Swinford Half Ironman 2010
Pat McDermott
I'm writing this race report for the people of thinking going that step further from an Olympic distance to a Half Ironman. I would highly recommend the Humbert Challenge Half Ironman in Swinford, Co Mayo.
Registration for this race was the night before so I stayed in a B&B in Swinford town http://www.deerparkmanorbandb.com/ The owner of the house was very impressed with my "borrowed" fully carbon bike until I decided to pump up the tires. I snapped the back tire valve, No Problem... just take off the wheel / chain and change the tube. That's what I did, but I couldn't figure out how to put back on the chain..... I took me 45 minutes to change the tire.... Not a great start.
That evening I checked out the transition area, I was not impressed at all. There was a field with some bike racks and a walk way to the lake. I think the reason I wasn't impressed was because I had just done the TriAthlone a few weeks before and I was used to the carpets / tents / advertising & a big pontoon leading into the water etc... I didn't take into consideration that this was going to be a small event (Max 200 people) and it was there first year to run the event. I think I was just been a snob.
Any way, race morning. I got to transition and there was a lovely picturesque view of lake Callow (which I didn't notice the night before, I think I was to busy looking for the carpet). There was about 140 competitors (individual & relay). The race briefing was on time and very professionally done. They gave different coloured hats depending on your estimated swim time. Any time below 35mins got red hats and the rest got black (not a great colour for the rescue guys to spot). There were a lot of race stewards and draft busters on motor bikes present at the race briefing.
The Swim... the water in lake Callow seemly is always very calm and crystal clear. They were not mistaken, this was the nicest swim I have done since starting these Triathlons. It was a deep water lake with lovely clear / clean water that comes straight from the mountains. All 140 competitors started the swim together and the swim consisted of a 1.9km triangular loop around lake Callow. It was great, I really enjoyed the swim. 10 out of 10 for enjoyment 5 out of 10 for difficulty (no current, no wind & clean water).
The Bike... leaving transition we headed for the town of Foxford. Once outside Foxford town there were stunning views of the twin lakes of Pontoon and we headed for our first climb of the day. This was a slow 5 km ascend to the bottom of a 1.5km Grade A climb. This is a short climb but very tough, you found yourself looking for air once you reached the top. This brought you through the Windy Gap with fantastic views all around (it was great).
There was only 1 aid station on the 90km bike route and 4 on the run route. I reckoned I would need 2 liters of fuel for the cycle so I bought a double bottle holder that I attached to the back of my saddle the night before the race. During the climb my bottle holder came from the saddle and both my bottles went down the hill..... do I get off my bike and chase the bottles or do I keep going ? I decided to keep going.... The moral of that story...Never Ever try something new before a race. Once over the climb you headed down to Castlebar from Pontoon on a main road and you head back to Pontoon on country roads. The last stretch of the bike route was relatively flat along the main N5 road into Swinford. 8 out of 10 for enjoyment 7 out of 10 for difficulty (the scenery takes your mind of the toughness).
The Run.... On leaving T2 there was a aid station (which I really appreciated, since I had lost my water bottles 30km into the cycle). The run takes you along quite country roads with a few challenging hills. The steepest climb of the run arrives just half a mile into the route but which is thankfully over quickly. The route has 4 aid stations every 5km and the route is very clearly marked every 1km. You run along Callow lake to Castlebar along scenic roads until you turn onto the N5. The run on the N5 is the last 5km and it's a killer. There is a slow rise on the road for the last 5km and you have a distanced view of other competitors but you think you will never get there. They add an extra 400 meters onto the run so you finish the race outside the Golf Club in Swinford (and by God do you feel the extra 400 meters). The final distance of the run route is 13.36 miles. 8 out 10 for enjoyment 8 out of 10 for difficulty (the last 5km was tough).
Place Chip Name Surname AG Club Swim T1 Cycle T2 Run Finish Time
11 54 Pat McDermott 40-44 Athlone Tri Club 0:35:18 0:00:53 2:48:02 0:01:02 1:40:34 5:05:48