Race #58

Once again the folks at the weather office must have known it was Stroke & Stride night.  Their forecast this time, was for strong north-easterlies blowing straight into St Heliers Bay and rain.  Just great.  Fortunately they got it wrong.  As it turned out the wind was lucky to be gusting up past 2 knots and the rain held off for the duration of the race.  The 500 metre swim was therefore so flat it was ideal for those swimmers who do all their training in the pool and think that a large swell is the lump you get on your head when you mistime a flip turn.

For this race the men were started first with the women starting five minutes behind.  Just 5 minutes 55 seconds after the start, Series leader Brent Foster emerges first from the water after establishing a small break on his competition . Over the last couple of years Brent’s running has improved to the stage where you would need to be very handy in the running department in order to overtake Brent on the run, and that’s provided of course you’re not too far back after the swim.  So far this had not been the case in the Series this season.

The women’s start to the race was a feisty affair, with the Race Director on the night exposing himself to a certain amount of risk to ensure the race started fairly.  The Tanner sisters, Nikki and Debbie, were again first out of the water in 6 minutes 42 seconds, shoulder to shoulder, having a clear lead over the remainder of the women.

By now the leading men were running back past St Heliers after returning from Mission Bay and were heading for the second turnaround at the far end of St Heliers.  They would return to St Heliers for the finish on the beach.  It was a surprise for many to see Paul Duffy was now leading Brent Foster by five metres as they headed out towards the second turnaround cone, Paul’s background in running had come to the fore over the 5 kilometres and he was delighted to win his first Stroke & Stride ahead of some very classy opposition.  Brent Foster had to settle for second while Malcolm McGregor headed home Vaughan Skiffington and Glen Tasker.

Some had thought young Debbie Tanner would be caught out by the longer run but she maintained her winning ways with her fourth win a row.  Heidi Alexander and Suzanne Clark made some impression on her lead during the run but the 5 kilometres was never going to be enough to overhaul Debbie.  Sue Attwood and Beverley Chesham also displayed some serious leg speed during the run portion to move through the field for fourth and fifth place.