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Meeting 9am Wentworth unless weather is really, really bad. Going up and around Hexham- Warden- Fourstones- Haydon Bridge-Langley- back down to Hexham est 1.5 – 2hrs.
Bring a snack, whatever food you might have in a race and wrap it in a way that can be easily accessed on the go (unlike my slice of cake in a zip-lock bag, impossible to open!) we can practice re-fueling on the go!
Marianne

there is a group cycle on Friday 8.45am from Wentworth a quick blast round the Bywell loop, suitable for intermediate level adult riders but its not a coached session. Marianne

The hetton Lyons Country Park was the setting for the first Junior Open Water swim triathlon. As usual there was a fine turn out of blue and white One lifers, but this time encased in black rubber with day-glo swimming hats. The water was unusually warm at 19 degrees as Bob Hogg and I helped to set out the big buoys with Stu and Philip in their canoes, with lots of nice weed (or salad, as Barry likes to call it). The run and cycle course was already in place as the early bird organizers had been up at the crack of dawn getting it sorted. Pretty soon athletes started to arrive and transition had a quiet buzz of excitement as bikes were set up and wetsuits donned.
T2’s were first off with Abbie- Mae Parkinson first out of the swim in a dazzling 03:32 she must have hardly got wet! Scott McKay was next out and pretty soon wetsuits were flying off and bikes were whizzing out of transition Finlay Robertson put in a sterling effort on both bike and run, even managing some big smiles as he charged round. There were some fantastic One life perfomances from Toby R, Fergus R, Adam T-H, Sean W, special mentions for Dylan P and William B who foyund the swim quite a challenge but never the less brought up the rear in their usual style, enjoying themselves and having fun. The T3’s were off next with Josh Murchie storming the swim with an incredible 3:55 it wasn’t enough to keep off the Harris -Pratt winning machine who managed to claw his way to gold with a strong bike and run. Alistair M-G deserves a special mention for his bike and run legs which showed real style and grit. Big comiserations to James D who mis-counted the bike laps and couldn’t get it back together, we’ve all been there James, you live and learn! The rest of the Onelifers came in one after the other, well done Mark T-H, Rowan P, and George B. At this point I decided to get out of my swim assisting wetsuit and wellies cobo, a great look I think you will all agree and make room for the big Youth category to get in. David Watchorn and Katie Smith were the One Life contingent for this rather awesome group of athletes and fared very well indeed, there were a couple of very original (and not to be recommended) flying over-the -handlebars dis-mounts that got the spectators gasping but luckily no injuries (these young guys just bounce!) with Beau Smith taking the honours for the lads and Hannah Dean bringing in gold for the lasses. It was a very well organized event, with a lovely calm atmosphere, well done Georgie Rutherford and her merry crew of helpers and marshalls! I am hoping some clever soul will post up some photos!

Just a quick note to say well done to the juniors who competed in the Leazes Crits, it was fast and furious and very exciting to watch! Watch out Chris Hoy, here come Mark T-H, Adam T-H, George Bell, Alistair M-G and Rowan P.
Isobel M-G was the lucky mascot.
It took some guts to throw yourselves in there, I was really proud of all of you!!
Marianne

At last the Tarn was deemed algae free enough for the intrepid One Lifers to have a dip. The air was cooler than we wished but the water temperature was suprisingly pleasant (apart from for poor Richard Parker who had biked over and went into the water pre-frozen). There were some first time swims for Matthew Jackson, Charlie H-P, Stu the Canoe,David ‘ketchup nose’ Watchorn and Nick and Jeremy, if I have missed anyone out, sorry!) Colin Hill astounded us swiming without a wetsuit, a which was set earlier on by Sean Wylie who couldn’t resist a second dip after removing his wet-suit (bonkers if you ask me!) The first group juniors took themselves off for a few laps running round the Tarn while the second group agonised over whether a gentle introduction to the water was better than a short sharp submerge.
I took part in the second swim with Barry heading the group, firstly sighting and swimming toward a swan (we decided not to get too close as it had a cygnet in tow) then towards the hotel on the other side of the Tarn. The weeds got thicker and nearer to the surface until we were all steadfastly floating refusing to dangle our legs down incase we got tied up. Ross emerged with quite a lot of pond weed attached to his head which set off a fashionable trend for Weed-hairdos. We then gathered into teams of three to practice side by side swimming back to the landing.
The canoe support crew were always nearby, which was greatly reassuring as always so a big thank you goes out to those guys. The next open water swim should be on 22nd June, all being well, and I fancy incorporating some sort of a cycle into it, if anyone else is interested? Marianne