A welcoming club on the North West of Edinburgh
Knockburn Race Report – 5 September 2021
By CoachKev | Published | No Comments
So here I am again, looking out over the small loch in a pen with the usual thoughts going through my mind, make it through the swim, hopefully no mechanicals on the bike and the run will look after itself. It’s the Knockburn Standard and now the Scottish National Championships ensuring a quality field. A Covid delayed event set just outside Banchory, the purpose built watersports facility offers everything you need to host a triathlon for competitors and supporters, including a cafe, good viewing for the swim, transitions and run and proper toilets!
I arrived the day before and with registration open for a couple of hours it allowed me to tick that box and sort out helmet and bike numbering (no permanent markers due to social distancing). Next was a recce of the bike course, the description planted a seed of doubt of whether it was TT or Road (I had both with me). A single loop of the 3 loops for the event was enough to confirm it was a TT course and spot the one steep but short uphill and double switch back downhill section, gearing and speed sorted for those sections. A quick change into my run shoes for a jog round the run course (two loops of 5k) involving a grass section with a hill, tarmac, a 1km drag up some rough gravel track and down again and then through a small copse of trees with exposed roots, the forecast was good so no trail shoes required but on a wet day would have been required. Finally, a quick dip in the loch to test the water temperature, all good and not cold.
I’m in wave 3 with Dave Smith, Ailsa is in Wave 1, it’s a quick fire start with only a few minutes between each wave. My usual tactics in the swim are choose something relatively central and the second row, keeping a suitable distance between me and the person in front to avoid an early kick in the face! The swim is two loops and involves going round a small island at one end (the usual safety race brief reminded us if you got into trouble on the swim go onto your back and raise your hand, or, alternatively just stand up and the water is only just over 1m deep!).
Once in the water we only have a couple of minutes and we’re off, I try my best to swim in straight lines and going by Strava I appeared to manage that, with the waves all close together it’s not long before you catch the tail enders which is always good motivation. The swim passed without drama with only a couple of bumps into other swimmers, the exit had the usual dizzy stagger to T1.
Nothing to report in T1 which is always good, I always tend to run straight past the bike mount point and beyond any wobbling riders for my flying mount (to protect both them and me!), shoes are already on the bike and it’s always a bit of a faff getting my feet fully in but I justify it by knowing I’m moving while I’m faffing. The 3km lead in to the 3 loops is predominantly downhill and fast with a right turn onto the main course (it’s not closed to traffic so extra care needed), each loop involves cycling 3 sides of a triangle, essentially 1 flattish, 1 uphill and 1 downhill anti-clockwise so all the turns are left-handed. Dave passes me half way through loop 2 with a cheery smile and words of encouragement. Midway through loop 3 and just after the sharp incline my front gear cable snaps meaning I only have the small chainring for the final fast section, it’s only a small disadvantage and with the turnoff and 3km back to transition mostly uphill. Legs feel fine and was conscious of not pushing too hard on the cycle knowing what the run course was like.
T2 also goes to plan other that a small wrestle with my left trainer that must have cost me 5 minutes (3 seconds more likely), I shuffle out of T2 protecting hamstring injury from 3 weeks previously but it feels fine. I pass a couple of people in the first 1km which includes the grass hill, round the tarmac and hit the 1km drag up to the first dead turn and I realise my legs have gone, this is going to be a tough one and more strength of mind rather than body, Dave waves as he heads downhill and I get my first site of Ailsa ahead. I try to run free on the downhill after the dead turn but there is no spring in the legs, some words of encouragement to Ailsa as we pass, the second dead turn and around the football pitch, through the woods, past transition and into lap 2. Everything is tying up now and I focus on a couple of runners in front to distract me, I pass a walker and someone stopped with cramp so others are also struggling. I slowly pass someone who looks like they are in my age group but can’t shake them off, aarrgh!! They pass me as we come out of the trees with about 800m to go, nothing left in the legs and they run away from me. I’m bust as I cross the finish line but met by Dave, Helen, Kirst, Ailsa and a cracking Knockburn goody bag of food.
Knockburn is a great event and very well run in a beautiful part of the country, get it on your list of events to try, just prepare yourself for that run course. And finally congratulations to Dave for 2nd place in his very competitive age-group.
