Awesome Foursome Bude
Awesome Foursome Bude
Superb conditions for the biggest Quad of the Year
Late September when this event is usually held can be a bit of a gamble for weather - one previous year I was hit by a huge hailstorm along the coast road - but 2009 was to be as good as it gets, dry, calm, mostly sunny and not too hot.
The water was lower than usual in the harbour which combined with a large field, well up on last year, to make a crowded start to the swim. Bude's swim course is short but tough - out between the moored boats, then out of the shelter of the harbour wall where the water got quite choppy. However, there was little of the usual Atlantic swell, so no real surf as we turned and headed into the beach. Waded and jogged up the beach, ran round the flag and 100m back to the start to plunge in for lap two! Out after the second lap and up the 400m or so to transition. In the lead were pair Miller/Bentley a full minute before second place James Marshall.
The bike route crosses the road and heads straight up a small starter hill. As the course heads south west along the coast road, the hills get progressively bigger and steeper culminating in a couple of perilous descents then the massive 30% ascent out of Millook - a real treat. After this there are mild lanes for a few miles to get your heart under control before the complete contrast of the A39 with its smooth surface and broad sweeping slopes - mostly downhill - at high speed back into Bude. By this time Steve King (5th out of the swim) had picked off the leaders and was over a minute ahead of James Marshall who was hanging onto second place with the pair Maunder/Britton briefly rising to third. In the women's race Helen Dyke was by this time 10 mins up on her nearest competitor, while among the Vets Andrew Smith was leading by a whisker from Nick Creasy.
The Awesome Foursome attracts many kayak beginners and a huge variety of boats were to be seen. The kayak course takes two full laps up and down the canal so athletes get to pass each other in both directions and it can get quite crowded. Standing out among the melee was Steve King - every time he passed me in the other direction, the water went choppy with the huge wash he was throwing up as he pulled steadily further ahead of the competition - in next to no time he was heading off along the towpath at the start of his run. A whopping ten minutes behind, James Marshall was second onto the run with a huge challenge if he was to catch Steve up, Pair May/May and relay "Team Rugman" came next, with Nick Creasy the first Vet and third individual entrant another four minutes behind him.
The run course at 10k has a kindly start with about four km along the flat towpath to get the legs working again - many competitors can barely stand straight let alone run on getting out of their kayaks! - before heading over the hill and onto the rough ankle turning ups and downs (mostly ups) along the coast path. Given his huge lead, Steve King would have to go badly wrong to lose the race at this point and his run time of 40mins whilst not the fastest of the day was plenty quick enough to secure him the winning position by an amazing 8m 46s. James Marshall in second place was followed by the first of the pairs - May/May. In the male vets, Rob Shaw put in a very fast run to climb several places overall and come in ahead of Nick Creasy. The over 50s Vets category was very competitive this year, with Richard Beard coming very close but not quite managing to catch Paul Marshall - a newcomer to this category. The women's category was low on entrants with several nationally strong athletes absent. Helen Dyke yet again rattled off a stunning race to win the womens event, her run time at sub 38mins being third fastest of the day among all categories. Other women were grouped closely together - Ali Martin who had lost a couple of places in the kayak, managed to pass them again on her run and gain first Female Vet-40 and second woman overall.
The Relay and Pairs event are always well supported at Bude. First pair was May/May who were well clear at the finish despite not being outright fastest in any of the four disciplines, proving that balance across the different skills is all important. Team Rugman won the relay event by a convincing eight minutes over second place St Austell Running Club.
Chip timing for the second year in this race made for rapid and comprehensive publication of results with full splits, including transition times! which can be found here:
http://www.racetimingsystems.com/public/results.aspx?raceid=883
Thanks to organisers Simon Hammond and Shoreline Extreme Sports for another great race.
