Clem’s European Championship Adventure

Hyde Park Harrier Triathlon Club member Clem shares the story of an unforgettable season that took her from a local qualifier race to representing Great Britain at the European Age Group Sprint Championships. It’s a brilliant reminder of where saying “yes” to an opportunity can lead, and how consistency, support from clubmates, and simply keeping turning up can take you further than you might expect. 

Racing at the European Age Group Sprint Championships is probably the most incredible experience that I’ve ever fallen into completely by-accident. I’d signed up to a local race near my parents’ house and found out that the race was going to be a qualifier event for the championships. With encouragement from our head coach, JP, I decided I’d give it a go. I never expected that I’d actually qualify…

Fast forward to race day 1 year later…

Swim – 750m

It was 8am and it was already boiling. As always, I was starting to get nervous for the swim start and the fact that it was a non-wetsuit swim (a first for me in open water) was only adding to my nerves. I’d decided that the best race plan for me for the swim was just to go at my own pace, stay calm, and remember that I swim without a wetsuit every week!

As soon as we set off, all the nerves vanished and I found my own rhythm, gaining lots of motivation passing all the people who had set off much quicker than me! The course was easy to navigate and I managed to get round the right side of all the buoys (unlike some unlucky competitors who went the wrong way round the final buoy to the exit and got sent back)!

Bike – 18.5k (draft legal)

Out of T1 I hopped onto the back of a group of about 4 or 5 riders, as we set off on an undulating out and back course. We picked up several solo riders on the outward leg, forming a bigger pack. There were several attacks on the front to try and break up this group and eventually another rider and I managed to form a breakaway off the front giving us a good time buffer for the run to come.

Run – 5k

Immediately after setting off I realised I may have gotten a bit carried away in the bike racing and that this run was going to be tough. Temperatures had already reached 30 degrees celsius by 9:30am, so for me, this run was about trying not to overheat. All I could think was “keep your head cool”. This involved dunking cups of water over my head at every aid station and hoping for the best. My legs have never been in so much pain running but the incredible atmosphere kept me putting one foot in front of the other. I’m pretty sure everyone in the bike group overtook me again so I’m going to put that one down as a learning experience! As soon as I crossed that finish line, all I could think was how much I wanted to do it all over again. I think the huge smile on my face in all the photos says it all! 

I was asked when writing this race report if I had any advice for our members from this experience and there was one (cliche) thing that came to mind – give it a go and keep turning up. As they say – consistency is king. Staying consistent was made so much easier with Hyde Park Harriers Triathlon as a training group to rely on. Over the past year I just kept turning up, kept seeing improvement, and kept leaning on other members for support – thank you JP and Naomi for answering my endless questions! The only other insight I can offer from the race is that doughnuts taste absolutely amazing after you cross a finish line!