Gordon McBain

4th/5th September Activities

Ron’s Runners not Spring 5k – Wednesday 1st September

The Ron’s Runners not Spring 5k took place at the Beach Park in Irvine. Over 180 runners tackled the course on a mostly flat course but with a section on sand to test already tired legs. A warm night saw everyone record great times with Lorna finishing 3rd Female overall and Darren as 9th Male Senior.

Ian Brown 23:57

Katrina Livingstone 32:13

Gordon McBain 25:32

Darren Nicol 17:55

Scott Strachan 22:43

Lorna Todd 20:39

Drumlanrig Sportive – Saturday September 4th

This Sportive offered two routes covering 100km and 44km. Both routes start and end at the magnificent Drumlanrig castle, both take in some breathtaking scenery and both include the infamous Dunreggan Brae. Several members from Ayrodynamic tackled th 100km challenge of the sportive and had a fantastic day in the saddle

Knockburn Scottish Championship – Sunday 5th September

This Triathlon was at Knockburn Loch located 15 miles from Aberdeen. It was a very tough course… 2 lap swim in 15 deg water, 3 laps of the bike on a rolling course with a tough wee climb each lap and a 2 lap hilly run on multiple surfaces consisting of gravel, grass, trail and tarmac. The run offered no hiding place for competitors and Lorna was involved in a close battle with a runner just behind in her age group but came away victorious run so no hiding

For the members of Ayrodynamic competing it was a great day with David Auchie 3rd in AG, Lorna Todd 1st in AG and 1st V40 in open race with strong performances from Scott Russell & Brian McKeating too

Davie Auchie 2.29 3rd in ag

Lorna Todd 2.35 1st in ag, 1st V40

Scott Russell 2.41

Brian McKeating 2.41

The Beltie Triathlon – Sunday 5th September

Charlie Martin and Chris Figgins were at Crossmichael for the Wee Beltie Triathlon. It starts with an open water swim then a bike leg heading North from Crossmichael through New Galloway, following the shores of the Loch south to Laurieston then returning to the transition area via Glenlochar. To finish there is a run route of mostly tarmac in the main with a short trail section at the start. Chris got 3rd MSV and Charlie was 1st vintage. Stewart McKinstry was also doing the middle distance for a relay team who finished second.

Lochore Meadows Off-Road Festival – Sunday 5th September

Darren Nicol and Scott Strachan were at Lochore Meadows Off-Road Festival. The full distance Triathlon should have included a 1000 metre swim in the beautiful fresh water of Loch Ore however this was cancelled and a 1500 metre swim took its place instead. The off road bike section was a 13km cycle over a 2 lap course. Each lap takes in a descent of Harran hill providing some small technical sections (with rocks, roots and mud) but nothing too challenging

The run was over a mixed terrain 5km course which circumnavigated the hilly Clune and an old iron age fort before coming back in by the loch side to the finish.

Scott was 11th in category (42nd overall) and Darren was 4th in category (12th overall)

Harrogate Sprint – Sunday 5th September

Grant Young flew the flag at the Harrogate Sprint – a pretty tough if scenic event . A 420m swim followed by a 24 km cycle of two loops with two killer climbs per lap and some very technical descents, and a 4.6 km run of two laps, with, you’ve guessed it, a very nasty climb per lap. It was Grant’s best effort of the season by miles and he ended up 71/150 overall and was also 3rd over 60 and first over 70.

Uncategorized

Super Sunday

Scottish National Middle Distance Championships

On Sunday 21st August several members of Ayrodynamic Triathlon Club took part in the Scottish National Middle Distance Championships.

The 2021 Scottish National Middle Distance Championships was part of the Aberfeldy Triathlon Festival organised by ‘Still Going Strong’. As well as the Scottish Championship, the race also hosted the 2021 British Middle Distance Championships.

Just under 500 people had travelled from across the home nations for the race in the event. With new routes for the swim and run, the athletes took on a different challenge this year.

The 2021 Scottish National Middle Distance Championship started at 7.00am in a multiple wave start. The early morning start saw drizzly race conditions but in contrast to 2019 Loch Tay was very calm for the 1900m swim. Once out the water and onto the bike the drizzle became rain creating some tough conditions out on the road for the 90km ride on the quiet (but challenging) roads of Highland Perthshire. Thankfully the weather had improved for the 21km of running the competitors still had to do.

Well done to David, Marc, Lynsey, Gavin and Darren (full results below)

David Auchie 5:17:18

Marc Auchie 4:57:47

Lynsey Blair 6:16:03

Gavin Kelly 5:42:30

Darren Nicol 5:17:24

Loch Ness Etape

The much postponed Loch Ness Etape took place on Sunday as well with Colin Davidson and Scott Gourlay tackling the iconic Loch Ness route which offers the chance to cycle 66 miles (106 km) on traffic free roads. The 360° closed-road route around the loch starts and finishes in the Highland capital of Inverness, with 900 m of ascent in total, as significant chunk of which is on the climb out of Fort Augustus with a 4.8 mile (9 km) climb gaining 380 m in height with a gradient reaching 12% at times.

Roon the Toon

A sell-out Roon the Toon saw runners pounding the streets of Kilmarnock on the now familiar 10k loop of the town. This was the 5th anniversary of the race and attracted a field of 1200 runners and for the first time pacers were there to help runners aim for times from 40 to 60 minutes. Well done to Beth, Derek, Barbara and Emma who took part (full results below)

Beth Barclay 47:00

Derek Cambers 49:48

Barbara McIntyre 58:51

Emma von Hof 49:50

Inverclyde Sprint Triathlon

Last but not least in Gourock several members of Ayrodynamic were taking part in the Inverclyde Sprint Triathlon. The event comprises a 800m swim in the outdoor pool, a 16km bike leg and 5km run to finish.

Well done to Fiona, Trina, Alastair (Top 10 and 3rd in age group), Lorna S (2nd in age group), Scott and Lorna T (1st in age group) and 1st Female overall. (full results below)

Fiona Connolly 01:26:46

Trina Livingstone 01:30:47

Alastair Ness 00:59:44

Lorna Sloan 01:11:33

Scott Strachan 01:13:28

Lorna Todd 01:00:08

Uncategorized

2021 Scottish National Aquathlon Championships

It was a new venue this year for the 2021 Scottish National Aquathlon Championships, with Ayrodynamic Triathlon Club welcoming 68 competitors from across the country to Shewalton Wood in Irvine.

The weather conditions were great, with a calm day and the sun just beginning to break through the clouds. It was a mass, deep-water start and with the water temperature at a toasty 20^oC wetsuits were optional. The swim was a single 750m loop and was followed by a flat and fast out and-back 5km run.

The athletes were split into male and female waves and it was the women who were off first. Brooke Gillies (East Fife Triathlon Club) had an outstanding swim, exiting the water in 09:54, 15 seconds ahead of defending 2019 Champion Kara McKenzie-Tait (Edinburgh Triathletes). Kate Alexander (Edinburgh Triathletes) exited in 3rd place, with the three leading females around a minute clear of the rest of the field. Being swim and run only, every part of the race was vital including the run up the beach to transition. Having opted to go non-wetsuit, Molly Kidd made up some time on her competitors with the fastest transition of the day, making it out onto the run course within 27 seconds of leaving the water having exited in 5th place.

Having lost some time in transition, Kara had some ground to make up and was chasing down Brooke who had a 37 second lead going onto the run. An impressive performance saw her post the fastest run split (18:41) and take the win in 29:47, the only woman dipping under the half hour mark. Brooke held on for second in a time of 30:09. Hannah Terrance (Glasgow Triathlon Club) crossed the line in 3rd but was ineligible for a Championships placing. Molly Kidd had a great run to claim the overall bronze in 33:30. All three medallists were winners of their individual age groups.

In the men’s race Jonathan Jackson (Edinburgh#3) was the first out of the water in 09:06 with a 15 second lead over chasers Struan Bennet and Sam Burton (Stirling Triathlon Club). With Jonathan already out on the run, an impressive 26 second transition saw Sam leave transition in second place with Struan not far behind. Jonathan posted the fastest run time of the day (16:08) to cement his victory in a finish time of 25:49. Struan also put in a good run to finish second in 26:52, showing he remains on great form having also claimed second at the Scottish National Sprint Triathlon Championships in June . The second-fastest run of the day was posted by veteran Joel Enoch (Edinburgh Triathletes) and was enough to claim him the 3rd spot on the podium in 27:19. Again, all three overall podium athletes claimed gold in their respective age groups.

The full list of 2021 Scottish National Aquathlon Champions are below and the full results from the race can be found here.

Overall Female
1^st Kara McKenzie-Tait (Edinburgh Triathletes) – 29:47
2^nd Brooke Gillies (East Fife Triathlon Club) – 30:09
3^rd Molly Kidd (Unattached) – 33:30

Overall Male
1^st Jonathan Jackson (Edinburgh#3) – 25:49
2^nd Struan Bennet (Unattached) – 26:52
3^rd Joel Enoch (Edinburgh Triathletes) – 27:19

U20 Female
1^st Molly Kidd (Unattached) – 33:30
2^nd Ella Chalmers (TrYthan) – 34:34
3^rd Maisie Ballantyne (Border Triathletes) – 38:30

U20 Male
1^st Struan Bennet (Unattached) – 26:52

20-24 Female
1^st Brooke Gillies (East Fife Triathlon Club) – 30:09
2^nd Toni Moore (Grangemouth Triathlon Club) – 35:55

20-24 Male
1^st Jonathan Jackson (Edinburgh#3) – 25:49
2^nd Sam Burton (Stirling Triathlon Club) – 29:47
3^rd Andrew Johnstone (Triathlon Inverness) – 30:06

25-29 Female
1^st Sophie Canty (Lomond Swimming and Triathlon Club) – 34:16
2^nd Jayne Emery (Stirling Triathlon Club) – 35:47
3^rd Catherine Campbell (Edinburgh Triathletes) – 36:27

25-29 Male
1^st Marc Auchie (Ayrodynamic Triathlon Club) – 30:55
2^nd Craig Mabon (FTK PCS) – 32:29
3^rd Ross McNaught (Team Huub) – 34:28

30-34 Female
1^st Kara McKenzie-Tait (Edinburgh Triathletes) – 29:47
2^nd Mari Lawson (Fleet Feet Triathletes) – 40:17

30-34 Male
1^st Craig Dale (Edinburgh Triathletes) – 28:48
2^nd Craig Armour (Glasgow Triathlon Club) – 34:53
3^rd Andrew Kindness (Unattached) – 35:27

35-39 Female
1^st Kirsty O’Brien (Lanark Triathlon Club) – 34:24

35-39 Male
1^st Adam Lee (Fusion Triathlon Club) – 30:42
2^nd Keith Paterson (TrYthan) – 45:34

40-44 Female
1^st Kate Pearson (Glasgow Triathlon Club) – 36:37
2^nd Lyndsey Blair (Ayrodynamic Triathlon Club) – 38:17
3^rd Mary Donaldson (Glasgow Triathlon Club) – 42:17

40-44 Male
1^st Joel Enoch (Edinburgh Triathletes) – 27:19
2^nd Alasdair McLeod (Glasgow Triathlon Club) – 31:38
3^rd Alistair Rowlands (Lomond Swimming and Triathlon Club) – 31:56

45-49 Female
1^st Marian Monk (Unattached) – 34:49
2^nd Lisa McShea (Fleet Feet Triathletes) – 37:11
3^rd Kirstie Dawson (Stirling Triathlon Club) – 41:15

45-49 Male
1^st Alan Keachie (Glasgow Triathlon Club) – 33:07
2^nd Dennis Chalmers (TrYthan) – 34:09
3^rd Kevin Morice (Three Peaks Triathletes) – 34:16

50-54 Female
1^st Gillian Sangster (Monifieth Triathlon Club) – 36:46
2^nd Jill Campbell (TrYthan) – 39:53
3^rd Lell Higgins (West Lothian Triathlon) – 41:58

50-54 Male
1^st Jim Panton (Pentland Triathletes) – 31:53
2^nd David Horne (TrYthan) – 31:59
3^rd Fergus McDowall (Scottish Fire and Rescue) – 32:11

55-59 Female
1^st Elspeth Burton (Stirling Triathlon Club) – 42:05

55-59 Male
1^st Campbell Cromar (Unattached) – 32:50
2^nd Martin Duthie (G72 Tri) – 33:11
3^rd Frank Boyne (West Lothian Triathlon) – 33:30

60-64 Female
1^st Miriam Rennet (East Fife Triathlon Club) – 44:07

60-64 Male
1^st Danny McLaughlin (Greenock Glenpark Harriers) – 37:33
2^nd Ken Mortimer (Unattached) – 40:33
3^rd Andrew Kirkhope (Unattached) – 42:28

65-69 Male
1^st Lindsay Young (Fleet Feet Triathletes) – 38:12

75-79 Male
1^st Douglas Wood (Stirling Triathlon Club) – 44:41

News 2020

Irvine Triathlon (Standard and 70.3)

With little prospect of a chance to compete in Scotland this year an informal triathlon was set up by Adrian Young in September. Adrian, Fraser Kean, Estee Coetzee, Jake Edward, David Auchie tackled the course with some doing a standard (1500m swim, 40km bike and a 10km run) and others doing a 70.3 (1900m swim, 90km bike and a 21.1km run) with both distances using first the pond, then a bike route from the pond taking in the area around Dundonald, Drybridge and Marine Drive before concluding with a run route that went from the pond down through Shewalton and returning along the other side of the A78 to the pond. Conditions were testing with a strong wind throughout the day but with little to no chance of competitions taking place this year all involved were glad of the opportunity to take part in an event of any kind.

News 2020

Loch Doon Marathon Swim

With both training and competing having been severely restricted this year athletes have had to look for different ways to maintain fitness and find a way to test themselves. During lockdown many took advantage of Zwift and clocked up a lot of miles on their turbos as the virtual landscapes went by whilst others rose, or rather got on the floor, to take in the plank challenge set by Lorna Sloan. As restrictions eased there was a return to open water swimming and the Booker Pond became a very popular destination. To put that training to good use several members of the club decided to undertake a big challenge. A marathon swim is defined to be 10 km (6.2 miles) in length and with Loch Doon clocking in at approximately 11.25km (7 miles) it was ideal. Conditions on the day in late August meant the swimmers were working against a headwind and choppy conditions with the cold water making their effort doubly hard but with the help of a support crew both on the shore following them and kayak support for safety and much needed nutrition and fluids Chris Paterson, Stewart Baillie, Ian Mcalindon, Katherine Self, Roddy Dunn, Lorna Todd and Katrina Livingstone all swam the length of Loch Doon as accomplished marathon swimmers and even having a commemorative t-shirt.

Not content with doing it once Chris and Stewart returned two weeks later to do the swim all over again.

News 2020

Land’s End to John O’Groats

Frustrated by the lack of triathlon competition due to the Covid crisis, two of the more mature members of Ayrodynamic Tri Club decided to take on the considerable challenge of cycling from Land’s End to John O Groats. Alastair Stewart (63) and Grant Young (69) also decided to cover the 950 plus miles with over 50,000 feet climbing in only 9 days – which left them with the task of cycling over 100 miles per day on nine consecutive days.

Day 1 saw the lads and the rest of their 8 strong group set out from sunny, warm and picturesque Land’s End for the 106 miles to Oakhampton in Somerset. This turned out to be a seriously tough introduction to the trip as the route followed idyllic Cornish lanes with steep banked sides and huge masses of wild flowers, passing through chocolate box villages with many thatched roofs. It also plunged steeply into what seemed like every river valley in the West Country, only to climb out the other side up an even steeper slope. The day‘s climbing was equivalent to twice up Ben Nevis and Grant and Al were relieved to reach their hotel, and start to recover for the following day.

Day 2 headed out through Somerset towards Bath, 110 miles away. The land was less steep than the first stage, with the exception of the highly scenic but demanding climb up through the Quantock Hills, an area of outstanding natural beauty. Tired legs arrived in Bath, glad to be out of the West Country.

Day 3 began with a long and difficult climb out of Bath into the Cotswolds, but the rest of the day was easier and included crossing the Severn Bridge into Wales, and passing through Shropshire along the beautiful Wye valley. The historic market town of Ludlow was the location of the overnight stop, after a ‘short’ stage of ‘only’ 92 miles.
Haydock, between Liverpool and Manchester was the destination on Day 4 and it was duly reached after 102 miles.

Day 5 saw the lads push on to Shap, with the sting in the tail of having to climb from Kendal up the considerable hill of the same name to reach their hotel.
Two huge days were to follow in terms of mileage – Shap to Bellshill ( 118 miles) and the Bellshill to Ft William (121 miles) On day 6 to Bellshill a tail wind gave the group huge assistance, so much so that Al averaged 20 miles per hour over the whole day with Grant on 18 mph.

The good luck with the weather however wasn’t to last, and day 7 which was the longest day of the trip (121 miles) and potentially the most scenic, saw the group set out in torrential rain as a storm battered Scotland. The first climb took them up over the Campsies via the famous Crow climb, dropping sharply into the Trossachs – but it was difficult to see even the side of the road through the driving rain. So much so that some members of the group became so wet and cold that they were forced to stop for a while as hands had ceased to function on brakes and gears. After taking on more food plus several layers of clothing everyone got going again but the deluge continued for 6 hours, and only stopped during the passage through Glen Coe. A very tired couple of triathletes finally made it into a hotel in Ft William after a hideous day’s cycling. Any hopes that things would improve next day we’re quickly shattered as the riders again set out in teeming rain.

Day 8 should again have been a beautiful spin through the Great Glen, with everyone looking out for Nessie, but it was hard to see the Loch never mind any monster. The massive and steep climb at Drumnadrochit added to the misery but the rain did finally stop permitting a dry finish to the day in Tain.

Finally, Day 9 dawned dry and full of anticipation of the finish, but the weather had another nasty surprise in store as the following wind had swung round and was now a cold North wind slowing progress. In addition, after an easy hour on the A 9 and crossing the Dornoch Firth, the route swung off onto a tiny, steep poorly surfaced road, and the rain returned with a vengeance. The first 50 miles seemed to take forever, but finally the lads saw the Pentland Firth ahead, and turned East through Thurso towards John O Groats.

The feeling of achievement – and relief on completing the trip were massive, and both Grant and Alastair are grateful for the great support they received on the way. Grant also has raised getting on for £4000 for Cancer Research UK and thanks all contributors. There is still time to donate on the Cancer Research site under Grant Young.