A low-key, professionally delivered event, but too long to wait for the results

Date: 30 August 09

Location: Dorney Lake, near Windsor

Format: 1500m swim / 40km bike / 10km run

Organiser: F3 Events

 Website: www.f3events.co.uk

Triathletes are a strange bunch. Most people prefer warmer water, but triathletes (at least a significant portion of them) become anxious if the temperature approaches 22 degrees, the point at which wetsuits become illegal for Olympic distance events.

Earlier in the year, Human Race organised the Steelman Triathlon at Dorney Lake. A spell of hot weather meant a wetsuit free swim and slow swim times. Fortunately (for most), for the Orca Classic, the temperature had cooled sufficiently to make wetsuits optional. One brave soul was seen entering the water in just a tri suit, but the majority had no hesitation in squeezing back into neoprene.

The organisers chose to run only two waves: one for men and a second for women. This meant heavy congestion at the swim start and, as seems to be quite common, a large number of people trying to take advantage by sculling past the start line in the last few seconds before the signal. Cheating basically.

Perhaps race organisers should consider doing away with countdowns or simply refusing to start the race until all competitors are behind the line. It’s not just the couple of yards those creeping forward gain, it’s the wasted energy needed to swim past them 100m into the race.

Apart from the clear water and easy to navigate swim course, one of the big advantages of Dorney Lake is the proximity of transition to the swim exit. Also, unlike London for example, there is no need to push your bike for half a mile before mounting.

Both the bike and run courses are flat and fast although they can be exposed to the wind. With multiple laps, it’s ideal for spectators and for keeping track of pacing but it can become a little monotonous. While some events might incorporate fantastic scenery, especially on the bike, Dorney Lake is all about the racing. If you’re happy with that, you’ll enjoy competing there.

Interestingly, F3 configured the course slightly differently to Human Race. Both used a rectangular swim course but the Orca Classic’s was shorter and wider. The bike routes were identical but the Orca event went for a two lap run route, taking competitors to the end of the lake and back, rather than the Human Race’s four laps.

That means direct comparisons between the two races are not possible if, for example, you were looking to see how you had improved over the season. The winning time for the Orca event was two minutes faster than the earlier race and, overall, run times seem a little quicker.

F3 chose not to use electronic timing, which is fine. Timing chips get in the way sometimes. However, it did mean they were not able to separate out transition times, and those are always nice to see. Also, it took several days before F3 published the results, and this was a little frustrating now we are used to see them shortly after crossing the finish line.

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