Glorious sunshine greeted participants at Dorney Lake for the Shock Absorber Women Only Triathlon this weekend as more than 1,000 ladies took part in the event, including Sporty Spice, Melanie C, who took part in her second ever triathlon and is a supporter of the Human Race Women Only series.
Melanie C added a touch of girl power to the sprint distance triathlon as she completed the 400m swim, 21.2km bike, 5km run in a time of 1:20:03. Melanie got off to a great start completing the swim in a swift 8:49. After a good transition she completed the bike course in 46:55 before finishing with an extremely strong 5k run which she sprinted home in a time of just 20:47.
One of the highlights of the day was the challenge relays which saw 18 teams take part with ‘Team Aussie Buddies’ crossing the line as eventual winners in a time of 1:43:02 over the 800m swim, 31.8k bike ride and 7.5k run course. Also popular was the sprint distance mates wave which 66 teams took part in. This is a new addition for 2013 and allows mates from different age groups to race together.
Charlotte Saunders came out on top in the Challenge distance race which included a 800m swim, 31.8km bike, 7.5km run. Charlotte completed the swim in a time of 14:52 before having a storming 54:57 bike. The well-practised transitions and 25:40 run time brought her across the line 1:37:55. Charlotte who was the runner-up in last year’s event, was followed by Carolyn Hewett (1:40:31) and Helen Mussen (1:42:52).
In the Sprint triathlon (400m swim, 21.2k bike, 5k run), it was Vicki Abberton who crossed the line in a time of 1:07:07, a full 3 minutes clear of second place Emily Chong who came home in 1:10:09. Vicki and Emily were neck-and-neck over the swim and bike course but it was on the run that Vicki took that extra edge. Overall third place went to Sandra Barden who finished in an impressive time of 1:10:51.
In the Novice distance race, which saw ladies compete over a 200m swim, 5.3k cycle and 2.5k run, Amelia Ballinger took home the spoils in a time of 28:09. Amelia had an extremely strong swim finishing in a time of 3:32. She completed the bike course in 10:57 before a run of 11:32 that brought her across the finish line first. Second to Amelia was Susanna Whitefoord who finished in a time of 29:37 with Kate Gibson taking third place in a time of 30:56.
For more on Human Race visit www.humanrace.co.uk
