Ironman 70.3 Galway

Congratulations to everyone who took part in Irelands first Ironman event. There are days when you earn your stripes and Sunday 4th September was one of them. With very windy conditions the organisers were forced to shorten the swim and in the end most people were very happy they did so. The water was very choppy and with a strong wind coming in off the sea it made for a difficult start to the race. The wind helped competitors on the out-leg of the bike course to Maam Cross in Connemara. The return leg was a different story with strong winds and rain to contend with. It made for interesting viewing with hypothermic people wrapped in foil blankets, ambulances flying about, and bikes in ditches. All part of the fun!! The run leg had the best of the days weather with the sun coming out to help everyone over the finish line. It was made up of three laps from Salthill into Galway city taking in the Spanish Arch, the Long Walk (some took this literally!!), and the final section along the promenade to the finish line in Salthill park.

Eleven club members took part in the event with great performances all-round. Eamon Hill finished third in the 45-49 age category and Paul Carroll was the best placed club member.

Crowds were fantastic all day long. Special thanks to Heather, Anne H, Aisling, and Sara who made the trip to Galway to support the club, and to Johnny Davis and Drew Millar who worked as volunteers for the weekend.

Some photos can be found at:
http://www.irishtriathlon.com/index.php/2011/09/ironman-70-3-galway-irel...
http://www.triathlonireland.com/index.php?id=107&nid=471

Results below:
Race# Forename Surname Gender GenderPos Category CategoryPos Total Pos Swim Rank T1 Rank Bike Rank T2 Rank Run Rank
1459 Paul Carroll Male 44 M40-44 6 04:38:06 47 00:22:08 429 00:06:16 253 02:35:06 77 00:06:46 825 01:27:52 19
768 Eamon Hill Male 64 M45-49 3 04:44:38 67 00:21:29 336 00:05:07 55 02:36:32 94 00:04:46 206 01:36:46 76
1607 Matthew Allum Male 178 M25-29 28 05:02:27 188 00:20:25 201 00:05:09 59 02:37:23 105 00:04:10 88 01:55:21 561
1144 Mark Brown Male 250 M35-39 67 05:09:27 263 00:22:59 578 00:09:32 1098 02:28:46 33 00:07:56 1060 02:00:16 714
736 Bill Rafferty Male 334 M40-44 52 05:17:24 351 00:20:57 264 00:06:18 255 02:51:45 417 00:05:08 319 01:53:18 479
1170 Gareth Osborne Male 744 M30-34 184 05:47:21 819 00:25:45 984 00:09:38 1113 03:09:28 986 00:08:21 1141 01:54:11 511
743 Philip Boyd Male 769 M50-54 21 05:49:59 853 00:23:09 611 00:08:39 893 03:00:34 724 00:05:09 325 02:12:31 1033
839 Brendan Mulholland Male 791 M45-49 73 05:51:25 877 00:20:16 188 00:08:31 854 02:57:46 625 00:06:48 833 02:18:07 1151
1437 PJ McQuillan Male 911 M55-59 8 06:02:03 1023 00:24:13 780 00:11:08 1289 03:08:54 972 00:05:22 392 02:12:29 1031
1461 Mark Barr Male 912 M45-49 87 06:02:04 1024 00:22:10 433 00:09:15 1033 03:06:53 915 00:09:15 1229 02:14:31 1074
1231 Carl King Male 1019 M45-49 99 06:14:38 1155 00:23:19 639 00:08:40 897 02:57:35 619 00:05:54 568 02:39:12 1363