Gusting wind, heaving swell and occasional bursts of heavy rain – the elements threw it all at 600 hardy competitors at the British Middle Distance Triathlon Championships last Sunday, won by Fraser Cartmell and Nikki Bartlett.
In the men’s race, last year’s winner (and Scottish Long Distance Champ) Cartmell left the water 90secs off the leader, but managed to wrest the lead during the bike. An impressive run delivered gold for Cartmell in 4:16:22, who was followed by Peter Fenwick and Colin Norris.
“It was really tough today – the conditions were really challenging,” said Cartmell afterwards. “The swim was cold and choppy and more like the sea than a loch or lake. I’ve done this race four times and the bike ride never gets any easier. You’re climbing almost straight out of transition. When you’ve done that, you’ve still got 13 miles of hard running to go. I was pleased with the run, though – it felt good."
In the women’s race, Nikki Bartlett left the water nearly 7mins behind leader Gillian Stokes, but she battled back on the bike. She left T2 90secs behind the leader Caroline Livesey, then put in a strong run to finish in 4:49:41, around 30secs ahead of Livesey. Third place was taken by Jennifer Stewart.
“To be honest I’m a bit shocked after that swim that I’m British Champion,” said Bartlett. It was a mentally tough day but I’m glad that I got through it and got the win.”
For full results head here.