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.
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