Well done to Delcan Long who ventured over to Valentia Island triathlon the weeekend before last.
Race report below:
I was down in Kerry the weekend before last (11th May) for the Valentia Island Sprint Tri.
Arriving at transition on the Saturday morning we discovered that the rumours of the past few weeks had come to pass – the swim was cancelled (for the first time in the events history). Water temperature, wind chill and sharks were the reasons being bandied about. It was a huge disappointment having spent a few months looking forward to it as well as having traveled a fair distance down. With a flat 3k run substituting for the swim there were groans and relief in equal measure. Transition itself was a melee of confused athletes wondering what to do with all the gear they had brought and pondering where to spend the next 2 hours. The nearby hotel bar, lobby and staircase proved a popular choice with a great display of club colours and skintight clothing not too unlike an average Saturday night.
Strong warnings regarding the strength of the winds on the back of the island were given at the race briefing. After splitting ourselves into waves based on estimated finishing times we were off, the waves 1 minute apart. It was an almost pleasurable 3k out and back which is more than can be said for the first 5-6k of the bike leg. Although it was uphill and quite draining it led to a long rolling straight along the back of the island where both the wind and the view threatened to take your breath away. A few winding, downhill turns brought us into a fast 2nd half of the bike leg where the Kerry weather decided that some driving rain was what was needed.
A frenetic transition followed as most tried to get a good start on the 2.5k uphill. The usual feeling of running on someone else’s legs lasted longer than it should have. A fast 2.5k downhill followed but I’d already lost quite a bit of time slogging up that hill. 1:16:29 overall, about halfway down the field with what felt like a good bit of room for improvement. I’ll definitely be back next year in the hopes that the swim goes ahead. Well organised, with very friendly marshals, an encouraging crowd and some of the most spectacular scenery you are likely to see. The atmosphere in Knight’s Town that night was great, as were the pints (there needs to be considerably less of them for the improvement to happen).