It's not everyday that you get to proudly compete for the colours of the flag of which you were born. But, being Irish, I decided that competing for Great Britain was the next best thing.
Last October, I adorned a Lycra skin-suit in a qualification race at Oulton Park to compete for Great Britain at the Multi-Sports European Championships in Bilbao which were to run from the 15th of September 2022, a week long event incorporating several disciplines such as Triathlon, Duathlon and Aquathon across numerous Elite and Age-Group races.
John Kirkham (it is I) and a friend, Scott Billing (who works for engineering firm Tetra Tech Europe), were delighted earlier this year to find out that our times were quick enough to be selected by Great Britain to compete for GBR in the 40-44 Age Group Duathlon team.
And so began an excitable few months incorporating everything and anything you could think of to compete in such a prestigious race - training, nutrition, equipment, travel planning, even sponsorship (thanks to Avantgarde International and Herrera Homes).
After three months of specific training the week had finally arrived and we flew out from Manchester on the Thursday 15th of September with wife's and bikes in tow. I definitely could not have got to this stage without the encouragement and support of mine so I would like to say a big THANK YOU.....it is such a beautiful bike.
Oh, and a big thanks to Georgina Kirkham-Herrera for her support and encouragement, too ;)
We arrived into Bilbao and having been unsure exactly what to expect we were presented with a money can't buy experience in terms of the organisation.
Registration was a true athletes village with a large-scale events tent offering the chance to mingle with other athletes, write a message onto an athletes wall and get your picture taken with your number (see picture on the left) - PROOF it was actually happening! There were several food and merchandise stalls and a large stage for the opening, awards and closing ceremonies.
In fact, the whole weekend was brilliant in terms of the interaction with other athletes including several first-timers like myself and Scott. When we heard there was an opening ceremony that evening we were there, proudly walking behind the GBR flag with the other athletes.
We could not have asked for anything better from the weekend.
BUT what about the race, I hear you ask?
After a sleepless night for both myself and Scott, the big day had arrived and we cycled silently through the dark streets of Bilbao and over to the start line which was next to the famous Guggenheim Museum.
We'd both been involved in races before but this was on another level, hundreds of athletes from various different nations across Europe and it was pretty daunting knowing you were going to be racing across the cream of the amateur crop.
That didn't stop us larking around, getting some of the tension out by not taking things TOO seriously but then that tension ramped up as the warm-ups started - probably not helped by a booming beat-box at the start-line which then went into a deep-drum beat as we were lined up.
BUD-UM....BUD-UM....BUD-UM......BUD-UM.......BANG!!!
And so the race began, a flat 5 km run of two loops along the river followed by a 20 km cycle (which incorporated a 900 foot climb into the hills of Bilbao) and then back into the city for a straight 2.8 km run and lash to the finish.
Unfortunately, it wasn't really my day competitive wise and although it wasn't one of my finest races I can look back pretty fondly on a sub-20 minute 5 km, a competitive cycle with some great racing between a group of 5-6 that we'd formed up the first climb and then a sub-standard last run BUT one where I had a chance to savour the moment (as you can see from the photos).
Scott fared much better, actually bettering his best ever 5 km time and finishing a few places ahead of me and near the top 100 overall - if you're out there reading this, Scott, well done mate.
Overall, I finished 18th of out 21 in our 40-44 age group, 39th of out 49th in our wave (40-49) and 121st out of 209 male competitors and had an absolutely amazing experience to go with the results.
Thanks everyone for your support (and again, especially Gina), I'm sure there'll be more to come in this story so I'll update you as things happen.
In the meantime, feel free to take a look through our new website www.herrerahomes.co.uk in all its glory and get in touch on 07766 557554 if you wish to discuss any of the roles we're currently running.
Commenti