On Sunday 22nd September Wight Tri members Alan Jones and Daniel Morgan travelled to a Wet and Windy Weymouth to Compete in the Iron Man 70.3 middle distance triathlon being held in the Seaside town.

The event comprises of a 1.2 mile swim in Weymouth Bay, it’s then onto a 56 mile cycle through the undulating Dorset countryside before finishing with a multi lap 13.1 mile half marathon run up and down the sea front.

An early start, with a long walk to the start, saw Alan and Dan passing many people still out enjoying the Weymouth nightlife! Arriving in transition 45 mins before sun rise gave them plenty of time for last min checks of their kit and to be ready for the race. it was during this time an announcement was made that the swim would be shortened due to safety fears with the conditions in the bay. This can often happen with late season triathlons that have sea swims.

Entering the water first, just before 8am, Alan had a great swim completing the single lap in 17m51s. Not far behind Dan finished in 18m27s. Conditions on the swim appeared to be much better than anticipated and most competitors felt a full distance swim could have been completed.

Onto the bike course, the wind and rain that was forecast in full effect now. The course is a single lap that’s very similar to Island riding. Lots of up and downs around country lanes. The elevation profile shows you’re riding up hill for about 40 miles with the final 16 coming back down again. Dan was back first off the bike, passing Alan around the 45 mile mark and completing the course in 2h47m22s. Alan finished the bike in 2h50m41s.

Fortunately the sea front run was flat and the rain stopped about the halfway mark. Unfortunately the wind had got stronger and when the sun came out it was hot. Both Alan and Dan ran well, Alan passing Dan at 4 miles to complete the half marathon in 1h46m45s. Dan finishing 6 mins back with a run of 1h54m38s.

From the 2500 people who entered, 2000 people finished. The tough conditions on the bike taking their toll on people physically and their bikes mechanically. The road side was a constant stream of people with punctures or damaged bikes from crashing. One person was seen peddling with only 1 crank arm, another competitor ran 6 miles of the bike leg due to a mechanical!

With a total time of 5h04m03s Alan finished 276/2543 over all and 36/225 in the 40/44 Age group. With a total time of 5h10m08s Dan finished 349/2543 over all and 41/225 in the 40/44 Age group.