Grafman
by Alice O'Neill

Review Made: 02/07/2016

Rachel Rathbone

Grafman Half race report! Not my finest days racing!! 
Arrived in plenty of time to register, rack the bike & get into my wetsuit before a quick race briefing. The sun was just coming out over the reservoir & looked lovely & tempting! 
Nice Tri events had decided to use a rolling start for the first time & having never done one before I can say it wasn't the best experience, especially as people were in the wrong starting pens! The first stretch of the swim seemed really choppy & messy & I took on a lot of water, got hit in the face a couple of times, but I eventually got my own space & settled down a bit before coming to the Australian style exit to start the 2nd lap. This is where I took on more water which was stinky & full of duck shit ??Out of the swim in a disappointing 34 mins. 
Out onto the bike & it was clear very quickly that my quads were having a bad day, plus I started to feel sick & wretch! Sadly this lasted for the rest of the race & I found it hard to take on food! The bike course was good with a fair amount of cheeky hills but the rest was fairly flat. Again a new bike course this year & people who had done it previously said it was harder this year. Pleased with a time of 3:09. 
Out on to the run & stomach cramps causing me problems as is my arthritis in my big toe! Again couldn't take on food but could water, which I was thankful for as it was very hot out there today! 
After 6.5 miles & in discomfort I decided to call it a day! Very disappointed but still a days training & a good suntan....face is glowing!!

Race Ratings

Organisation:		Rolling start didn't go well
Course:
Venue:
Value For Money: