London Standard Triathlon - Greig's Report

Greig Farmer took part in the London Standard Distance Triathlon 2018 - read on to find out how Greig got on.

LONDON STANDARD TRIATHLON by Greig Farmer

"I took part in Saturdays Olympic race based at the excel arena. There were 20 waves in total with a mixture of male, female, sprint, junior and Olympic races.

Competitors were invited to register 90 mins before their wave which reduced the queues massively. Given the sheer numbers involved, the organisation was exceptional with plenty of signs and volunteers.

You were invited to the swim brief 20 mins before the start for some stretching and group chanting!! After that everyone walked down to the pontoon and entered the water at Victoria quay for the swim start. The water temp was 24 degrees at 2 o'clock, making the swim very hot but thankfully meaning wetsuits were still permitted.

After completing one lap of the 1500m course you exited the water and had to remove your wetsuit before entering the venue. The run to transition is a good few hundred metres giving you a chance to get breathing under control.

After collecting your bike, you exit the centre and follow the access ramp down onto the main road. There is plenty of space, direction markers and volunteers to keep you going the right way. The route consists of 4 out and back 10km loops. It's a closed road event and a mostly flat route with the exception of a couple of climbs over the bridges. The turning points were tight and the only chance for coming a cropper with other cyclists.

Once back in transition the run exit was well signposted and you enjoyed heading past a crowd of supporters cheering everyone in and out of transition.

The run route consisted of 4x 2.5km laps down and around the quayside walkway before coming back into the arena for a quick loop and then back out onto the course. The route had 2 water stations and one gel station and plenty of charity tents with volunteers cheering you on and high 5's a plenty.

The final stretch to the finish line was a good hundred metres indoor and you were made to feel like a champion by the anoucer!

Overall the route is very spectator friendly and there are numerous opportunities to see your supporters.

By the time my wave set off the heat was around 30 degrees and I was delighted to finish in 2:43:56. Overall I was 79th out of 1163, 72 out of 844 males and 12th out of 144 M35-39.

London triathlon is definitely worth doing due to the location, crowds, organisation and atmosphere????"

Excellent racing Greig, especially contending with those temperatures!??????