Förderverein Hallesche Werfertage
Blackburn Harriers Hammer Thrower – Sophie Hitchon – is in Olympic year and has already had a really good start to the season, throwing further than the Olympic qualifying distance, along with quite a lot of traveling!!
She kicked off on May 7th in the Jamaica International Invitation with a 3rd placed throw of 70.65m, then moved on to Beijing on May 18th, throwing 71.71m (4th) at the IAAF World Challenge Meeting.
Three days later she was in Germany (Halle) at the Förderverein Hallesche Werfertage Meeting – May 21st – and placed 3rd with another throw of 71.63m.
♦
Club La Santa IRONMAN Lanzarote – May 21st
Blackburn Harrier – Brian Fogarty – put in another fantastic performance at what has been described as one of the toughest Ironman Events in the world last weekend, when he took on the Club La Santa Ironman in Lanzarote.Brian finished 23rd overall and 2nd overall in his Age Group category (30 – 34) in a time of 9hr 34.32 and it is worth noting that his Bike Split time of 5hr 11.11 was only bettered by the first ten in the Race which demonstrates the power of his performance.
The Event is described on its website as “Located on the northern edge of the Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa, this race is considered by many to be one of the toughest IRONMAN events in the world. The swim course takes place at Playa Grande, Puerto del Carmen, the main tourist resort of the island. It is a two-lap course with a short running passage between the two laps. The bike course, well known for challenging athletes with strong winds, takes you all around the island with over 2551 m. of climbing. Participants will enjoy amazing views and will have lots of support from volunteers along the way. Finally, consisting of 3 laps, the run course leads you along the flat sea front of Puerto del Carmen, towards the airport and back”.
Brian has once again qualified for the World Championships in Hawaii demonstrating both his quality and consistency at international level. Brian was very happy with how things went for him and spoke to the Club after the event commenting that the “Lanzarote Ironman was a massive race for me. I had my best performance there last year and I was confident I had improved, although a lack of running due to injury at an important time in my prep did have me slightly worried. The swim is a mass start in the sea and it was the most brutal I’ve ever experienced so to get come out in a PB 1:02 was a good start for me, this set me up nicely for the extremely tough bike leg…….
……..My cycling has been a big focus over the winter months and it paid off. Completing the 112 miles in 5:11, 15 minutes off last year and putting me right up with the top pro’s…….
……..The run was very hot this year with little wind and with my lack of running miles I had to start conservatively. I had the perfect start because I was having to slow myself down and still running sub 7min miles.
As Ironman always does, the fatigue and heat did test me but I was still moving well and holding PB pace. The support I had out there was overwhelming, this helped so much and when I had 10k to go I had to dig very deep. This was where tough track sessions and Wednesday runs over winter with the Blackburn Harrier lads really paid off. I was elated when I finished because I knew i executed the best race I could have and got my slot back at the world Championships. I finished with a 3:13 marathon and 23rd overall in one of the strongest fields Lanzarote has seen as it was their 25th Anniversary. A few easy days now before I get back into full training, I have two half Ironman races next before Ironman Uk where I’m looking to improve again with a top 10 result. I’m so grateful for all my support, I couldn’t keep improving without the help of my Sponsor Paul Slone of Universal Cooling Ltd”.
Brian and Ian Cox who also competed and came home in 232nd place with a total time of 11hr 11.24 with Maria, family and support team.
♦
