Darlington Triathlon Club

GEORGIE IS WORLD CHAMPION!

Georgie Rutherford is Darlington’s first female world triathlon champion.

The 25-year-old roared to age group victory in the World 70.3 Championships in Clearwater, Florida, last weekend.

It was a fantastic achievement for Georgie considering she made the step up to Half Ironman distance only this year and that she had to cope with daunting conditions as she competed against the best athletes in the globe.

Georgie, who is president of Darlington Triathlon Club, works full time in the sport as Regional Programme Manager for British Tri but she was up against professional triathletes who have much more time to train and prepare.

Her overall time of 4 hrs 15 mins 52 secs breaks down as:

Swim (1.2 miles) 25:59    Bike (56 miles) 2:18:41    Run (13.1 miles) 1:26:12

Georgie recorded a fantastic average speed of 24mph on a top-of-the-range Cervelo P3 time trial bike lent to her by Neil Mac (thanks Neil!) and then knocked out 6:34 minute miles on the run.

The race format had to be changed at short notice because of the after-effects of Hurricane Ida. It meant the opening 1.2-mile swim became a time trial in the marina bay surrounded by yachts rather than in the sea.

Georgie was in the water half an hour earlier than planned as competitors set off at two-second intervals rather than the longer gaps planned for. The female field started straight after the men, which made the water much choppier than usual.

“I went off course as I couldn’t see the buoys due to the bright sun rising, but once I corrected myself I got back on track,” she says.

“After exiting the busy bike transition, I settled in to my bike quicker than I thought. I was a bit worried in the days leading up to the race as it was windy, but the race day weather was perfect - hot but only a slight breeze. “

The 56-mile course was one lap and almost entirely flat over long stretches of freeway in Tampa Bay. Georgie was riding a top-of-the-range Cervelo P3 time trial bike lent by Darlington Tri colleague Neil McLoughlin, which is ideal for fast and flat courses. “It was just perfect,” says Georgie.

“However, once again due to the time trial start the course was busier than usual with a lot of overtaking. I knew the race would be me out there on my own, testing myself rather than knowing where my other competitors were, and I had to really focus on the bike to ensure I worked hard on the entire route.

“It actually went quicker than I thought. It was hot on the half marathon run, and due to being in the aero position on the bike my hip flexors were tighter than usual. I settled in to a good pace and split the run in to four sections.

“The course was two laps, out and back, and had a long stretch up the freeway, over the large bridge in and out of Clearwater beach (including a long hill, which was painful). Then there was a sheltered section through houses.

“They had feed stations every mile with water, coke, Gatorade, food and sponges. I used water and sponges at every station to cool off and had Coke at miles two, six and nine to pick me up. I used gels and two bottles of fluid on the bike - one bottle of water with electrolytes in and one plain blackcurrant bottle of juice from Sainsburys, which I took with me!

“After the race every finisher received a nice medal, a towel, cap and sunglasses. I then went to the awards after party where I was presented with my trophy.

“It was certainly the hottest conditions I have ever raced in and I had to go sit in the ice tubs storing all the drinks straight away after I crossed the line.

“I must thank the Mayor of Darlington’s Charity Fund for their incredible support ( I wore their logo on my tri suit) and of course Darlington Tri Club for their support and encouraging emails.

“I’d also like to thank Darlington ASA who I swim with four times a week. As a result my times have improved dramatically.”

Posted by Graham Bell on Nov 19th, '09 | LINK |

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