Return of the Humbert Half Iron

mirrormatrix

Just saw this on the Humbert Challenge FB page:

NEWS FLASH
THE HUMBERT HALF IRON IS BACK AND PROMISES TO BE BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER BEFORE. A SPRINT AND A DUATHLON WILL ALSO BE RAN ALONGSIDE.
Full details relating to all three events will be posted in the coming week so keep an eye on this page.

I really enjoyed this race, and entered based on a lot of positive reports on boards. Hope it goes well for them this year and that they get a great take up.

pgibbo

Did they give a date?

mirrormatrix

No, nothing as yet. From the FB page it seems like they hope to stick something up in the next week or so.

Animella

Great news, I hope there will be a big entry for the events.
Lovely setting , beautiful lake with great local support. I have never seen so many great prizes being given out as at the Humbert Challenge last year.
Now to work on my swimming ( again!)

mirrormatrix

Date announced: August 7th 2016

Half Iron Individual
Half Iron Relay
Half Iron Duathlon
Sprint Individual

Not sure when entries are opening

Green&Red

Excellent!

couerdelion

Would that be the same weekend as Dublin is expected? If it goes ahead!

cart man

Dublin would have to change the swim venue if it was to take place that weekend(tide would be out). Although this may be what they are looking into if current rumours about difficulty with DCC/OPW. I could see them heading down towards Wicklow and avoiding the city (only my opinion).

What was the bike and run course like on the Humbert- hilly, laps etc? Thanks

Animella

mirrormatrix wrote: »

Date announced: August 7th 2016

Half Iron Individual
Half Iron Relay
Half Iron Duathlon
Sprint Individual

Not sure when entries are opening

New website www.swinfordtriathlon.com launching on Friday 15th Jan and can enter then.

Animella

http://www.swinfordtriathlon.com/the-humbert-challenge/

couerdelion

cart man wrote: »

Dublin would have to change the swim venue if it was to take place that weekend(tide would be out). Although this may be what they are looking into if current rumours about difficulty with DCC/OPW. I could see them heading down towards Wicklow and avoiding the city (only my opinion).

What was the bike and run course like on the Humbert- hilly, laps etc? Thanks

Assuming it is the same as last time I did it (2013) ...

Pleasant Swim, Bike course has one hill of note - Windy Gap, Run is hilly!

woody1

bike route is on mapmyride, put humbert into the search bar and it comes up

forgot how steep that hill is !! :eek:

decosr1

Seems there is no need for a one day licence this year either. € 20 saving straight away. Defo doing this one.

EC1000

decosr1 wrote: »

Seems there is no need for a one day licence this year either.

Where did you see that?

Animella

EC1000 wrote: »

Where did you see that?

It's on the website ( see my link above) .Not a Triathlon Ireland event.

Tigerandahalf

I have signed up for the sprint. At 40eur it is great value. Need to get some serious work in now on the swimming. Not having to be a member of triathlon ireland is a bonus.

Green&Red

a 26k cycle for the sprint?? :D:D

Yee-haaa!

And flat my arse, thats a draggy out road from Bohola to Swinford

woody1

sprint cycle used to be short, they mustve added another bit ?
ah right, finishing in swinford,

Claude Burgundy

I think i'll do the half, i enjoyed it the last time i did it.............well apart from getting badly sun burned !

joeKel73

Signed up for the Half Iron distance - will try keep the momentum going after Challenge Galway!

Animella

Who did this? It was my first sprint triathlon so was delighted just to get through it. Loved it!
Awful weather for the Half Ironman though, must have made it really tough.

joeKel73

Did the half-Iron distance. A long grueling day, toughest event I've done! My second half-Iron (Galway 6 weeks previously) and my first time on any of this route.

Swim
The furthest buoy got blown out further before the swim so the swim course was about 2km. The lake is fairly sheltered though and was quite calm. It was a slow enough swim for me but I think that was mostly down to it being fresh water and more effort going into keeping the legs up.

Cycle
The cycle was a killer. The first 25km wasn't too bad then the climbs started and the wind really kicked in. The climb up "The Windy Gap" was fairly relentless. Thanks to the lads at the top for the extra bit of support to get over the last hump. The other side of the Windy Gap was hairy enough with strong gusts kicking in from the side. There was one nice stretch with the wind on the back but then we took a sharp right and it was a tough crawl back to the N5.

The run back on the N5 wasn't too bad - expected more wind behind me but it seemed to change direction a bit so had to keep using the legs through to the finish.

I had expected a water station after the climb over the Windy Gap but there didn't seem to be any (??) on the cycle route, I had finished my drink by 45km and was hanging waiting to get topped up. I had planned to keep taking on food on the bike but couldn't stomach it without anything to wash it down. By the end of the cycle I was spent and thirsty!

Run
After a grueling cycle the legs were done and the energy was low so the aim of the run was to stagger my way through the 21.2km back to Swinford! The first aid station after a few km was a very welcome sight. I ended up stopping for something at each of the aid stations on the route. It was a long slow wet run but kept moving forward and got there in the end.

A huge shout out to the massive number of volunteers who stood out in the driving wind and rain all day, manning junctions and aid stations. At one point I was tempted to not even tackle the run but having seen the volunteers waiting in the rain for the last bit of the cycle that overlapped with the run course I had to do my part! They were all in great spirits and full of encouragement.

The legs are still sore but I'm sure another couple of weeks and I'll forget the wind and rain! 25mins slower than Challenge Galway but it was a very different beast. Lots of learning to be taken from it, would do a lot more hill training before it next time.

"next time"?... :rolleyes:

Animella

Well done, J o e, great report. The wind and rain certainly didn't make it easy for anyone.
Thought the races were very well organised for a small town event.

catweazle

They used to run this in mid july but since it went back to August it doesn't suit me with holidays. Fantastic race though - great course and they do a really good job as regards the organization of it

joeKel73

Animella wrote: »

Thought the races were very well organised for a small town event.

Absolutely. It was a real no-fuss event. I actually drove up and back from Galway on the Saturday to register in case it would be like Challenge Galway (different bags for different transitions to be dropped off at different times, multiple stickers and chips to be placed on bags/bike/helmet, pre-booked bus pass, pre-booked meal voucher, temp tattoos to be put on arms...).

Instead I picked up my black bin bag with a simple label, got a number written on my arm and went home with the free loaf of bread. :cool:

Next year I'll try get back in time for the food and before they stop the shuttle bus but I can't blame them for that!

Animella

J o e wrote: »

Instead I picked up my black bin bag with a simple label, got a number written on my arm and went home with the free loaf of bread. :cool:

Next year I'll try get back in time for the food and before they stop the shuttle bus but I can't blame them for that!

Don't forget the free ginger/ madeira cake

WattsUp

Yes, did this race too. Very well organised and fair play to organisers/marshals out in that wind and rain. With small numbers, maybe 100, between half-tri+half-duo the run was a bit "lonely". A lapped course for the run might keep people together a bit more.

PS. The Windy Gap lived up to it's name. Really caught the wind over the top and then most of the 15k from there to Castlebar I had to stay off the bars and basically wrestle the bike by the bullhorns.......I'd hate to have been running a disc wheel!