water and onto the bike course in the XTT Full was Cedric LASSONDE, who went on to finish second overall, with Tim McDowell beating him to first place.


And there were plenty of smiles at the finish from those completing the triathlons.

And a big thumbs up for everyone who competed during the 2009 For Goodness Shakes! Extreme Terrain Festival organised by All About Triathlons .
The post race For Goodness Shakes ! Drinks and free hot dogs helped with the recovery and the event technical T-shirts were popular.


Congratulations to all who took part and to the organisers for putting on a great event. No doubt some of you are already looking forward to the 2010 Extreme Terrain Festival, but if you're looking for another event by the same organisers this weekend, then why not go for the The Orientator. Click here for more details. http://www.allabouttriathlons.co.uk/events_orientator.php

Now it's time for me to sign off and for you to view your pictures from the day, we've over 14,000 so you should be there. Click here to go straight to the event gallery and enter your race number in the seach box at the top of the page. http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=advzev3

This weekend I was mostly Triathlon

So, what did you do at the weekend ?

It is the timeless question of work colleagues over the first cuppa of the Monday morning.

Did you see the grand prix?, watch the footy, the 6-0 drubbing, any of the cricket ? some of the Golf, or the Rugby ? Stade Francais only managed a draw 9-9 if you're wondering.

Hell no, you were out there doing it, you're not some couch potato (ok, you might have made it home for the Grand Prix).

Now back behind the desk after another summers fun in the sun (how long can it go on for ?) you're probably reading this by email and thinking, "hmmm. This weekend I was mostly triathlon".

Good or bad triathlon doesn't really come into it, and only you can judge the circumstances for yourselves. Perhaps you were more 10k ? or Half marathon ? a Wedding ? Whatever you were up to - brilliant ! Make the most of it whilst it lasts.

So for ourselves, it was Extreme Terrain Festival, (here's a peek at their Finish line flagging)

a Wedding, The Firle 10k and Half Marathon (here they are running away off to the hills)

and the Inaugral Hever Castle Triathlon.

This is where the lady of the lake appeared to King Arthur., Or it was the Hever Castle lake at about 7.30am on Sunday. You decide. It was misty, it burnt off just in time for the start. The Swan wasn't to pleased about things.


A mixture of new event orgainers and experienced alike all benefitted from some of the best Autumn weather we are likely to get:

• All About Triathlons did their stuff at the Extreme Terrain Festival at Hawley Lake

• Raw Energy Pursuits took over the stately home that is Firle for their races

• and Telemark Productions put on their first ever Triathlon at Hever Castle for the Princes Trust.

The joys of a well signposted finish line greeted everyone at Firle on Sunday:

Did you win a prize ?



Results from the various events are still in progress but provisionally they are here, or going to be:
Extreme Terrain Festival Results (are up)
Firle Running Festival - 10k and Half Marathon (nb you should be getting these by email)
Hever Castle Triathlon (expected here)

So now you're back behind the desk, what to do ?

Well, if you're waiting for the photos, or want to have a quick look - then just like you we're sat at a desk going through the 45,000 pictures we've taken across all three events and sort them all out.

What ?!?!? yep, we cataloge them all by race number to make it easy for you to find them, and also take out the gooners and out of focus pictures. There is no automatic way to ensure only quality pictures are put on line (sure there are some automatic ways to post rubbish galleries up, but we don't use them - pride in our work and all that). Also a special thanks to Mark at Champion Chip / FRSystems.co.uk for the finish line numbers from Hever Castle.

45,000 images is roughly 100 man hours, split over three people - that's going to be 33 hours work each. For some of you - that's the whole week ! for us it's got to be about two days. We work hard for you ! and it saves you time. I'm working hard now - look !!!

So, sit back, chill out, bask in the glory that was your personal victory (feel free to point out how fit you are to your colleagues), perhaps do a little work ? and then - when you want to see your photos - click on the links below, and they will be there, just as soon as we have cataloged and indexed them... check on the event page to see when they are going to be ready, and if you haven't registered for this blog news - use the sign in box on the right (if you're reading this on the blog page), and you'll get a blog email just as soon as they are ready:

• FGS X Terrain Festival 2009 Gallery
• Firle Half Marathon and 10k 2009 Gallery
• Hever Castle Triathlon 2009 Gallery

Or of course, you can follow our Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKSportPhoto and get the mini-info updates that way...

Well done to all of you taking part at the weekend wherever we saw you, and I look forwards to seeing you all again soon -

perhaps at the Orientator next saturday or the Clarendon Half Marathon (or full marathon)?

TTFN, and see you racing later...
Anthony

(Henry Gr8 and AnneB were the first to cross the finish line at Hever.)


p.s Gez - you're still the best

What did you do then ?

It's the last weekend of summer. Well it must be according to the weather forecast, as surely it can't go on any longer.

With air temperatures dropping in the evenings now if it gets above 16degC then it's officially "warm and pleasant" to be doing sport. Saturday and Sunday therefore are perfect conditions for a nice triathlon or half marathon.. I'm hoping that my achillies sorts itself out soon as I'm itching to run at the moment and swimming isn't the same.

The past week and weekend ahead has been a busy one, with me covering a third wedding in as many weeks (and last one for the year!) and the fun that is Sevenoaks Triathlon safely onto the gallery, as well as the Ditchling v Sussex Sharks Cricket (their last victory of the year - don't mention Nottingham and relegation) safely in the bag (and now online - click the link below), it's a weekend of triathlon and half marathon.



If you are still wondering what to do ? with the last gasps of beautiful weather the only local option really is the Firle Half Marathon, or 10k - up onto the downs and around and back down. Fantastic views from the top and a lovely estate to start and finish in. Click on the link below for that one - Raw Energy Pursuits do a lovely event.

otherwise http://www.sussexraces.co.uk/ has for Sunday a Bexhill 10k on offer or the St Peters and St James Hospice charity race listed as something to do in Sussex...

Both the triathlons on saturday and sunday are fully booked out, the XTF is touted as the largest off road triathlon of the year in the UK with over 800 entrants this year, and the new Hever Castle triathlon has over 1000 entries on Sunday - the first time a triathlon has been held in the lake and grounds around Hever and the Kent roads. The Princes trust is the headline benficiary from this event so hopefully they will be able to expand the series around other castles and counties of the UK.

Archiving frenzy: I will also point out to those long term subscribers - we are going to have a large cull of events to make space for this weekend on the gallery, so if you can see any events from May or June still showing on the gallery (and there are a few) don't get caught out - as tomorrow is likely to be the last day to view and order. Archive reloads take more time and therefore more money than original gallery loads so save yourself some money and time and please order them whilst they are still available...

Here are some quick links for recent and the next future events :

Hever Castle Triathlon 2009 - Sunday fully booked

Firle Half Marathon and 10k 2009 - Sunday - places still available - click here for details

FGS X Terrain Festival 2009 - Saturday fully booked Races and events you might have competed in recently and be interested in having a look at, and perhaps ordering your copies :

Sevenoaks Autumn Tri 2009

Victory 5 mile 2009

Ditchling v Sussex Cricket 2009

So whatever you do this weekend, here's hoping you get out and about and to enjoy the weather as much as the people we're going to be watching - and hopefully - one of them will be you !

See you out there soon,
Anthony

The Sevenoaks Autumn Sprint Tri 2009

As the mornings draw out and the evenings draw in, the end of the triathlon season is upon us once more.

The annual end of season burn-up that is the Sevenoaks Autumn Triathlon has produced yet another great event, whether it's your zillionth time on this course or your first, everyone seems to enjoy the experience there.

With slightly non-standard distances on the run you're never going to set a standard sprint tri PB, and certainly not with the hills on the bike course (or the Run for that matter) - if you want PB - go flat - go to Dorney lake ! Here it's about the taking part, the personal challenge, the righting of previous wrongs in April, and the last ditch effort to set a marker for the years achievements that was the 2009 season. Also the chance to win a computer seems to keep the assembled attention for the prize draw at the end - a computer, a holiday or a wetsuit, some watches, gatorade, ForGoodnessShakes, the list was thankfully not endless, but it seemed like it !

Your super sponsors were (left to right): Acorn Recruitment, Opus Network Services, and Sevenoaks Computers:

Here's a potted event summary in pictures:

THE most important job of the day - coffee for the marshals and volunteers. So strong you would have failed a drug test if you'd been competing. Thank you 7Oaks tri - I needed that after four hours of broken sleep.

Always keep a cheerful face on the events in transition, and help people navigate the maze of racking to their bikes...

Not even 7am and it's off for a bike ride in your swimsuit - it was so dark the start had been delayed 10 minutes, it took until about 8.30am until I turned the flash off on the camera.

"I've seen some things in my time as a ref.." said the Triathlete from Ashford masquerading as a Race Referee recounted tales of valour in transition after he'd had a second cup of Java..

The cycling was hard down on the heels and off around the course

Plenty of support at T1 and T2 - the hub for the crowds and support until the Finish line:

Grand Master Gez Tours the Transition and course ensuring all is well:

Turned the wrong way at transition ? Don't limbo the racking, especially not *right* in front of the race director... (I think you got away with it!)

Karen Ayers from Crystal Palace - now an Ironwoman, and *so* not the same person I met all those years ago at Worthing Tri on her first one !

Go Dad !

Exit of T2 and it's off for a run in the park...

There was an interesting debate at the club photo at the end - was Club kit compulsory or not ? According to the detailed instructions the chief marshal was the only person allowed to wear his Hi-Viz jacket, much to some discussion and debate on the front row...

Did you get your free recovery drink ?

A great turnout and anticipation for the race prizes and the raffle (only for those who competed on the day and remained at the end to claim !)

And what did the finish line photos look like ? - well go to the gallery and have a look !:

The gallery is here :
http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=19izeue

Well done everyone and don't forget to get your April Entry in as soon as it's open...