It’s beautiful, atmospheric and up there as one of our favourite races. But now the Slateman Triathlon has got even tougher for next year with the edition of a middle-distance option on 19 May 2019. And entries are now open for the new 70.1 Legend Distance here.
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The new Legend distance consists of a 1.9km swim in the chilly waters of Llyn Padarn, a 90km bike route through the heart of the Snowdonia National Park and the unique 21km run on Llanberis’ slate quarry trails and Padarn Country Park.
The 2019 edition of the Slateman is expected to draw over 1,500 triathletes to Snowdonia in May, with over 5,000 spectators likely to descend on the event village and surrounding routes.
The Slateman Sprint and Duathlon will take place on the Saturday, with the Classic Slateman and Legend on the Sunday. There’s also the Slateman Savage option of doing the Sprint on the Saturday and the Classic on the Sunday.
The Slateman will kick off the Always Aim High 2019 Adventure Triathlon Series 2019, followed by the HIGH5 Snowman from 27-28 July, and the Superfeet Sandman from 14-15 September.
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Entries for the 2019 Slateman Sprint, Classic, Savage, and Legend distances are now open. More info on booking your place are here.
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Another year, another formidable performance from Daniela Ryf at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. The Swiss star made it four consecutive wins in Kona today and, in doing so, matched Chrissie Wellington’s victory count in Hawaii and smashed the course record. And this included a nasty jellyfish sting on the swim that made her consider quitting after the swim leg.
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After breaking the swim course record, Britain’s Lucy Charles would finish second once again, and in doing so would produce the second-fastest time in women’s Hawaii history.
CHARLES STRIKES FIRST
British interest in the women’s professional event was largely centred on rising superstar Lucy Charles (head here for the elite men’s race report featuring David McNamee, Tim Don and Joe Skipper), with the Essex athlete targeting a victory over three-time champ Daniela Ryf after her second place Kona elite breakthough in 2017.
And Charles would prove utterly dominant in the swim leg of the women’s race, with the British athlete leading from the start and all by herself for much of the duration.
She’d exit in 48:13mins, under the course record of 48:43 from 1999 (and in the overall top ten fastest elite times of the day), and hit the bike with a 2min margin over the chasing field and around 10mins to Ryf, who was stung by a jellyfish in the swim under the arm. A message to the three-time Kona champion had been delivered by Charles.
#IMWC @LucyAnneCharles out of the water in with the lead followed by @lb_brandon +2:53, @TeresaJAdam), +3:45, Hele @helle_f +3:48, @sgroffy +3:52, @Liz_Blatchford +3:55, @Rachel_McB +5:50, @JoceMcCauley +5:58 and and @mbkessler +5:59. pic.twitter.com/dxG3wDll2j
— IRONMANLive (@IRONMANLive) October 13, 2018
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By the 90km stage of the bike, Charles’ lead over Ryf was 8mins, with the Swiss athlete having risen through the field to second place. Brit Corinne Abraham was in fourth. Some 20km later and Ryf had chiselled Charles’ advantage down to 7mins, and this theme would continue for the duration of the bike course.
Update: @danielaryf Has again brought down the gap. It’s now just 3.03 just pass Mauna Lani in the QK heading back to town.
Another year, another formidable performance from Daniela Ryf at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. The Swiss star made it four consecutive wins in Kona today and, in doing so, matched Chrissie Wellington’s victory count in Hawaii and smashed the course record. And this included a nasty jellyfish sting on the swim that made her consider quitting after the swim leg.
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After breaking the swim course record, Britain’s Lucy Charles would finish second once again, and in doing so would produce the second-fastest time in women’s Hawaii history.
CHARLES STRIKES FIRST
British interest in the women’s professional event was largely centred on rising superstar Lucy Charles (head here for the elite men’s race report featuring David McNamee, Tim Don and Joe Skipper), with the Essex athlete targeting a victory over three-time champ Daniela Ryf after her second place Kona elite breakthough in 2017.
And Charles would prove utterly dominant in the swim leg of the women’s race, with the British athlete leading from the start and all by herself for much of the duration.
She’d exit in 48:13mins, under the course record of 48:43 from 1999 (and in the overall top ten fastest elite times of the day), and hit the bike with a 2min margin over the chasing field and around 10mins to Ryf, who was stung by a jellyfish in the swim under the arm. A message to the three-time Kona champion had been delivered by Charles.
#IMWC @LucyAnneCharles out of the water in with the lead followed by @lb_brandon +2:53, @TeresaJAdam), +3:45, Hele @helle_f +3:48, @sgroffy +3:52, @Liz_Blatchford +3:55, @Rachel_McB +5:50, @JoceMcCauley +5:58 and and @mbkessler +5:59. pic.twitter.com/dxG3wDll2j
— IRONMANLive (@IRONMANLive) October 13, 2018
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By the 90km stage of the bike, Charles’ lead over Ryf was 8mins, with the Swiss athlete having risen through the field to second place. Brit Corinne Abraham was in fourth. Some 20km later and Ryf had chiselled Charles’ advantage down to 7mins, and this theme would continue for the duration of the bike course.
Update: @danielaryf Has again brought down the gap. It’s now just 3.03 just pass Mauna Lani in the QK heading back to town.
He’s done it! Patrick Lange and Daniela Ryf may have taken the Kona 2018 crowns but the prize for sheer determination, guts and mental resilience has to go Tim Don for his remarkable comeback following his horrific and near fatal accident last year, which resulted in a fractured neck.
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A picture that says a thousand words, so so Happy to finish the 2018 @ironmantri Kona World Championships today
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Daniela Ryf’s record breaking performance saw her take victory for the fourth year running, proving herself to be one of, if not the greatest female triathlete of all time, while Patrick Lange smashed the 8 hour barrier, winning in a record time of 07:52:39.
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Kona 2018: How all the emotion and action was captured on social media
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Ironman World Champs 2018: Patrick Lange is the King of Kona
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Ironman World Champs: Daniela Ryf smashes Kona record
Launch Gallery
Daniela Ryf’s record breaking performance saw her take victory for the fourth year running, proving herself to be one of, if not the greatest female triathlete of all time, while Patrick Lange smashed the 8 hour barrier, winning in a record time of 07:52:39.
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Kona 2018: How all the emotion and action was captured on social media
Ironman World Champs 2018: Patrick Lange is the King of Kona
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Ironman World Champs: Daniela Ryf smashes Kona record
Launch Gallery
1. 1st male overall was Patrick Lange (GER) in a time of 7:52:39, who broke his own course best set in 2017 of 8:01:40.
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2. 1st female overall was Daniela Ryf (SUI) in a time of 8:26:16: swim 57:26 (struggled with a jelly fish sting), bike 4:26:07 and run 2:57:05, breaking her own course best set in 2016 of 8:46:46.
3. The fastest male swimmer was age-grouper Jan Sibbersen in a time of 46:29, breaking the previous men’s record in Kona of 46:41 that had stood for 20 years, held by Lars Jorgensen. Jan’s bike split was 5:12:51, his run 4:26:24, for a total time of 10:37:33.
4. The fastest female swimmer was GB’s Lucy Charles in a time of 48:13. She averaged 1:15mins per 100m and in doing so set a new female course record, beating Jodi Jackson’s 1991 record of 48:43. She also finished in the overall top-10 fastest elite swim times of the day.
5. Fastest male bike split of the day was set by Cameron Wurf (AUS), a former pro cyclist and rower turned Ironman competitor. He improved his Kona record to 4:09:06 (26.98mph) from the 4:12:54 he set in 2017. His other splits were: swim 50:51; run 3:06:18, for a total time of 8:10:32.
6. Fastest female bike split of the day was set by Daniela Ryf in 4:26:07 (25:39mph), another new Kona record. The previous best time was 4:44:19, set by former time-trial specialist Karin Thürig in 2001.
7. Fastest male marathon run leg of the day came courtesy of Patrick Lange with a 2:41:32.
8. Fastest female marathon run leg of the day was set by Anne Haug 02:55:20.
9. For the first time in Kona history, the 8hr barrier was broken! Twice! First by Lange (7:52:39) and then by runner-up Bart Aernouts (BEL) in 7:56:41. His splits were: swim 54:07; bike 4:12:26; run 2:45:42.
10. Daniela Ryf came 25th overall beating 21 male pros; Lucy Charles came 35th overall.
11. Another Kona first saw the men’s winner propose to his girlfriend after crossing the finish line. Within a minute of finishing, Lange got down on one knee and proposed to Julia Hoffmann – she said yes!
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12. Kyle and Brent Pease became the first push-assisted team of brothers to cross the finish line, and only the second pair in that category to complete the race. For the swim, Brent towed his brother in a boat, then completed the bike leg in a specially adapted bike before running with his brother in a specially adapted running chair. The last team to do so was father Dick and son Rick Hoyt in 1999. The Peases finished in a time of 14:29hrs.
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13. GB’s Liz McTernan became only the second female wheelchair participant to complete Kona, and now holds the course record of 14:21:12. McTernan competed in the ‘Physically Challenged’ or PC Division, using a hand bike for 180km and a racing wheelchair for the marathon.
Congratulations #TeamCAF athlete @lizmcternan! Liz crossedthe finish line at #IMKONA as the 2nd wheelchair woman to ever finish the @IRONMANtri World Championship. AND she now holds the course record for fastest time.
1. 1st male overall was Patrick Lange (GER) in a time of 7:52:39, who broke his own course best set in 2017 of 8:01:40.
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2. 1st female overall was Daniela Ryf (SUI) in a time of 8:26:16: swim 57:26 (struggled with a jelly fish sting), bike 4:26:07 and run 2:57:05, breaking her own course best set in 2016 of 8:46:46.
3. The fastest male swimmer was age-grouper Jan Sibbersen in a time of 46:29, breaking the previous men’s record in Kona of 46:41 that had stood for 20 years, held by Lars Jorgensen. Jan’s bike split was 5:12:51, his run 4:26:24, for a total time of 10:37:33.
4. The fastest female swimmer was GB’s Lucy Charles in a time of 48:13. She averaged 1:15mins per 100m and in doing so set a new female course record, beating Jodi Jackson’s 1991 record of 48:43. She also finished in the overall top-10 fastest elite swim times of the day.
5. Fastest male bike split of the day was set by Cameron Wurf (AUS), a former pro cyclist and rower turned Ironman competitor. He improved his Kona record to 4:09:06 (26.98mph) from the 4:12:54 he set in 2017. His other splits were: swim 50:51; run 3:06:18, for a total time of 8:10:32.
6. Fastest female bike split of the day was set by Daniela Ryf in 4:26:07 (25:39mph), another new Kona record. The previous best time was 4:44:19, set by former time-trial specialist Karin Thürig in 2001.
7. Fastest male marathon run leg of the day came courtesy of Patrick Lange with a 2:41:32.
8. Fastest female marathon run leg of the day was set by Anne Haug 02:55:20.
9. For the first time in Kona history, the 8hr barrier was broken! Twice! First by Lange (7:52:39) and then by runner-up Bart Aernouts (BEL) in 7:56:41. His splits were: swim 54:07; bike 4:12:26; run 2:45:42.
10. Daniela Ryf came 25th overall beating 21 male pros; Lucy Charles came 35th overall.
11. Another Kona first saw the men’s winner propose to his girlfriend after crossing the finish line. Within a minute of finishing, Lange got down on one knee and proposed to Julia Hoffmann – she said yes!
12. Kyle and Brent Pease became the first push-assisted team of brothers to cross the finish line, and only the second pair in that category to complete the race. For the swim, Brent towed his brother in a boat, then completed the bike leg in a specially adapted bike before running with his brother in a specially adapted running chair. The last team to do so was father Dick and son Rick Hoyt in 1999. The Peases finished in a time of 14:29hrs.
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13. GB’s Liz McTernan became only the second female wheelchair participant to complete Kona, and now holds the course record of 14:21:12. McTernan competed in the ‘Physically Challenged’ or PC Division, using a hand bike for 180km and a racing wheelchair for the marathon.
Congratulations #TeamCAF athlete @lizmcternan! Liz crossedthe finish line at #IMKONA as the 2nd wheelchair woman to ever finish the @IRONMANtri World Championship. AND she now holds the course record for fastest time.
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It’s not often swim, bike and run makes football play second fiddle, but there are more spectators here for the inaugural Dubrovnik Triathlon than attended the Croatia v England international – 400 miles north along the Adriatic coast in Rijeka – the previous evening. And given this is a football-obsessed nation whose national team reached the World Cup final, it’s a victory to be celebrated for multisport. (We can gloss over both who they beat in the semi-final and that this recent encounter was played behind closed doors.)
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Triathlon is a new sport in a city famed for its Old Town. Named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979, its siege by Serbian and Montenegrin soldiers became a focal point during the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early nineties, but having taken a pre-race trip inside the medieval bulwarks, I can report it’s now deluged by up to 10,000 tourists a day, disembarking cruise ships to roam its ramparts.
Part of the attraction is the baroque, renaissance and gothic architecture, but it’s also the phenomenon that is Game of Thrones, the fantasy television drama that was filmed here. Given I’ve never watched a second of the show, my pop culture references end here, but at least it’ll save you from laboured puns being crowbarred into the race report, such as Game of Triathlons (attempt a faux European accent and switch ‘ons’ for ‘owns’).
On to a less hectic affair than the Old Town – the race – and a sprint or standard distance option, starting from Gruz Harbour, with a transition zone neatly slotted between moored luxury yachts. It’s a 2pm start and the untriathlonly time is virtue of the organisers being given a one-hour window between the aforementioned hulking cruise liners docking and setting sail. After that strict deadline the port is back open for business, so there’s significant motivation to make the swim cut-off.
SCRIPTED DEBUT
The area is trying to carve its own niche in activity breaks. There’s a half-marathon here in April that finishes on the Stradun – Dubrovnik’s most famous limestone-paved street in the Old Town – and 60 miles away in Kotor, Montenegro, the Ocean Lava middle distance race takes place in May. It’s not a tricky place to get to and here we’ve 15 different nationalities, many from former Yugoslav republics, plus a scattering of Brits.
For a first-time event, it almost feels scripted. The weather is blissfully mid-20s, and the harbour water 21 degrees, making it just cool enough for novices (or those hellbent on winning) to wear a wetsuit. The bike course follows the coast to the small village of Komolac, and is both the prettiest dragstrip imaginable and seemingly the only flat stretch of road in the region. The run is out and back along the harbour edge where the most taxing element is keeping count of your laps.
As I’m about to plop in for the deep-water start, I try to recall the last time I undertook a standard-distance triathlon. My fumbling excuse is that my time has been better served agonising over topics for my 220 Triathlon column, although that’s probably best left for others to judge. Conclusion: “It’s been a while – and it’ll take a while.” And so it plays out.
The two-lap anticlockwise swim is rather too pleasant – not a jellyfish in sight (take note as an alternative race option for next year, Daniela Ryf). About 60 people have signed up for the standard distance, a similar number for the sprint, plus a handful of relay teams, and both the water and opposition are calmness personified. My only gripe is with the toddlers’ swim caps provided, as the silicon dome pings from my bonce about midway through the first lap, striking another blow to marine welfare.
Out on to the road bike (I’ve borrowed from the organisers) in 39mins (including T1, I’m sure it was long), I spend the majority of the four laps daydreaming at the scenery, reading the derrieres of tri-suits and wondering how they’re pronounced (my straw poll of waiters confirms the Croatian language is brutish to grasp), and hoping I’ll overtake someone who isn’t on a mountain bike. The tranquillity is occasionally broken when some lunatic on a TT bike and deep-dished wheels comes whooping past (my one piece of serious advice would be to pack a TT bike if you want to compete), but they pretty sharply bugger off into the distance anyway.
Returning 1:24hr later, I head out for a fairly uneventful run, where the sun beats down and I have to pass the finish gantry 11 times (yes, I just worked it out), before I can actually jog under the arch in 45mins for a less-than-competitive 2:49:32 and just sneak into the top 30.
CRUISES, COFFEE AND CRAP CANNONS
My race aside, the Dubrovnik Triathlon has a lot going for it. No matter how many risk assessments are undertaken, first-time events are fraught with the potential for unforeseen hiccups. It’s compounded when a venue is not au fait with triathlon, and judging by the motorists in the town, it will be a while before a cycling culture takes off.
Yet enthusiasm – and Dubrovnik has a two-year-old 20-strong tri club getting behind it – can go a long way. It also helps when you bring in John Lunt and Co, the team behind the successful Brighton and Hove Tri, with Lunt formerly triathlon course manager for the London 2012 Olympics. So, while I’m sure there are a few teething issues, they’re well-hidden and certainly no disasters.
It isn’t just the finishing chute where the red (ok, blue) carpet has been rolled out either. There’s a familiarisation swim at Banje Beach the morning before the race – the reward being free coffee and doughnuts bigger than lifebuoys – and a triathletes’ reception in Sponza Palace in the Old Town in the evening where a welcoming British consul informs us it’s British week in Dubrovnik, although the Beatles tribute act crooning in the main square in front of a London bus was already a slight giveaway.
Post-race there’s an awards party offering a bellyful of pasta and apple strudel, a few tunes and a live stream of the Ironman World Championship, jellyfish and all, on the big screen. Then it’s all aboard for a cruise around the bay at 9am the following morning in a replica 16th-century Karaka, which, for all intents and purposes is a pirate ship with crap cannons, air-conditioning and cappuccinos.
TICKS THE 2019 BOXES
Given there are so many options on the racing calendar, does Dubrovnik deserve its place on your itinerary next year? There are races that offer a calm wetsuit-optional sea swim, there are others that provide closed bike courses that are flat and safe for novices, and still more that provide a scenic backdrop.
You can also find affordable races (£65/£50 for the standard/sprint distance) within a two-hour EasyJet flight of the UK, where you have a choice of accommodation from luxury hotels to affordable AirBnBs, and some also offer plenty of cultural options when you strip off the Lycra. But a destination that ticks all those boxes is a challenge, and that’s where the Dubrovnik Triathlon wins out.
The late Lord Bryon called the city the Pearl of the Adriatic. It’s less known that he’s also credited for starting the modern age of open-water swimming in 1810. I’ve a feeling that if he were still alive today, the legendary poet would be first in the queue to slip on his race belt… because this is one event you Don Juan a miss.
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If you’ve ever tried to have a picnic on a beach, you’ve probably experienced seagull theft. Now, a new study is here to help — research shows staring down seagulls could prevent them from snatching your precious French fries.
According to a new study from the University of Exeter, the secret to protecting your food from seagulls is to stare at them. Scientists found that the birds are more likely to scavenge for food when they do not lock eyes with their victims. Researchers in Cornwall, U.K. put a bag of chips (fries) on the ground and tested how long it took for herring gulls to approach when being watched. As a bird crept closer to the food, a researcher would make eye contact with it.
Only 26% of the birds went for the food despite the eye contact. On average, birds took an extra 21 seconds to approach the food when a human was staring at them. The rest of the birds stayed put or flew away. According to the researchers, the study shows that birds take behavioral cues from the humans around them, finding the human gaze aversive. “Gulls are often seen as aggressive and willing to take food from humans, so it was interesting to find that most wouldn’t even come near during our tests,” lead author Madeleine Goumas said. Researchers worry that increased conflict between gulls and humans could lead to further gull population decline, especially because humans often use lethal control or deterrents to fix the problem. However, all seagulls are protected under Britain’s Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The law makes it illegal to injure any species, or damage eggs or occupied nests. Herring gulls are on the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ “Red List,” meaning the species is globally threatened and has faced severe population decline. Conflict between humans and wildlife may be one of the greatest threats to the species worldwide.
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