Blenheim Triathlon. June 7th 2009
On the start line
- Into transition
After his excellent second place in the Salisbury Triathlon Freshwater’s Jack Grundy was invited to compete in the Mazda Blenheim Elite Sprint Triathlon where he finished an outstanding 25th from the 67 elite starters.
The race held within the confines of the spectacular palace which included a 750metre swim in the lake followed by 3 laps of cycling covering 19.8km and then a two lap 5.4km run. The transition area was situated in Blenheim’s main courtyard making the perfect setting for this event.
The open water swim in the lake was fast and demanding as competitors battled for the best positions with Grundy taking a slightly wider line to keep out of trouble. A time of 10min 18sec saw Jack running the uphill 800m into transition in the middle of the pack.
During the first of the cycle loops the Total Fitness sponsored Grundy had got himself to the front of the third cycle pack containing 10 athletes as they tried to make inroads on the leaders. Into transition for the second time with a 32min 48sec clocking Grundy was placed 32nd as they set off on the hilly run circuit.
Heading up the long drive towards the main entrance to Blenheim Jack had passed 7 top athletes in the first half of the run and was still running strongly as they started the second loop. Holding his form right to the finish he recorded 19min 55sec for the run section with a finishing time 1hour 6 min 51sec.
This was a breakthrough performance for Jack as he was competing against the top triathletes in the UK, many who are full time professional athletes and still being only 19 years old has plenty of time to make the progress that is required to make full international status.
Grundy now moves up in distance next week where he faces another Elite field in the Windsor Olympic Triathlon.
Geoff Watkin
Salisbury Fast Twitch Triathlon. Sunday May 24th
Jack traveled to Salisbury for the popular Fast Twitch event which is regarded as a sprint in triathlon terms as competitors swam 400m, cycled 19 miles and then completed a 4 mile run, with Freshwater’s Jack Grundy finishing an outstanding second place in the large field of 250 competitors.
Grundy, representing Total Fitness Bath, was the fastest athlete of the day in the pool clocking 4min 34sec for the 16 length swim. Through transition very quickly he was soon chasing down athletes who were already out on the road being in a slower swim group and recorded 51 min 30sec having lost a little time to the experienced and eventual winner Mark Stennings.An excellent time of 21min 58sec was good enough to hold of 3rd placer Adam Wells by just 2seconds and also to give Grundy the 3rd fastest run of the competion.His final time was 1hr 18 min 08sec.After a successful season as a junior this was an excellent result in the transition to the senior ranks where later in the season Jack will compete against the best in the UK at Windsor and Blenheim and the European Age Group Championships in Holland.
Geoff Watkin
Xterra Triathlon World Champs Maui: 26/10/08
Jack Grundy. World Xterra Triathlon Championships. (Off Road)
Island triathlete Jack Grundy put in a stunning performance in scorching temperatures to finish 12th for his age group in the World Xterra Off-Road Triathlon Championships in Hawaii.
After winning the Junior National Off Road (xterra) Triathlon in Tradegar, Wales in July, Grundy 19 of Freshwater, represented Great Britain in Maui, competing against national champions from around the globe.
Jack Grundy in the Xterra Triathlon World Champs Maui 26/10/2008
The grueling event was staged from Mekena Beach where 550 athletes completed a 1500m swim in the Pacific Ocean followed by a 31 km off road cycle heading towards Haleakala Volcano and then an 11km demanding off road run which included volcanic rocks and soft white sand running.
The spectacular start from the beach saw Grundy move quickly into the water and establish a leading position on the first of the two 750m laps matching the senior professional triathletes.After the first lap Grundy exited the water still in the top 10 as they sprinted a 100m along the soft sand to re enter the ocean for the second lap. The Wight Tri athlete showed his maturity by easing back slightly on lap 2 to sit in with the lead pack and was still 17th in an excellent time of 18min 45sec as he entered transition. C:UsersJackDesktopxterraP1010053.JPG
With a start time of 9am the temperature was soon well over 30C and this plus the demanding hills and volcanic surface made the off road cycle extremely tough with many sections of the course unridable.Punctures plus broken chains were the order of the day but Grundy rode a cautious path to avoid mishaps. Despite taking on many liters of fluid dehydration was inevitable but Grundy returned to transition in 2hr 08min 59sec and although he had lost places was still amongst the top juniors in the race.
At the start of the run the mercury had climbed to a staggering 37C making even spectating very uncomfortable but Grundy stuck to his task as the run headed straight out and upwards towards the volcano before snaking down through ‘Spooky Woods’ where ducking and climbing over trees was required. The course then moved onto the white sandy beach where there was no restbite from the sun before scrambling over volcanic rocks to Mekena Bay and into the spectacular finish at the Maui Prince Hotel. Jack’s time for the 11k run was a very respectable 60min 41sec
Despite falling several times Grundy sprinted passed athletes in the run to the finish to clock 3hrs 31min 15sec for an overall position of 143rd and 12th Junior (Under 20 years of age ).An outstanding result
This event is one of the toughest in the world which showed that Grundy has the desire and talent to progress in the sport.
Jack was accompanied by coach and masseur Geoff and Karen Watkin and Island Games long jump champion Kim Murray who is studying at Bath University with Jack.
The expensive and long journey would not have been possible without financial help from the IOW Council, Total Fitness of Bath, Sharon Orchard of Ryde and Beco Webdesign and Jack would like to thank these sponsors for making it possible to take part in this event.
West Wight Triathlon 2008: 14/09/08
Jack Grundy sponsored by Gamson Gray and Total Fitness Bath competed in the West Wight Triathlon at West Wight sports center in Freshwater on the Isle of Wight.
The competition is the largest triathlon event on the island and consists of a 600m pool swim a 35k bike ride along the steep coastal road and a 7.5k run on a bridleway at the side of the Yar estuary. Jacks overall time was 1hr 35m 24s, this gave him a finishing position of first junior and 3rd male overall.
Jack was really pleased with his performance especially as he achieved the fastest swim of the day in 7m 11s.
Xterra Offroad Triathlon Resolven, Afan Forest, Wales 21/06/2008
Result:
1st Junior Male
4th Overall
Weather: Cold, Wet and Misty
Ground: Wet and Muddy
Distance:750m swim, 15k bike and 5k run
The race took place in the Afan Forest in Wales with 44 competitors starting this very challenging offroad event. Jack emerged from the cold llakes in first position and was leading the bike section untill he took a wrong turn in the forest, he managed to get himselfback in the race and finished as the first junior and 4th overall. This was an excellent result and gave Jack his entry to the world championships in Maui in October.
Hampshire Cross Country Championships 2008: 05/01/08
On the 5 January 2008 at Dibden Inclosure, Applemore, Jack competed for Aldershot, Farnham & District Athletics in the Hampshire cross country championships.
The race was an 8k run consisting of 2 laps of a hilly circuit. On the first lap Jack was running wel and in 6th position, but on the second lap he suffered stomach cramps and was unable to run to his full potential and dropped 3 places to finish in a still respectable 9th position in a time of 28.57m
Training: Bath University, 2009
Jack is still training at Bath University but has no dedicated triathlon coach and is working with individual coaches for the three disciplines.He is now in the second year of his sports performance degree course and enjoying the course and the training.Jack had a huge improvement in his performance in the first year and hopes to build on this and achieve a higher standard again in his second year.
Chilly Duathlon 2007: 25/11/07
On the 25th November 2007 Jack travelled to the Castle Combe race circuit to compete in the Chilly Duathlon.
This was Jacks first competition since he started training at Bath University under triathlon coach Chris Volley.
The race was a 2mile run a 10mile bike and a 1mile run which he completed in 11.04m, 30.04m, and 6.10m giving an overall time of 47.18m. this time gave jack an overall place of 13th outof the 228 that entered on the day.
Jack was pleased with the performance and said that the recent coaching and training programme had made a big difference to his performance.
London Triathlon, 05/08/07
Jack Grundy Wight tri triathlete sponsored by Gamson Gray travelled to London on the 05/08/2007 to compete in the Junior Elite London triathlon.This was the first big competition after the double puncture in the Island games.
The London triathlon took place in the docklands area with the swim taking place in one of the docks.
The swim went well and Jack left transition without any problems and was going well on the bike when once again he was forced to retire with a puncture. With no repair kit or tube Jack faced a long walk back to transition when a Russian cyclist who was spectating assisted with his own repair kit and then rode back with Jack to ensure that the repair held out. Looks like he may need to buy some solid tyres.
Bournemouth Beach Aquathon
Jack Grundy Wight tri triathlete sponsored by Wightlink and Gamson Gray travelled to Bournemouth on Wednesday the 11th July to compete in the Bournemouth beach aquathon. The event is a 400m sea swim followed by a 5k run.
The race started with a mass run through the surf to enter the water to swim out to the buoy and back to the beach, Jack left the water in 3rd place in a time of 6.12 min and changed out of his wetsuit for the run.
The 5k run starts with a fairly steep climb and finishes on the beach, Jack completed this in 20.04 min giving an overall time of 26.16 min 1st male junior and 6th out of the 61 athletes who took part.