Verna Burgess Triathlon report from Basildon – 02/06/12

Ed: Verna gets a brilliant 3rd female place at the Basildon Off Road Triathlon. Good stuff Verna đŸ™‚

I competed in my first triathlon (Basildon Off Road Triathlon) on Saturday 2nd June 2012. There was no time to be nervous as my three children were competing before me and it is a monumental effort to get them all in the right place at the right time in three different races. (they are all vegan too).

It was a sprint event 400m pool swim, 10k off road bike and 5k run. The swim was straightforward and done in a snake pattern so no need to count lengths. I was surprised how good I felt as I ran to T1 and it was great to get on the bike. A circuit of the playing field saw us cut into an adjacent country park and a twisty circuit on grass, 3 laps, was very challenging. Some people chose to do sections cyclo-cross style and carried their bikes up the hills but I managed to stay on the bike and crawl up in my lowest gears.

It was back across the playing field to T2 and two laps round the local park for the run. This time my legs felt very different and I was not relaxed into the run for a couple of kms. I managed to pass a few people including the eventual ladies winner. I was third lady overall in a time of 1:19 and pleased with my first outing in triathlon.

Verna Burgess

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