UK’S Largest Women Only Triathlon Proves a Perfect Place in the Sun
Jasmine Harman (Channel 4’s A Place in the Sun – Home or Away) was amongst over 2,000 women that cooled off in the waters of Olympic venue Dorney Lake for the UK’s largest Shock Absorber WomenOnly Triathlon on Saturday 3 July.
With a range of distances on offer, the event truly gave women of all ages and fitness levels the opportunity to give triathlon a go, either individually or in a team. Jasmine, like over fifty percent of the field, was embarking on the sport for the first time, in support of Breast Cancer Care and the warm sunshine provided optimum race conditions for the thousands of competitors.
Harman was determined to overcome a phobia of putting her face in the water in order to compete in the Novice event which comprised of a 200m swim, 5km bike and 2.5km run. Together with the help and advice of the Shock Absorber WomenOnly training day and lots of practise in her local lido Jasmine deservedly achieved her goal. Crossing the line in a respectable 37:08 and in 113th postion, she said, “I really enjoyed that - much more than I thought I would. Everyone has been so friendly and supportive - it was a fantastic atmosphere and I would definitely take part again.”
Amongst the many inspiring stories of the day, was notably Pauline Karminski from Kent, who at the age of 73 was not only the oldest competitor but astonishingly also tackling her first triathlon. She entered the Sprint category (400m swim, 20km bike,5km run) with her daughter claiming, “the Sprint distance seemed too short and hardly worth doing!”.
Despite competing on a very old rusty mountain bike and the gears getting jammed during her race, Pauline completed the race in a hugely impressive 405th position (out of 551 finishers) in a time of 2hrs10m10s. “Everyone is so friendly, there are such a range of people competing. I always need a goal to try and stay fit and healthy and i’m so glad I did it together with the support of my daughter,” she enthused.
Commenting on the success of the day, Kirsty Kothakota, Senior Brand manager of Sponsor Shock Absorber, and successful Novice competitor said: “It’s wonderful to see such a range of women having a go with everyone encouraging each other along. We are really excited to be part of a growing sport that reaches so many women of all shapes and sizes, enabling us to educate women on the importance of wearing a sports bra.”
The event also offered a 5km and 10km run, with a view to runners being inspired to build up their fitness and give triathlon a go whilst seeing the huge volume of novice triathletes in action. Many of these athletes return year on year and build up to the Challenge distance comprising a 800m swim, 30km bike, 7.5km run. The Challenge distance is also available in the team category - where each person completes one of the three disciplines.
Sporting Events Manager at Breast Cancer Care, Claire Pulford, who also made her debut to the sport, commented, “it is fantastic to be involved in such a superb event for the 4th year running and to see even more women competing for Breast Cancer Care. We are aiming to raise over £60,000 and every penny that is raised makes a real difference to the Charity.”
