After last weekend not going to plan I really wanted to return to Jersey with a positive taste in my mouth. My preparation for the race was my usual standard procedure following my normal taper program set by my coach Andy Kemp. The day before the race I was feeling light and fresh and this filled me full of confidence leading into the race.
As I turned up at the race its always nice to see familiar faces, many of which are friends I’ve made whilst racing in the UK. Today was different as fellow Jersey athletes also looking to qualify for Rotterdam 2017 were there; all of them raced very well in particular Katie Silva who came away with 1st female in her category.
The race:
I was lucky enough to have academy coach Nick Saunders there today who also raced. Before the race he told me not to think about the aggressive swim as its only going to put me off my game. I took his advice and managed to get off to a good start. I came into T1 with the front pack. I managed to have a very speedy transition, which put me out of transition in 1st place. Joining me was another Junior I met on camp last year in Oxford Kai Furnell-Brennan and an older age grouper. The three of us worked hard to hold the gap on the chase group for 12.5k of the 21k bike leg but we didn’t have the manpower or the legs to hold the gap. For the remaining 8.5K we were in a slightly larger group made up of 10-12 riders. Coming into T2 I placed myself right at the front of the pack staying clear of any trouble this meant I managed to head onto the run in 2nd position. I overtook 1st and started opening the pace along side the Olympic venue. It was 1 loop of 5k which ran alongside the 2.5k long lake this meant you were able to spot your competition at all times. I got overtaken at 1.5k by a very fast runner who then went on to win the overall. Coming back down towards the finish I was starting to fatigue, which meant another quick runner who was also a junior managed to pip me to the line and take 1st junior overall. I managed to place 3rd in my heat and 3rd overall out of the 700+ athletes across all age groups that took part. Due to my positioning and time I managed to qualify overall to represent Great Britain in the age group world championships in Rotterdam in September.
Conclusion:
Overall a very positive ending to a good 10 days training in the UK. Once again none of this would be achievable without the help of my sponsors thank you to Fairway Jersey who provide me travel, accommodation and my running kit. In addition Pedal Power who provide me with all the latest top of the range gear and bikes. TYR sport who provide me with leading swim equipment and suits. Finally SportsHub who continue to branch out my social media channels and provide me with 5* recovery treatment courtesy of Hotel de France.
Ollie Turner - Triathlete 