ENERGADE TRIATHLON NOVEMBER 2006.

Energade Triathlon November 2006.
The first weekend of November was the Energade Triathlon. I was down at Hobie beach early, as I thought that the race started at 08.00 whereas it started at 09.00. As I drove to the start the heavens opened up and rain came pouring down. But by the time I got to Hobie it was a perfect morning again. The Sea looked flat and, while there was a West wind blowing, it was not too bad. I did the registration thing and then met up with Ron. Once I had checked the bike into the transition area, he & I went for a Coffee at the Wimpy. Finally the time came for the race to start.

I met up with Mike Webb and Ian Thomson from Achilles. It was Mike’s first Tri. Ian is a good swimmer and was looking forward to the swim. I saw Rob Ermes there. He does well on the bike. Paddy Hogson from Nippers was there. It was also his first Tri. I greeted Rod, the ex professional American triathlete now turned pastor. He has moved back to PE after a stint in Cape Town. Tim, Herman, Tracey and Paula were doing the relay as were a number of the Ironmen competitors. Other Achilleans I saw were Comine & Martin Geirz, Adelle & Mark Hunter Smith, Garreth Jacobson, Heidi Jansen, Chris Gedye, George Scott, Robin Fourie, Davera Magson and Pat Thomson who was not taking part due to a cold.

I was apprehensive but walked down to the beach. The Ladies went off first and then it was the Men. I was soon far behind the pack of swimmers but pressed on. I saw one swimmer (Trevor Hawkins) turn back and another few had to hold onto the safety craft. I was not stressed as I had swum steadily and was soon heading back to shore. With the swells behind us, the return was quite quick. The Relay swimmers came charging past us back markers like torpedo dolphins. I was not phased by this display of strength.

As I ran up the beach, it was good to hear Neil, Rene, Gaynor and other people I know cheering me on. Ian Ross was there. He normally runs these events but had just returned from the Augrabies Endurance event and was feeling flat. I think that I am the only participant who needs a stool to sit on to change my shoes. I am hopeless at bending down or sitting on the grass. So I put out a stool and sit down to change. I was soon on the bike and heading towards Noordhoek. I had started off with Herman but he dropped me like a hot coal. I heard an interesting comment, as I started cycling, about my new vest that I had just purchased. I don’t spend a whole lot of money on Clothing and I bought this vest at my first 2 Oceans in 1986! It is perfect for Tri’s.

I was quite surprised to see that I was able to overtake quite a number of the younger cyclists. The wind was in our faces from the University corner. As I rode past the Back Entrance to the University I saw that the names that I had painted on the road for this year’s Ironman were still visible. The returning riders seemed to fly back with the wind. I was able to lock onto small groups of two or three on the way out and this of course assisted me as I could use them to break the wind. I chatted to Justin who works with Robyn Steyn (MPRG) at E & Y Auditors. He had good things to say about her before he rode away from me. On the way back I rode with one of Michaels school friends, Greg Wallace. Greg was the Hooker for the Grey first team when Michael was in Matric.

One of the real features of this event was the Road Closure. Last year had been a Nightmare as the Ski Boat trailers came past when the cyclists were riding in both directions. I saw Stanford Slabbert in the showers at Summerstrand later that day. He is the councillor for the summerstrand area and I think had a part to play in securing the road closure. He reminded me of the time that Markus Burri had resuced him from a near tragedy when he had got into trouble on his paddle ski and was being washed out to sea.

Once back in transition I slipped my running shoes on and headed out on the run. It is a five kay run to the Summerstrand Inn and back. I find the first kay or two the toughest as my legs feel heavy after the cycle. Once I had a bit of a rhythm I was able to run at a good even stride and passed a number of runners. I enjoyed running on the new cycle track that is being built along the Promenade. This is an initiative of Donald McGillivray and my opinion is that this will transform PE into a sought after destination for active people.

Finally back at transition and the finish we received a cold drink and I packed up my stuff. I must remember to read the rules for next years event. There were all kinds of funny rules such as the colour of the swim cap, do you have to wear a shirt while swimming? etc.

Some of the results were: Raynard Tissink 7th; Ryan Peter 14th; Garreth 48 (2004=1:02; 2005=1:12 & 2006=1:04) . Allan Campbell 77th, Mike Kingston 82 (2005=1:21 & 2006=1:08), Christoff Opperman 105, Davera 110 (2004=1:21; 2005=1:18 & 2006=1:11), Corne Du Toit 134, Jonti Daniel 149 (2005=1:17 & 2006=1:14), Heidi Jansen 186, Butch Oxenam 229, Adele HS 246, Ian Thomson 262, Martin Gierz 275, George Scott 277 (2004=1:29; 2005=1:35 & 2006=1:29), Rob Ermes 275, Peter Giddy 293 (2004=1:24; 2005=1:34 & 2006=1:32), Paddy Hodgson 303, Comine Gierz 308, Mike Webb 310 and Keith Harris 315 out of a possible 339.

In the over 55 category I was beaten by John Jones (64) and Colin McAll (56). In the team event: Robin Fourie and Llewelyn Clack came 11th, Paula Wilson and Roger Oakley were 15th, Tracey Brink’s team were 17th. Greg Scott was 19th, Hermans’s team was 27th, Mark HS and John Offerman were 28th, Alan Taylor was 30th, Viv Bullock came 35th, Tim’s team was 46th and young Greg Wallace was placed 83rd out of a possible 122 teams.

The total of all participants for 2006 was 705 while last year there were 695 in total. I felt that PE had done themselves proud that Sunday morning. The spectator support was excellent, The organisation of the event was pretty much flawless and the spirit of the participants was great. In the individual event 2004=313; 2005=377 and 2006=339. In the team event 2004=84; 2005=109 and 2006=122. I think that one of the main reasons for the drop in numbers for the individual event was the decision of many of the registered triathletes and Ironmen to take part as teams.

Peter Giddy
10.11.2006.