Swim Run Series Race 3 - Media Release

Blue Seventy Swim Run Series race #3
Media release
29.01.08

Race three proved to be the biggest turnout in the Blue Seventy Swim Run series to date! With over 50 people turning out to compete in the lake swim and shore side race format event. An exciting field of locals turned out with their numbers bolstered by the John Newsom (NZ Multisport coach) led EPIC camp, training in Wanaka for two days before heading to Queenstown then off back to Christchurch.
The sizeable field and the slightly windy conditions lended itself to a challenging swim, looking more like a 400m loop of the swim competitors in the long course headed out for the first of their two laps, the short course however stuck close to shore in the rougher conditions completing a 300m straight line swim back to the transition area.
Leading early in the swim were EPIC camp leaders John Newsom and Gordo Bryn showing their pupils how things are done in the rough conditions and getting about a 50m gap over the rest of the field. The short course race proved to be the unveiling of a new star in the Swim Run Series with young Wanaka local Erin Hurley stepping up to take on the boys. Leading out of the water and showing that she is a great swimmer Hurley had a minute lead back to locals Robert Lee and Finn Fairbairn into transition. Lee and Fairbairn chased hard on the 2km run but didn’t have enough to catch Hurley finishing 12 and 30 seconds behind respectively.
The long course competitors were just beginning to emerge from the tough swim in the choppy water emerging first out of the water were John Newsom, Scott Molina and Albert Boyce who were all participants in the EPIC camp and had rode their bikes from Tekapo earlier that day! These three were just under 1min ahead of Gordo Bryn and the first of the locals and possibly his first of Swim Run Race of 2008 Mark Cockroft. A hard running and past winner local John Mezger stormed up the field to finish in 5th position overall and record one of the fastest run splits of the day.
The 4km run for the long course didn’t change the order of the EPIC camp participants after transition with Newsom taking out the race in a smart 34.58sec, just over 20 seconds ahead of Molina who also held his advantage over Boyce rounding out an EPIC camp clean sweep of the 3rd race of the Swim Run Series.
Miss consistant Fi Faribairn continued her fine run of form finishing first in the female long course only 9mins behind the overall winner Newsom in 42.49sec. Phillipa Findlay completed her 3rd race of the series to finish 2nd overall in 45.50sec and just a head of Leanne Kent in 51.43 finishing 3rd.
The tough conditions will have the competitors looking forward to next week in Bremner Bay where the swells are a little shallower but the racing just as hot!
Thanks to Blue Seventy – if you need an awesome wetsuit be sure you get into one of these! We’ll see you all next week for race 4 – Bremner Bay – same time Tuesday 5th Feb.
End
Steve Gould & Nicky Samuels
Race Directors
Blue Seventy Swim Run Series 2008
021 2282644
www.swimrunwanaka.blogspot.com
www.blueseventy.com