Immortal Half 2017

Yesterday I took part in the Immortal Half (middle distance) Triathlon at the Stourhead National Trust site in Wiltshire. Managed 67th place (out of 221 finishers) in 5:42:27, 25th (out of 69) in my age group. Here's a quick write up for any triathletes considering this event in the future...

Event was very well organised. Just big enough to have a proper race atmosphere but still small enough to have a personal feel to it. The location at Stourhead is stunning, with the finish line outside of the historic house. It's a hilly place, especially on the run, so not one to do if you don't like hills!

The Swim

Swim was 1,900m in the Stourhead lake. The water temperature was surprisingly warm for the time of year. Only downside is that the lake is very shallow in places so a lot of silt got stirred up and in places you were swimming through dark brown water full of mud – yuk! Still, my swim was good and finished in 36:50, which was okay for me. After the swim it's a 600m uphill run to transition, so a tough way to end the swim section.

The Bike

Bike course was slightly short for a middle distance event at 52 miles, but quite scenic taking in both Wiltshire and Somerset. A two lap course, best described as 'rolling': there were a good few ascents and descents along the route. Also quite exposed in places so the wind was a bit tough at times. Completed in 3:06:08 – not super fast but wanted to make sure I saved plenty for the run.

The Run

Run course is a killer - it's not an event you should do if you hate running hills! Three laps of 4.5 miles. Each lap starts with 2 miles of continuous climbing (albeit quite shallow gradient) on road. Then you turn back into the Stourhead grounds for a steep (leg killing) 500m trail descent followed by about 1.7 miles of further gentle downhill trail. Finally at the bottom by the lake it's half a mile of constant fairly steep uphill back to the main house for the next lap / finish line. Took me 1:51:06 for the (just over) half marathon distance, overtaking so many other competitors and making up over 50 places on the run!

Conclusion

Overall, very happy with my first middle distance triathlon. Great location and an enjoyable event. Definitely recommended – if you like running hills and trail!