I keep saying it…. but yet another busy month for Focus On Fitness athletes.

UCI Paracycling, ITU Multisports, local triathlons, and Ironman UK where Siobhan Kennedy qualifies for Ironman World Championships in Hawai’i this October.

Blessington Triathlon

July 1st and Blessington Triathlon was hosted by Belpark Triathlon Club in the beautiful lakeside setting of Poulaphouca Reservoir, Co. Wicklow.

There were three races to choose from on the day, with water temperatures in the lake reaching in excess of 20 degrees, wetsuits were not compulsory and many took the opportunity to race without.

In the Standard Distance race Mark Gater finished his first Olympic distance race in 2:38:10.

Nigel O’Sullivan was next in 2:52:50, Neil Griffin took part in the Sprint race and finished in 1:18:49 and Karen McNamara took part in the Aqua Velo (Swim bike race) finishing in  2:11:32.

UCI Paracycling Road World Cup

Seamus Wall was off traveling again, this time to Emmen in the Netherlands for the next round of the UCI Paracycling Road World Cup.

The weekend consisted of a 16 km TT followed by a 55 km road race the next day.

Seamus completed the TT in 28:24, and the road race in 1:41.

ITU Multisport World Duathlon Championships

Fyn in Denmark was the location for the World Duathlon Championship this year.

Focus on Fitness was represented by Shane Power and Jason Travers both Tried and Tested Triathlon Club members.

Jason had competed at the event last year and this was the first time for Shane.

This was a big race with very strong competition.  A lot of planning and preparation was done over the last 6 months leading up to this race and all the work paid off on the day.

Shane finished in 5th place in his AG and Jason bettered his position on last year taking 7th in his AG both great results at this level.

Harbourman Triathlon, Wicklow

The Base2Race, Wicklow Triathlon Club, Harbourman Olympic Triathlon took place in fabulous but testing conditions. This years race was the National Championships  Standard Distance event.

The late start at 1 pm gave everyone plenty of time to relax in the morning before the race start.

The racing up front was competitive from the start. Eoin Lyons had a super race, good control in tough conditions gave him a podium place, finishing 3rd overall in 2:06:38. A great result, with a stacked field, some of the best the country has to offer.

I was next taking 2nd in AG finishing in 2:18:31, Ian Grehan crossed the line in 2:25:24, Justin Foley was next in 2:43:05, Marie Slattery finished in 2:50:35, Micheal O’Connor 2:54:53, Maggie Murphy 3:02:37, Richie Daly 3:23:45 and Ann Marie O’Keeffe 3:27:38.

Cahir Half Marathon

Nearly all the races over the past few weeks were in very hot conditions and this was no exception. Ken Dickenson and Dave McConnell took part in this race as a build up race to long distance triathlon races coming in the next few weeks. Ken finished in 17th place overall in a time of 1:32:01, and Dave finished in 1:40:11.

Hills of the Harbour Sprint Triathlon 

On to Whitegate in East Cork where Focus on Fitness was represented by Neil Griffin and Norma Goggin. Neil finished in 01:18:11 and Norma in 01:39:25, winning her AG again.

Invacare League Round 7

Blarney CC was the host of round 7 of the Invacare TT league. Seamus Wall a regular competitor in the league made the trip and finished 2nd place in 24:02.

Tribesman Olympic Triathlon

The Tribesman Triathlon is based out of NUIG in Galway with three distances on offer; a Sprint, Olympic and Half Ironman Distance.

The swim is in the Corrib river. The bike course takes the athletes out into Connemara with some fantastic scenery on route, finishing with a run in the grounds of the University.

Bernie Mockler took part in the Olympic distance race finishing in a time of 2:52:45.  Brian Jacob, Mark Gater, Katie Jacob and Tim O’Brien took part in the Half distance.

Brian had a great race finishing in 11th place in 4:41:06, Mark finished 18th place in 4:48:05 a super result only starting into triathlon this year and first time doing this distance.

Katie finished in 6:05:08 with a 40 min PB on the distance. Tim did the swim and bike but didn’t run due to injury before the race.

ITU Multisport World Championships Festival Long Distance Triathlon

Back to Fyn on Denmark, this time for the Long Distance Triathlon Championships.

Dave Campbell of Tried and Tested Triathlon Club was competing in the Long Distance Triathlon. A great opportunity for Dave after qualifying for this event.

The 3 km swim, 120 km bike and 30 km run were the distances that lay ahead for Dave, and he had a great result  finishing in a time of 7:52:21.

Bagnelstown Mile Swim

David Devine was back home in Bagnelstown and took part in the club mile swim. He was delighted to win it.

KTC V Graph Triathlon

The Kilkenny Triathlon Club, V Graph Sprint race is based out of the fabulous grounds of Kilkenny Castle.

Always a popular race for both athletes and spectators, a great day out. Focus on Fitness was represented well on the day with some great results.

Martin Mizgajski took 2nd overall in a time of 1:06:02, David Devine had a close battle but took 4th place overall and winning AG in 1:09:21. Ken Dickenson crossed the line in 1:15:09, Stephen Butler 1:18:26 followed closely by Anthony Hughes in 1:18:55.

Ciara Mc Sweeney had anther great result 4th female and  winning her AG in 1:23:44, Ian Stenson was next over the line in  1:24:27, Maggie Murphy was next in 1:27:07 taking 3rd in AG and 11th female. Jennifer Hennebry finished in 1:31:10. Breffini Loughman getting back into triathlon finished in 1:32:27 crossing the line with the same time as Ger Nolan. Liam Carey was next in 1:36:33, Ann Hennebry finished in 1:38:08, Peter Whelan crossed the line in  1:38:43, and Deborah Forristal finished in 1:56:01.

Ironman UK

The next Ironman race of the year was Ironman UK based in Bolton. This race is known for it’s tough bike route and the run route is not much better. A slightly shorter bike due to a fire on the moors cut 17 miles off the bike route, but elevation was still over 1,400 mtrs. There were two athletes from Focus on Fitness taking part, Siobhan Kennedy and Johnny Lynch (Tried and Tested Triathlon Club)

Johnny  was doing Ironman for the first time and had a super race taking on a course like this for his first time doing the distance. He swam 1:16 and biked 5.14, and having never ran a stand alone marathon he ran a 3.44 marathon finishing with a 10.28:08 overall time.

Siobhan was going to the race with a seat already booked on the flight to Kona so it was the obvious thing to do to try to get a spot to race at the World Championships. With one spot available in her age group it was going to be all or nothing.

The day started with a flat wheel in transition and especially with a tubular tyre it was panic stations for short while. Out of the swim Siobhan was down 30 min on the leaders in her age group so she had to get to work on her stronger disciplines the bike and run. After the bike she was down 4 min going out on the run but was in the lead after 5 km. She went on to run a great race and win the AG by nearly 60 min, a swim of 1:37:39, a bike time of 5:27:29, running 4:04:25 with a finishing time of 11:23:09 securing the much sought after place to race at Kona Hawaii at Ironman World Championships.

Kitslano Beach, Vancouver, Open Water Swim

Aisling Flood had a great race at the 2018 Kitsilano Challenge, coming third female overall (00:29:32.0) in the 1500m non wet-suit swim. She has a few more interesting races ahead this season.

Jailbreak Triathlon

Cobh Triathlon Club Jailbreak Triathlon was held on a beautiful day. This Olympic distance race starts with a unique swim, taking the ferry out to Spike Island and swimming back to Cobh. Then out on the bike and finishing with a 10 km looped run around the streets of Cobh.

Justin Foley was first across the line from Focus on Fitness finishing in 2:19:29, Neil Griffin was next in  2:24:36,  James Roche in 2:46;13 and  Ann Marie O’Keeffe in 2:53:29.

Lakeside Triathlon

Luke Doyle took part in the Lakeside Triathlon in Mullaghmore in Donegal. Luke had a great race finishing in  21st place in  1:19:27 and coming 2nd in the Junior Category.

Ballymcarbry 5 mile

Next up was West Waterford AC annual  Ballmacarbry 5 mile part of the Intersport, Elverys summer series.

Jason Travers and Shane Power took part in the race. Jason finished in 10th place, 3rd in AG in a time of 29:39. Shane Power finished in 30:17 moving from the road to the trails, maybe time for some adventure racing.

PRL Handcycle Grand Prix London

Seamus Wall took up an invite to take part in the PRL Ride London Hand Bike Grand Prix.

This was a criterium  style race where the riders raced for 40 min + 1 lap around St James Park on a 2km course. This is a unique opportunity to ride the streets of London in this style of bike race. Seamus finished in 14th place overall.

Piltown 10 km Carrick AC Outfield Sports

The next round in the Outfield summer series took place in the grounds of Kildalton College, with the Piltown 10km.  For a change athletes had to deal with heavy rain. Shane Power took part in the race and finished in 11th place in 37:51.

St Joseph, St Benildus & St Mary’s Parish 6km  Ballygunner

A new race on the calendar and an ideal distance to test your pace.

The conditions on the evening were wet, a welcome change considering the weather we had over the last few months.

Ciara Mc Sweeney finished in 26:41 winning her AG, Gillian Lyons was next in  30:08 and  Aileen Windle crossed the line in  30:38.

Donadea Forest Duathlon Race series Race 2

Jason Travers kept the duathlon season going long into the summer taking part in the Donadea Forest Duathlon.  Jason continued on with another great result and finishing 2nd overall.

The Tri Tyone Middle Distance event is now part of the Triathlon Ireland National Series. The lake swim followed by a fast bike course and finish with the 21km run.

The day started out well for everyone but then a change in weather caused a lot of problems for athletes taking part in the race.

A large number of people had to pull out of the race suffering from hypothermia during the bike section and more were not allowed out on the run course with the sudden change in weather.

David McConnell, Marie Slattery, and Kenny Dickenson were taking part from Focus on Fitness. Ken had a great race considering the conditions finishing the race in 5:05:57 his first time doing the distance. Dave McConnell was next and finished in 5:19:13.

Marie completed the swim and bike but was not allowed out on the run course so didn’t get to finish the race.

King Of The Hill

Jennifer Hennebry  took part in the Cork Triathlon Club, King of the Hill in Kinsale. The sprint race has a rolling bike route with a tough 5km run to take in the views of Kinsale. Jenifer finished in 12th in the female race and 4th in AG in a time of  01:34:29.

Run Killarney 10k

Brendan Mooney took advantage of the scheduling of The Gleneagle Run Killarney 10K & Half Marathon while on his holidays and raced the 10k. A very scenic route, through Killarney National Park and the grounds of Muckross House.

Brendan finished in 00:40:53.

Another great month!

Well done to all Focus on Fitness Athletes, some massive results and more to come.

#throughdedicationsuccesswillcome

Ironman Ireland 2019, Youghal, Cork

Booking for Focus on Fitness Lanzarote Training Camp 2019 is open.

If interested please call Martin for info.

Check out video below from #FocusLanzarCamp18