Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 51, October 2013

me, et Ho Swe ela! ela B B All 49 Dare to Tri starters at the recent 5150 Bela Bela Triathlon ?nished the race and all had amazing experiences along the way. In 10 weeks, many of them have gone from complete novices to triathlon ?nishers – and most are still improving! This month they relive their Bela Bela highlights while looking forward to 5150 Germiston and Ironman 70.3. – BY LAUREN VAN DER VYVER Dare to Tri COACH’S CORNER A word from Derick Marcisz Everyone on the course at the 5150 Bela Bela looked strong. It was sweet success on completing a very tough event – one of the toughest standard Olympic distance races in South Africa! The Dare to Tri team was led home by a young lady who clearly has a lot of talent, Sam Summerscales, who grabbed second place in her age group! In fact, almost half the DTT ?nishers were ladies, which is absolutely fantastic! Our last ?nisher was Kobus Vorster, who has lost over 25kg since beginning his triathlon journey, and he ?nished his ?rst standard Olympic distance triathlon at Bela Bela in just over four hours. We had 13 sub-3 hour times and another 23 under 3:30, so even though many of the team are complete novices, the training is working and the times being achieved are good! Some noteworthy results were: • • • • • • Sam Summerscales: 2:34:53 – 2nd in 18-24 age group. Dwight Northman: 2:40:49 – a ?rst-time triathlete! Richard Rogan: 2:40:50 – 13min improvement from last year Clair Morey: 2:45:31 – great ?rst time performance! Michael Smit: 2:54:33 – 4th in 55-59 age group. Sarah- Jane Horscroft: 2:58:01 – one of the original DTT team, 4th in 50-54 age group. Our DTT heroes on Bela Bela I hated every minute of it. From putting my foot in the water and getting brain freeze right up until they put the medal around my neck. The water was freezing and I struggled with my breathing and sighting. The run was hot and ?at. I could have done a lot better, but I took the bad cycle and swim with me on the run. Lesson learnt. Roll on 5150 Germiston! I’m not going to let this triathlon thing get the better of me! Peter Rankin: I can only describe swimming with a whole bunch of girls as slightly more digni?ed than mud wrestling. (Not that I have actually attempted that.) Most of the ladies were very apologetic while we blindly klapped one another and made our way through the murky water. I think the thought of contacting a large rubbery creature might have prevented me from coming stone last in the swim. Although my legs were acting up and felt rather useless, and my feet were burning during the run, I felt at home and knew I was on track for a reasonable ?nish. I loved it! Heather Horrocks: When I saw the 9km marker on the run, I burst into happy tears. I realised then that I had accomplished what I had set out to do: Finish a 5150 triathlon. Without the Dare to Tri structured approach to training, I would not have been prepared physically or mentally to move from the sprint to a standard distance. Emily Armstrong: The Bela Bela 5150 was a great experience for me. An eye-opener to understand why they call it Ironman – because it was not easy! Anything longer than the sprint distances of triathlon takes commitment and training. Thanks to DTT, it was possible to complete the race, and the best part was the red carpet! Kobus Vorster: Looki ????????()Q????????Q??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????M????????A????????????????????????????????)??????????????????9???????Q????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????e????????????????????????????????????????????????????????()??e?????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????)M???M?????????()%???????1???????????Y????? ???????-????Y???????????????????!?????!????????A???I?????((0

Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 51, October 2013 | Page 36