Hi All

I'm very excited about a new triathlon weekend here in Forster (And no, I am nothing to do with the organisation of it!)

There will be two days of racing and events starting on the Saturday 18th October with a Pro Enduro, the Australian Sprint distance championships, an elite cycle criterium, a 5km fun run and sundry events for juniors, as well as an enticer distance.

Sunday 19th is the brand new Forster Long Course race (2000/60/15) which is now also a qualifier for the World Long Course Champs in Perth next year.

Sign up here - http://www.eliteenergy.com.au/forster/index.html

Finally a chance to race in my home town, as I missed doing Ironman here due to being too fat and unfit for so many years. Bring it on!

Hope to see some CR friends in my neck of the woods.

M

Hi Muzman,

Yep, we are all excited about this event also.

I have spent the past week booking accommodation for 16 of us all coming up for the long course.

It is going to be a huge weekend for Balance Tri Club!

See you there.

Cheers,
AK

ps. Jimmy-Jack will be competing in the Mini-Man on Saturday, this is his first big race... he is gonna fly on his swanky new bike - thanks Ice

Is the swim up near pacific palms on the lake or ocean side for the long course?

AK,
16 Balance TC members racing Forster could be hard to beat. Awesome effort from this club eh!

Shot'is

there you go, see, I still post occassionally!

It's in the ocean off Main Beach, right beside the transition/finish line.

M

good to see shotis

i'm posting to keep ahead of KB

AK

I need to find some more obscure threads to post on if I have a hope of catching up!

kb

That is pretty short for a long course.
I would like to do it but I am not that keen on the $145 entry fee.

that sounds like a challenge

I'm booked in. Still not running, so not sure if I'm racing or spectating at this stage - but I'll definitely be there and so should a lot of Port Mac Tri Club members

come on Miners Forster is local to this race so I bet there will be a tonne of green suits running around on this weekend, 16 members wont be a challenge at all. That is if the locals let you IM thieving buggers into the district of course

See you up there,

Shot'is

lol - I recall that on the last occasion the IM was held down in Forster (05), one of the only competitors from Port Macquarie was the General Manager of the Council. I don't think there's been a braver sporting performance since Lance set foot in Paris after his first couple of wins

I'll be there - very excited!!

I only paid $100 entry fee? I presume it has gone up as it gets closer.

Muzman - what will the swim be like? Waves?

How lucky do ya feel?

Seriously, RILI, it is almost always flat as. It's a North-facing beach, much like Busso is, and it is rare for it to be lumpy. Like Busso though, it has its moments.

The Anaconda swim was a bit dicey this weekend just gone, but that was around the headland from One Mile.

Normally Forster Main is a very sheltered and smooth swim.

M

I know I said I was nothing to do with the organisation of this race, but now Mrs Muzman has put her hand up to help organise the volunteers who man the aid stations, registration, marshalling etc. She can't help herself.

If anyone is coming up to race, and their significant other feels inclined to volunteer on the day, PM me and I will put you in touch with Mrs M.

It's always nice to see a friendly face out on the course.

M

might see what I can do for you Muz. I have every family member racing at one point or other - but may be able to help out for a couple of days. I'll send something around the Club up here too

I'm feeling lucky! But just to make sure if you could somehow organise a calm ocean for me Muzman I would appreciate it!

I'm presuming wetsuits (please??!)?

I would be absolutely amazed if it was a non-wetsuit swim.

M

Ak and Shot'is,

Somehow I managed to enter the Sprint - guess I will have to go flat out.

The big question will be, do I wear a wetsuit... After Yeppoon 750m without a wetsuit should be easy may even decide to do this even freestyle

Ninja

Do both events - short on Saturday & long Sunday
I hear that is what Ice is doing ohhh and probably his coach... Coach Koppo

AK

Ninja,
Speak with Chucky D about his wetsuit you may be able to talk him into selling it to you. His is a couple of sizes too big and buying it from him could be good result for both of you. Dont forget that BTC are doing a wetsuit trial day at Clovelly after Blackmores if you want a new suit.

Shot'is

Oh C'mon Ninja,

You are only looking at a 750m swim. After your Capricorn effort id say you may be slightly over prepared if you wear your club gear again.



Coolio

Welcome to the clan Coolio. Long time lurker maybe????!!!!

Shot'is

Hey bro,

Yeah i thought it about time i add a touch of me to the mix, i feel like ive been away from it all too long.

Ninja has been MIA of late.

No show at the wet suit trial day where he could have snagged a bargain.

Welcome to Cool Running Coolio.

wt/kb

Phew! Finally entered the damn race, although my calf is till a bit dodgy.

Oh well, no guts no glory. I would kick myself if I missed out on this race after talking it up for so long.

Now hoping for some great Forster weather.

M

good to hear M. I have the rest of the family entered in their various events on the Saturday. Am yet to commit myself until my hip/groin thingy settles down. But will likely be Ok for the Long Course. When's the cut-off for entry again?

Miners, the price goes up again after the 6th Oct, but apparently you can enter right up to the day before - "Desperate Entries". But no race t-shirt

M

Im just wondering if there are any other beginners that would be interested in giving the enticer Triathlon a go in forster.
Im thinking about it, but am lacking a bit of confidence in entering it by myself.

Well, I dug deep in my wallet and entered for the not-so-long-course. I am really looking forward to it now.

How is everyones training going? Can Muzman give us a blow-by-blow of the run course? How hilly is it?

Hi

The run course is 99% flat.

There is a short, sharp rise coming out of transition and heading to the off-road section along Bennet's Head which is a bit of a heart-starter, and we do it twice.

There are the two gentle humps on and off the bridge, and that's about it!

The other off-road section goes around Pilot Hill, following the track, and not over it, as previous fun runs here have done.

The bike course is also perfectly flat, with only a slight rise coming out of town, past the Cape Hawke roundabout, as previous Forster Ironmen will attest.

M

Muzz, can you order in the southerly change to occur immediately after I've made the Booti turn-around?

Thanks for that Muzman. The website says its undulating! I want my money back.

If I could do that, I would do it for every long training ride I do!

As it is, I get a lot of practice going aero on the way back into town.

M

Hehe

The notes on the course are referring to the run leg BEFORE they saw reason and changed it to travel across the bridge - prior to that it headed in the opposite direction and went round the golf course.

Why would you not utilise the bridge, and the magnificent scenery there?

M

I just noticed that Jason Shortis has signed up for this race

It's getting to be Old Home Week in Forster. Where's Macca?

Starters for Forster Long Course:

AK or Blueberry or BB (Balance joke)
Winky
shotis ?
Coolio
Ice
Ninja
Two Dogs
Helmet
Koppo
Muzman
MissZ
runitloveit
plazbot
miners ?

Shortcourse:

Prima Donna

5k Fun Run:

JimmyJack

Who have I missed?

TallGeoff for the Long Course option.

thanks Aunty! But I can only register Mrs Miner for the enticer, and 2 of the 3 mini-miners for the mini-man. Other commitments mean we'll be heading back Saturday night, so have to miss the Long Course

Starters for Forster Long Course:

AK or Blueberry or BB (Balance joke)
Winky
shotis ?
Coolio
Ice
Ninja
Two Dogs
Helmet
Koppo
Muzman
MissZ
runitloveit
plazbot
TallGeoff

Shortcourse:

Prima Donna
Mr Prima Donna
Mrs Miners

Mini-Man:

2 of the 3 Mini-miners

5k Fun Run:

JimmyJack

Who else??

I am GOOONNNNEEEE!
Another day of beer drinking and yelling support.

Good luck to everybody racing over the weekend.

That's a shame Dr Shot'is.

I will be there late on Sunday arvo once I get out of rehab to lend you a hand.

kb

Starters for Forster Long Course:

AK or Blueberry or BB (Balance joke)
Winky
Coolio
Ice
Ninja
Two Dogs
Helmet
Koppo
Muzman
MissZ
runitloveit
plazbot
TallGeoff

Shortcourse:

Prima Donna
Mr Prima Donna
Mrs Miners

Mini-Man:

2 of the 3 Mini-miners

5k Fun Run:

JimmyJack

Who else??

Shotis - Consider yourself removed from our list

AK

Well, I rode the entire bike course this morning and it was tough.

The wind got up early here and was in my face coming back into town - more so on the second lap when it is quite a tough grind along the beach front at Seven-Mile. Forster IM veterans will know about the mental games you have to play with yourself to make that interminable straight stretch of road bearable.

A few things - the road surface is particularly rough and grainy at the moment - in particular there is a 400m stretch right near my place which made it feel like I had square wheels on the bike. It actually vibrated my CO2 holder off my saddewing!

The edges of the road out of town are crap and quite dangerous if you hit one of the hard-to-spot indentations while in an aero position (the voice of experience). This won't be too much of an issue on raceday as the road will be closed to traffic, and I had to keep left a lot because of motor traffic on the road, but if you are being passed in the race, look out for unnevenness.

I am hoping the organisers will mark with fluoro paint the various potholes and scars in the road. There are only a couple of real big ones - easy to spot - but it is the small ones which will be real wheel-busters if you don't see them in time. Even if Council patches these holes, the traffic will soon create more, especially if it rains this week. Make sure you spoke up - no fancy eight-spoke wheels around here!

Enjoy the litte scrap of perfectly smooth hotmix which is right in town near the turnaround (shades of GCHIM), but while in town keep an eagle eye out for broken glass, and this includes while running on the bridge. During my Sunday long runs, I always come across broken beer bottles on the bridge.

That's about it, I hope to see as many of you as I can next week when you come to my patch, and I hope the race and whole experience is enjoyable and rewarding, and people are keen to make it a repeat experience.

Train safe.

M

Latest forecast for Sunday - Mostly sunny, top of 25 deg, light winds from the N/NE.

M

Fantastic - that sounds very nice indeed. Now if you can just organise for a nice calm ocean Muzman!!

See you up there, can't wait!!

Formerly JOREX I am in for the long course. Looking forward to it after GCHIM. Just read the 'road report', sounds like it will be a bit hairy. Weather sounds promising. Should make for an interesting / fun day at the office

Well, the sun is shining, the breeze is wafting, the birds are singing and the town looks a picture waiting for all its visitors. Even the whales are coming in close for a look.

Should be a fantastic weekend.

Good luck to everyone taking part in races this weekend, and I look forward to wellcoming y'all to my part of the world.

M

Thanks Muzman, it was a fantastic weekend. I had forgotten how lovely Forster is.

The swim was a little choppy in parts but really very good considering it was open water. It felt like an honest 2k to me, not sure what others thought?

I liked the bike course, it was a real triathletes treat = dead flat. After the dire warnings about the road surface I expected the worst but it wasn't too bad. I thought the marshalls did a great job keeping it safe, but unfortunately I heard one competitor was hit by a car and has a broken shoulder or similar. There was a lot of drafting going on, I have no idea why as there was plenty of room on the course. That was kinda annoying.

For me the run was a battle but it was a lovely course, flat with great views and a refreshing ocean breeze. The out and back nature of the course meant that that you got to see where everyone else was - and check that they were not making too much time on you.

After 9 months away from tris and doing lots of running I honestly expected to run really well. But on the day I felt great in the swim and the bike and really crap on the run. But the results show my run was comparatively better than my swim and bike. So I think I have just forgotten how it feels and how hard it is to run off the bike.

I got some good GO CR's from spectators, so thanks for that.
Well done to all the other CRs. I know Mr Flower took out 2nd in his AG. I hope to read some more race reports...

Awesome awesome awesome weekend !!!!

What a beautiful spot is Forster. Fantastic place for this weekend & we couldn't have asked for better weather.

We arrived on Friday around lunch and settled in to our accommodation.

Took the bikes out for a spin, organised dinner with the gang and was now settled in for a brilliant weekend of racing.

On Satuday my son (JimmyJack) wanted to race the 5k Fun Run. Straight away the challenge went out to race against his mum (me) and I thought ohhh shit... i'm gonna cop it. Anyway, we towed the line together and within 10 seconds I didn't see him again. I'm very proud to say he took out the First place for his age and mum (me) took out 2nd for my age. Great way to settle my nerves for the long course race in the morning.

Arrived nice and early at the transition area on Sunday morning. I was very nervous about the swim and thought i'd take my time and try to 'enjoy' it as much as i could. Ok, well... i got hit, punched, swum over, knocked and still managed to swim through choppy water. Got back to shore and attempted to run up the hill... nope... that wasn't going to happen. All my friends were calling out to get moving and my only words were 'that was horrible'

Got to my bike and got a fairly quick and clean getaway. Enjoyed the ride and according to some took my time and cruised around. I found the ride outta town brilliant.. but the ride back in was quite windy.

Onto the run and my legs felt great. I kept seeing MissZ, Muzman and many others that I recognised. The run course was great for keeping us interested. I loved it!!

Finished in a time of 4:18 - 6th in my age group.

Thanks:

Jimmy-Jack - love this kid so much.
Balance Crew - how cool are these guys . We had the best weekend together & the cheering was phenominal.
Hills Club - the noise was unreal as we ran through each lap.
B+ - best coach ever!!
Forster - hope they put this event on again.

Cheers,
AK

Great to get down to Forster for the weekend of racing. Got to see a couple of Trannies, including Mrs.Green Machine, but didn’t see any CRs on the Saturday morning. Sorry we couldn’t stay around for the afternoon, or for Sunday Muzz. We had a couple of social engagements we couldn’t get out of (similar to what will keep me away from Nepean this year … grrr)

Was great to see Main Beach set up for a triathlon again. There was gorgeous weather for the Saturday’s races. I expect it would have been a bit windy for the Sunday Long Course as it was blowing a gale up our way.

congrats to all who competed