NB Althorp is the only venue I have ever done an event where they have lavatories instead of toilets.
'On your marks events' were the race organisers and they had several races on at today's event... a 5k run, a 10k run, a sprint duathlon and a standard distance duathlon....I can't help feeling that maybe on this occasion it was a couple of events too many for the allotted marshals and facilities available on the day.
Positives
Althorp estate is beautiful, that goes without saying. The setting was lovely. The routes were great.
The first run started in front of Althorp House, the lovely route was mixed terrain, through an off road tree lined avenue, a churchyard, a couple of tiny villages/hamlets, and off road again on the old carriage way to Althorp house. Two laps for the standard.
The bike was very gently undulating on mostly quiet roads with some great fast riding in places, however one extremely muddy slippery road slowed us (me) down a bit. (Twice, as it was 2 laps for the standard) but we were warned about this at the race briefing so it came as no surprise and other than rider and bike getting absolutely filthy (#dirtyfast) it was no bother if you were careful....however I have no idea what I might have swallowed when drinking from my water bottle....
The final run was one lap of the first run route. It was a bit tougher third time around! The carriage way was tricky, slippery up the middle and grass a bit too long on the verge. Hadn't really noticed that on the first run! #tiredlegs
Conditions were not great, it was unseasonably warm, overcast for most of the event, windy, with a bit of rain. The roads were filthy. I had a bit of bad luck at a staggered junction where I had to wait for a few cars and a really annoying bit where a landrover decided to overtake me on a fast decent, then decided to stop in front of me to let 2 pedestrians cross the road!!!
Having said all that I really enjoyed both runs and the bike. I had a great race. I finished 6th female and 2nd in age so would've qualified for the 2015 Europeans in Alcobendas, Spain, again....it always feels good to confirm it :-)
I did the sprint distance last year and again really enjoyed it, the event was very well organised. However race HQ, transition, plus the start and finish were in a different area of the estate....a big field. There was a butty waggon for food and hot drinks. A marquee for registration, big enough for participants/supporters to shelter in. There was a good feeling of people milling around before and after the race.
Negatives
This year it was lovely to start in front of the house, but the whole area was really cramped. The start waves were switched around at the very last minute...my race was due to start at 9.51, the last wave of the day, at the very last minute it was switched to the first wave of the day..9.45. This resulted in some participants starting in the wrong wave.
When coming in from the bike course, the signage seemed unnoticeable...I didn't notice it as I rode past it for my second lap, and clarified with another rider that we had just past the turn in to the finish and were we on our second lap?. Several sprint distances riders had missed the turn and were coming back in the opposite direction, so I was confused by this at the time before I realised what was going on.
When going out on the second run it was really congested with the sprint distance participants and their families strolling back up the course towards the parking area having finished their race. A couple of times I had to shout out 'runners in both directions coming' as many of the people exiting the venue were taking up the whole path. There were no marshalls pointing people in the right direction or keeping the congestion at bay.
When crossing the finish line it was almost an immediate stop as there were athletes standing around in what was a really small area. There was no marshal or anybody filtering you through to water etc. Nobody taking our chips off. Everybody seemed penned in with no clear way out. Finish times and positions were immediately available from the timing tent though which was a positive but of course this meant a big queue in the finish area. There were bananas and oranges and water, greatly received thank you, and then there was a table full of travel mugs...it wasn't clear if they were for us or not! I didn't take one!
There seemed nowhere to go after the event. No butty waggon or coffee. It was a little bit of an anti climax to what was generally a great event but which was let down by a few key points. I really think On yours marks events need to brush up on a few key points if they intend to host a BTF qualifying event in the future.
After a couple of photos with my friends from our Tri club (Lisa and Rob Hurley) we collected everything from transition and came home.
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| All say 'Alcobendas' |
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