Hawick Come & Tri

I hadn’t managed the best pre-race preparation for the Hawick Come and Try having been at a school reunion until the early hours of the morning the night before, and feelings of being ill-prepared increased when I realised I had been seeded fastest in the pool. No pressure there then.

The swim went off OK, and I managed to be first out of the pool and onto the bike course with a decent headstart. However, the pre-race recce had not prepared me at all well for the course which was much hillier than expected and I struggled a bit on the first serious climb. As I ground up the hill the ultimate male winner shot past me which did not help.

Return back in to Hawick didn’t go too badly despite a reasonable headwind with one other male cyclist passing me just as we came back in to the sports centre. As ever, I struggled badly on the run, but managed to maintain 3rd position – and first female – all the way round the course until with about 20 yards to go the eventual female winner cruised past and I just could not hold her off. Final position was 4th overall and 2nd female home.