Nenagh Triathlon Club

The third North Tipp Sprint Triathlon took place recently. The event was held in perfect conditions on a glorious spring day. A total of 250 triathletes and ten relay teams had entered for the triathlon last February. This year, the race was also part of the national triathlon series, where competitors amass points that go towards an aggregate total at the end of the season.

 

The race began in Nenagh Leisure Centre with a 750m swim, or thirty lengths of the pool. Next was the 19km cycle, which took the triathletes out the Dublin Road, turning right at Knockalton and onto the Thurles Road. Cyclists proceeded out to Ballinamona Cross where they turned around and returned to the Leisure Centre via the same route. Last was the 5km run which went out the Dublin Road, turning left onto the Cloughjordan Road and left again across to Rathnaleen. Racers then headed back in towards the town, continuing up Summerhill to finish on the track in the CBS.

 

The Leisure Centre was a hive of activity from early on Saturday morning as club members made final preparations for the event and triathletes began to arrive for registration. For many people, this was their first triathlon experience and after weeks and months of preparation pre race nerves were evident. The first wave of swimmers entered the pool shortly after half nine. As the swimmers exited the pool, low early morning temperatures had given away to sunshine. There were seven waves in total, each going off at regular intervals of half an hour.

 

The race was won by Conor Murphy from Portadown, who finished in an excellent time of 1:00 for the course. The first female home was Elena Maslova from Dublin. Her time of 1:08 also saw her take eleventh place overall.

 

While most club members were involved in the marshalling of the course, there were a few local racers who performed very well. Michael Browne was the first Nenagh person home in a time of 1:11, collecting the annual trophy for his efforts. Darren Scully and Sean Gleeson were returning to compete in the event again this year and both can be very happy with their races.

 

Three club members were making their triathlon debuts. Keith Horan, Eoin Woolley and Ken Hassett had been training well and this was reflected in the race where the three new triathletes performed well. Other locals competing on the day included Paddy Harrington, Sile Keogh, Claire O'Sullivan, Mark, Shane and Pat Ryan, Ciara Gaynor, Marc Cunningham, John O'Donnell, John Fallon and JP Gilmartin. As the final competitors crossed the finish line around half one, competitors and organisers could reflect on a successful day all round.

 

Organising a triathlon is a major undertaking and the club would like to thank all the people who helped along the way. Over forty marshalls were needed to ensure safe passage of all racers around the course. Club members were only too willing to help out before, during and after the race but a special thanks must go to people not associated with the club who generously helped out on the day.

 

The club would also like to express its gratitude to sponsors and businesses that supported the event in various ways. These included Tipperary Water, Healthyme.ie, Sportsman's Dream and the Abbey Court Hotel. Thanks also to the CBS and Nenagh Leisure Centre for the use of their facilities. Finally, thanks to the Gardai for their help during the race.