CORPORATE IRONMAN ALLY GIDDY APRIL 2008.

CORPORATE IRONMAN SATURDAY 12TH APRIL 2008.


Saturday morning we all went down together and racked the bikes. We had t-shirts made with the team Clarendon Park name on. These looked good on our youngsters. It was a slightly overcast day. Ally & I did not wear wet suits and lined up at the back of the swim field. There looked to be about 500 competitors this year. Waiting for the start gun is always a nervy affair. We had felt the water and it was a little chilly but not too bad.

Ally took off at a run and once through the surf was soon ahead of me. I saw her looking back once or twice. I heard later that she was worried about me but decided to press on. It is quite tough swimming in a big group like that. I was really not fit enough but managed to stay alive and a swim of 380 meters only takes less than ten minutes. Lee Collier was next to me swimming backstroke for much of the way.

As we had rounded the second buoy I had more space and was able to swim freely and came out of the water feeling strong. Barbara told me that it was quite a sight to see a 10year old Ally coming out of the waves next to these big men in wet suites and well in the first half of the swim field.

I am not fast in the change over and put on my socks and cycling shoes and exitted transition. I knew that Greg would be ahead of me so rode as hard as I could to catch him. It was not long before he was just ahead of me. He was riding an old mountain bike and I decided to stay with him. The wind was blowing a slight south Westerly. It is an 18kay cycle and when we turned we had a drink and were able to pick up the pace a bit.

As we reached the Humewood golf course I left Greg as I would have to change shoes in Transition while Matthew would be able to run as soon as they had transferred the ankle chip. I had a good strong run and once I saw that Matthew was just behind me I half waited for him. He came in just behind me. It had been a great event and we all really enjoyed taking part. I am sure that the children will want to compete as individuals next year.

Results of some of the people that I recognise. Unfortunately the results do not give names of individuals in teams.
Total teams and individuals was 451
Men individual: 150
Ladies individual: 68
Men’s teams: 108
Ladies teams: 24
Mixed teams 84
School teams: 17
The first in did it in 53 Minutes and the last competitor did a 1:56minutes
Donald McGillivray was 14th 1:03
Graham Richards: 39th 1:10
Peter Schwartz: 105th 1:24
Peter Giddy: 107 1:25
Warren Collier: 109 1:26
Trevor Hawkins: 113 1:27
Margie Saunders: 4th 1:07
Gail Paton: 19th 1:16
Petra Browning: 36 1:27
Lee Collier: 56 1:33
Hannelie Bakker: 59 1:37
Clarries Diamond Team: 15th 1:24 (Grade 7’s)
Clarries first team: 17th 1:26 (Grade 5’s – Ally Giddy; Greg Kotze & Matthew McGillivray) This team was placed about 416 out of the 451 teams and individuals. Note that the minimum age for this event was 12years and our team consisted of 10 and 11year olds.

Emails regarding the Photo’s that Cheryl took:

Dear Cheryl

Thank you for the photos of the Clarendon Park children at the Corporate Ironman that you sent through. I passed the message on to Mr Lones. He said that he was at the finish and that the children looked smart in the corporate Clarries shirts.

He was also pleased to see that there was another Clarendon Park team taking part.

Thanks again for the photos.

Regards
Carol

Good morning!
Thought we would send you some pics of three Grade 5's who completed the Corporate IronMan Challenge on Saturday morning. Ally Giddy (swim) Greg Kotze (cycle) and Matthew McGillivray (run). They did so well and we are very proud of them!
Regards
Cheryl Kotze