Jean Ashley

Norfolk Superhero 2024

July 6, 2024 Jean Ashley

The Norfolk Superhero is a charity quadrathlon for those who relish an endurance challenge. Participants take part in teams of two and together cover a course that includes a 1 mile swim, a 4 mile kayak through the creeks, a 45 mile circular cycle route and an 8 mile run across the beach finishing with the last mile over the marsh. Teams must stick together and help each other out although there is a good mix of competition on show as well.

This is a charity quadrathlon event held annually in June when the tides are right, at Burnham Overy Staithe on the beautiful North Norfolk coast. Over the years the Norfolk Superhero has grown from a small band of friends taking on a fun, annual challenge to more than 200 competitors coming together to put themselves to the test. While the challenge is undoubtedly a serious one, nobody takes themselves too seriously. Everyone has their own reasons for taking part, whether that be for fitness, fun, or friendship. What’s more, every year all the participants pledge to raise money to support Norfolk based charities, raising over £600k to date.

The BQA support this event each year, we are so proud of ‘The Team’ that make this event happen and the amazing amount they raise for their chosen charities each year. These are some kind words from their Race Director …..Thank You Carlotta!

Participants have raised over £165k for our two charities so far, which we are delighted about. This is our second highest raise and we are expecting a little more to come in still. It gives us particular pleasure this year to be raising substantial amounts of funds for two charities which are so close to the Superhero, the Burnham Overy Harbour Trust and Norfolk Lowland Search & Rescue, who are also part of our safety team. We’ve received so many amazing emails and letters, as we always do. Many participants this year have said how we make a lot of people happy by doing what we do. We wanted to share this with you because you are an important part of that. The Superhero simply wouldn’t happen without your wonderful support from the BQA and we cannot thank you enough. Attached is our Report which is a gallop through the event trying to pick out a handful of moments that help make the Superhero what it is!.

2024 Norfolk superhero Challenge Report

For more details visit the website https://www.norfolksuperhero.co.uk/

2024 FILM

Many of you have been asking when the film is coming out. The wait is officially over – click here to view the 2024 film. This year, we had a team of MA Film Production students from the University of East Anglia, out and about filming away, all under the watchful gaze of their tutor, Christabelle Dilks. Christabelle and her students have poured countless hours into this project and we are delighted with the outcome. The gloomy weather didn’t help the cinematography but we hope you’ll agree that the UEA students have done a great job.

RECORD CHARITY RAISE

We are still waiting on a few final promised additions to the pot, mostly from those who raise via their companies in matched donations. But, we are now confident where the charity total will end up. For the third year running, we have hit a new record with £226k raised, split £176k to BOHT (£120k target) and £50k to NORLSAR (£35k target). We know it is a pain when we hassle you but we hope you will agree that, with news like that, the hassling is worth every second.

Norfolk Lowland Search & Rescue have already been able to buy the equipment they were looking for, and more: two new boats and specialist equipment for flood and emergency response. We love that the new boats will be called the Pink Lady and the Norfolk Superhero 💖 Burnham Overy Harbour Trust maintains and cares for the Overy creek and salt marshes and your incredible generosity will fast track the much needed creek restoration project which will preserve its unique biodiversity and beauty for generations to come. Thank you all so very much.

One last positive thought as you head into the Summer. With this year’s record £226k raise, the Norfolk Superhero has passed the £1million mark in total funds raised, with a staggering £564k raised in the three years since Covid alone. The generous Superhero spirit is alive and well. So, as you step on to the next endurance challenge or crack open the next bottle of Summer rose, and whether you’re drowning your sorrows or celebrating the election result, remember how much you have done and sleep easy knowing that more than £1million has been put to amazing use with some incredible charities in our beautiful county of Norfolk.

National Championships at Manvers 2024

July 1, 2024 Jean Ashley

The BQA were so pleased that Dearne Valley and the Team at Manvers Lake took on the task, of hosting the BQA National Championships, and what a fabulous event it turned out to be! They upped the event this year and made it even better, less laps on the swim course and on the kayak course made it much easy for the athletes, and with the use of chip timing for the first time it was so much better for the marshals and organizers! We were also blessed with gorgeous weather for the 2nd Race in the BQA Series, congratulations to everyone who raced and to everyone who gave up their time to help this event run extremely smoothly!

Special thanks to Mark Benton, David Jones and there Manvers Team for organising this great quad, you are a wonderful ‘Team’ of people thank you for your enthusiasm and for inspiring so many to take to the water and embrace the challenge, you have put so many smiles on peoples faces at Manvers. Without a doubt it’s such a fabulous feel good event, enjoyed by everyone, from seasoned athletes to first timers it was so good to see everyone just loving the day

Also huge thanks to ‘David and Caz Jones’ who have been organizing Quad Training Days throughout the year and encouraging newcomers to our sport, they do a fantastic job to introducing people into our sport!

We started the morning at 8.30 with the QuadKidz Tri and Quad race a huge well done to them, they were all amazing all finished their races in fantastic style , most certainly our stars of the future!

Boys 9-11
1st Sam Docherty 23.40
2nd Guy Hebdon 26.59
Boys 16-18 (full distance)
Joseph Dsilva 2.248
Girls 12-15
1st Charlotte Docherty 36.15
2nd Isabelle Moorhouse 44.36

The main race started at 9.30. It was 1 800m lap in the swim, followed by an out and back 15km gravel bike ride on the Trans Pennine Route. Then back to the lake for the 4km kayak, 4 laps (approx. 1 km per lap), and finally a 5 km off road run around the whole lake. A great course and inclusive to all standards of athletes. We had our strongest quadrathletes competing at the front end of the race for the National Overall and Age Group Titles, but as always its so good to see our year in year out athletes and the first timers who always give it their all! The BQA want to thank every single one of you for taking part and supporting our small but wonderful sport, we do really apricate your commitment …. Thank -You!

OUR 2024 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS including Age Groups, plus a special mention to all our BQA members taking part!

MENS
BQA NATIONAL CHAMPION – 1st Vet 60 Jules Taylor 1.37.16
BQA 2nd overall – 1st Senior Oli Fairbairn 1.38.33
BQA 3rd overall – Nicholas Farnell 1.45.32
BQA 4th overall – Phillipe Jumeau 1:49:25
BQA 5th overall – 1st Vet 50 Jeff Chappill 1.51.34
BQA 6th overall – John McAdam 1:53:39
BQA 8th overall – 1st U23 Blake Mawson-Burren 1.57.23
11th overall – 1st Vet 40 Adam Draup 2.03.20
BQA 12th overall – Andrew Lawson 2.26.25

LADIES
BQA National Champion – 1st Vet 40 Helen Russell 1.48.24
BQA 2nd overall – Tora Oetgen 2.08.12
3rd overall – Clare Addy 2.14.15
BQA 4th overall – 1st Vet 60 Helen Recchia 2.15.06
BQA 5th overall – Janet Green 2.20.26
BQA 6th overall – 1st Vet 50 Caz Jones 2.29.49
BQA 7th overall – Geraldine Richards 2.31.59
BQA 16th overall – Amanda Lord 3.06.48

Helen Russell National Champion & Vet 40

FULL MANVERS RESULTS

NATIONAL TROPHY STANDINGS after 2 RACES BQA trophy Series after 2 Races

WORLD CUP STANDINGS WQF and BQA Race 5

The BQA love to hear about your Race experiences, so we can share them and inspire others to have a go at our sport, so please dont hesitate to send me your story … we’d love to share it! SEND malpasashleys@btinternet.com

Big Thanks to ‘Jules Taylor’ ‘Our Men’s National Champion for writing us his Race Report

Plans are made to be changed I think someone once said !
Brigg was going to be my only Quadrathlon originally this year , but having enjoyed it so much now have a full season of racing .
National Championships here at Dearne Valley
World Long Course Quad in Hungary
Awesome Foursome at Bude
Brigg Sprint distance

I hadn’t raced at Manvers home ground before, but on arrival I was blown away by the lake and the whole setting . The lake looked really inviting, and was a great for the swim and kayak. With Amelia (13 yr old daughter) as my support crew we pitched up Saturday evening and had a good night’s sleep .

Sunday morning was lovely, warm, just a little breeze, perfect. Kit sorted, gravel bike racked, and straight into the swim . It was such a relief to have the space to swim in, not getting kicked, grabbed, or swim over, it felt like it went ok , with no issues at all .

Into T1, and Helen (Women’s Champion ) was already getting her bike kit sorted so she must have had a storming swim, it was a rapid transition and of on the bike. Within a short while a few of us found ourselves on the golf course having followed the wrong path, quickly we got back on the right one and I put the effort in and was pulling away. Before the turnaround , the eventual winner of the Triathlon event passed me , but I managed to keep him in sight to the finish of the bike. Having seen where the other Quad competitors were after the turnaround I knew I couldn’t let up!

This was always going to be a hard race between Oli and myself, having never beaten him yet, I was vaguely pleased to be ahead at this stage , but knew he would be putting in maximum effort .

First onto the kayak, and this I felt should be my ace card, confident with some solid training the past couple of weeks. It was a great feeling to have the lake to myself and got stuck in to a strong smooth rhythm. First lap rounding the islands , and then I could see others now on the water , but not till the start of the second lap could I figure out where the other competitors actually were. At the start of each lap after, I saw I was making time on Oli which as it ended up , I badly needed.

Onto the run, and realised I really had been pushing it on the kayak as I struggled to bring my breathing down. I had around 3 minutes I reckoned on Oli, but knew his running was stronger so just had to zone out and work as hard as I could. I had a few of the Triathletes to use as targets to run down, using this to keep my pace up as much as I could, eventually I could see the finish line on the other side of the lake , so with about 1.5 km left I started to empty the tank! I kept looking back but no sign of anyone, so it ended up a really satisfying victory for me. As it turned out Oli had pulled back a couple of minutes and was only a minute behind me …. it was a great race !

On paper, it looked a really nice fun race and it was , but also one of the hardest I’d done. A very deceptive course …underestimate it at your peril! Many thanks to all involved it was brilliantly organised, awesome atmosphere, once again another fabulous Quadrathlon hear in Great Britain!

For me …. Next stop World Long Course Championship in Hungary!

Thanks Jules, and we wish him Luck at the Long Course World Championships flying the GB Flag!

Once again a Big Thanks to Everyone, and a special mention to the Manvers Team for there non stoppable enthusiasm and to the BQA who keep our sport going for us all to enjoy! I look forwards to seeing many of you girls at the Deva Divas Quad (and your Team Coach David too) … you will have an absolute Blast!!

The BQA Team keeping our sport alive! Any help is always appreciated!

Brigg Bomber World Championships 2024

June 16, 2024 Jean Ashley

A great day was had by all in Brigg at the World Championships, we were blessed with warm sunshine and blue skies! The numbers were on the low side but it was good too see Quadrathletes coming over from Hungary, CZ Republic and France!

Lincsquad organized the race in great style, and huge thanks must go to Jeff and Donna Chappill who worked so hard to get together a Team of Marshalls and Helpers to get this race on the circuit for yet another year! Considering they are a small Club these days they really did us Proud so a big thanks must go to them for hosting the Championships, and giving our Quadrathletes a fabulous day out!

Congratulations to all the competitors and to the Overall and Age Group Winners, and to our BQA Members for Flying the Flag!

RESULTS

LADIES

1st Susanne Walter GER 03:01:55 Masters 50 Female

2nd Natalie Abbott GBR 03:27:29 Masters 60 Female BQA

3rd Helen Recchia GBR 04:09:51 Masters 60 Female BQA

4th Caz Jones GBR 04:29:02 Masters 50 Female BQA

MENS

1st Ferenc Csima HUN 02:30:56 Masters 50

2nd Leoš Roušavý CZE 02:41:07 Masters 40

3rd Laurent Martinou FRA 02:43:08 Masters 40

4th Oliver Fairbairn GBR 02:47:25 Elite BQA

5th Jules Taylor GBR 02:51:33 Masters 60 BQA

6th Jason Frary GBR 02:58:16 Masters 50

7th Nigel Unwin GBR 03:04:51 Masters 60

8th Philippe Jumeau GBR 03:09:03 Masters 60 BQA

9th Lance Ball GBR 03:14:55 Masters 50 Open BQA

10th Jeff Chappill GBR 03:20:30 Masters 50 BQA

11th Mark Chryssanthou GBR 03:21:36 Masters 40

12th John MacAdam GBR 03:23:49 Masters 60 BQA

13th Richard Wakeford GBR 03:23:54 Elite

14th Paul Belcher GBR 03:26:50 Masters 70 BQA

15th Petr Mejzlik CZE 03:30:12 Masters 60

16th Jason Scatcherd GBR 03:30:27 Masters 40

FULL BRIGG RESULTS

BQA Trophy after 1st race

WQF Standings after Race 2

WQF National Trophy 2 of 9 Races

Big Thanks to Jules Taylor Winner Vet 60 for his Race Report below:

Having entered the Brigg Bomber Quadrathlon last year , it was an awesome surprise to hear to was going to be the World Middle Distance Championships this year .

The weather was so grim for the early part of this year , that I spent most of the winter and spring just running…I couldn’t get motivated to go kayaking or cycling outside. So with about 7 weeks to go finally got things into gear. Kayak training went well , and my cycling training has consisted of 10 hard turbo trainer sessions, having not ridden outside since the Bomber last year!

Quick look through the start list and plenty of familiar names, Nigel, Oli, Phillipe, John and quite a few from Europe including the dominant Ferenc.

Last year Nigel , Oli and myself were separated by only 50 seconds so I knew it could be a hard race, and Petr Majzlik from the Czech Republic who is up there on the European race circuit was also racing

I parked up at Brigg Leisure centre Saturday night , and a decent sleep in the van. Usual race breakfast of cocoa pops , registration done , and minimal faffing and suddenly the river was full of athletes and we were off.

I hate open water swim starts, they dont suit me, so it wasn’t until the half way turn around I felt vaguely comfortable and was able to settle down and swim strong to the get out.

Run to the bike, Nigel was also in T1 ,and checking whose bike was or wasn’t there , had a quick idea of where I was and it looked good , after a decent swim in the end.

Out on the bike, nearly a year since I had ridden on the road I settled down and was feeling ok. A lot warmer than last year and not so windy so pretty pleasant really.

Nigel was just ahead of me , and we were soon joined by a few of the triathletes , and it was proving difficult to stay away from each other, but its fair to say we all raced pretty fairly I reckon. A decent pace throughout, with about 4km to go Oli came storming past me not to be seen until the end, and back into transition . A swift T2, noting that Petr’s bike was not on the rack , and onto the kayak .

I had been lent a new K1 from Carbonology sport , and it was awesome. Seven kilos my kayak last year was 14kilos it is super comfortable, the Ultra K1 ticked all the boxes. Settled down into a good pace, with no dramas at all. I was unable to make any ground on Oli, but had managed to gain a few minutes on Nigel.

Into T3 , shoes on and my favorite discipline, the run. It took a few minutes to wake the legs up but was soon moving ok , and it was HOT! I ran well to the turnaround , losing some time to Oli , the run back was a constant look out for others in my age group. Once I had seen all the ones I’d been concerned about, I eased back a bit as I was really suffering from the heat now. A few times in the last kilometre I walked for a couple of seconds as was a bit lightheaded it was a relief to finally run into the finish straight and across the line first in my age group. Very Happy!

Coming to Brigg for their races is like coming home. So well organised, such a friendly club Lincsquad , and an amazing group of volunteers all come together to produce slick enjoyable events time and again, thank you to all of you!

Such strong efforts from everyone on the day the cloudless skies and heat made it a tough one, for those out there longer than others it must have really been hard going, well done to all.

Back home , and browsing through the Quadrathlon 4 You website , came across the World Long Distance Quadrathlon Championships in Hungary on August 10^thjust so happens we are on a bit of a road trip for 3 weeks , guess where we are going to head to for August 9^thYep…all entered!! Anyone else going to join us ..?

A Big Shout out must go to ‘TEAM MANVERS’ who had a fantastic team of athletes racing. Huge credit to David and Caz Jones who motivate, organize training sessions and do so much to keep our small sport Alive! Your are an amazing Team Thank You!

Their Quadrathlon is the next race in the BQA Series, it is also the British Championships, please support them, you’ll enjoy a fantastic day out! Enter Here Manvers Quad

If anyone wishes to do Race Reports or contribute to the BQA please do not hesitate to contact me, we are a small sport and it does get more and more difficult trying to recruit members, and enthusiasts, so please keep spreading your love for our sport! Thanks Jean

A Sad Day for Shrewsbury Quadrathlon

May 30, 2024 Jean Ashley

Phil Holden organizer (along with SYTri) of the Shrewsbury Quadrathlon sent us this sad news today –

It is with much regret that I pass on the news that the Shrewsbury Quadrathlon has been cancelled. For the second year running, this is due to low numbers of entries and insufficient volunteer helpers, mostly in the triathlon to which the quad is attached, and on which the quad is completely dependent.

This is part of a wider trend of contraction in triathlon clubs and non commercial events, which many of you may have seen elsewhere. SYTri continues as a club and with some other smaller events, but there are unfortunately no plans to try to organize a further Shrewsbury tri or quad event. So this brings to a rather sad end the 12 year history of this popular and enjoyable race. For me, and I know some others, discovering quadrathlon through this race was life changing. I’d like to thank all those who helped over the years, and all those who raced and who supported across all those races and made them such memorable and great occasions. The club committee is gearing up to do the admin of refunds etc. I’m not involved in this. As with marshals’ on race day, they are all volunteers, so please be nice to them! I hope to see some or many of you at other races and good luck with your events. All the best, Phil.

On behalf of the BQA I would like to Thank Phil for his heartfelt words, we all have so many wonderful memories of this great event. It was so inclusive to all standards of quadrathletes and sold out year in year out for its first 9 years! It was organized brilliantly by SYTri and its volunteer team. It was instigated by Gill Otto who put in an enormous amount of ground work to set it up 12 years ago, Phil was her deputy for many years, before he took it over around 6 years ago. He continued to put so much effort in to keep the Quad going, we held the British Championships there, and it had World Cup Status many times! Once again a Huge Thanks to these 2 BQA members Gill and Phil, who have give us such a great event and put smiles on peoples faces for so many years … THANK -YOU

Sadly Shrewsbury has come to an end, but like all our BQA Quad events they are organized by a few volunteers who work tirelessly with very little support and finance. This isn’t the only BQA event that is struggling, we have very few volunteers and no younger members coming into our sport, it is getting more and more difficult to keep momentum going in a world of so many other commercial events. So if you can help in any way, please get in touch with our event Organizers, help is always appreciated so much.

Thank You Jean Ashley

Entries Open for WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Keyo Brigg Bomber Middle Distance Quad 2024!

February 14, 2024 Jean Ashley

Keyo Brigg Bomber Quadrathlon –2nd June 2024

The BQA and WQF are very PROUD to announce that the Brigg Bomber Middle Distance is crowned The WQF WORLD Quadrathlon Championships for 2024!

A superb race to start the season, extremely well organized by our Top Quadrathlon Club ‘Lincsquad’ a fast flat safe course, which consists of a 1500m river swim, 30k bike, 7k kayak & 9.3k run. It has ‘WORLD Championship Status’ and is part of the ‘WQF World Cup Race Series for 2024 so certainly not one to be missed! Lincsquad will certainly pull out all the stops to make this a brilliant day! BRIGG BOMBER DETAILS and ENTRY

The MIDDLE DISTANCE RACE is part of the BQA National Trophy Series and part of the World Quadrathlon Federation World Cup Series WQF Rules will apply. http://wqf.quadrathlon.com/rules.

Your Solo result only will score points towards the BQA National Trophy Series and WQF Race Series – (overall trophies male or female and age group). Your best three results will be totaled to decide the trophy winners. Full details can be found at http://wqf.quadrathlon.com/world-cup. To receive an award, you need to complete three races. Updated results will appear as soon as possible after the race. BQA Membership is required to be entitled to Win trophies/prizes for the BQA National Trophy Series … please support your Governing Body and Fly the GB Quadrathlon Flag!

Previously the Brigg Bomber has hosted the British Quadrathlon Championships, the European Quadrathlon Championships, World Cup rounds and the 2014 & 2019 World Championships.

Entries are available as;
a Solo competitor, or as a Team (2, 3 or 4 team members),
Minimum age for this event is 17 years as of the 31 Dec 2024, parental consent is required for under 18 years.
For further detailed event information see here: brigg-bomber Information

June- Keyo Brigg Bomber Middle Distance Quad 2024

Happy Christmas and Here’s to a Fabulous 2024 Season!

December 19, 2023 Jean Ashley

I’m sure most of you will have time to wear your lycra, and get out for a swim, kayak, bike or run over the festive holidays! Like all the athletes I know, we like to get out in the fresh air for some fun on the trails, or a blast on the river ….. leaving room for more mince pies and mulled wine! It’s what makes most of us tick ….. and besides, I bet we will all want to test out our new kit and maybe new toys! So have a Wonderful Christmas Time and a Healthy Happy New Year too.

I am so pleased to announce the ‘The Brigg Bomber’ will be hosting the World Middle Distance Championships, and that ‘Manvers Dearne Valley Sprint Quad’ will be our NATIONAL Championships, and Bude will be part of the WQF Series.

So get these dates in your diary’s and entries in, then have a reason kick start your training right now, having a goal does wonders for your motivation

BQA National Trophy Events for 2024

RACE 1 – 2nd June – Brigg Bomber Quad – World Championships 1500km river swim/40km road bike/8km river kayak/10km road run.

A superb race to start the season, extremely well organized by our Top Quadrathlon Club ‘Lincsquad’ a fast flat and safe course, its the World Championships so certainly not to be missed, Lincsquad will certainly pull out all the stops to make this a brilliant day!

Entries OPEN Brigg Bomber Quadrathlon

RACE 2 – 23th June – Dearne Valley Sprint Quad and QuadKidz – 800km lake swim/4.4km lake kayak/13.2km X/MT bike/5km trail run.

This race takes place around the Manvers Waterpark and its surrounding area, all the racing takes place within this lovely venue, this race gets better each year! We are so pleased this race will host the National Championships, its organized by a great team of enthuiastic Quadrathletes, who offer training sessions all year round! The Junior Quadrathlon will run along side the sprint event, with various distances for the 3 age groups … it will be time for our Quadkidz to Shine!

Entries OPEN Dearne Valley Quadrathlon

RACE 3 – 1st September – Shrewsbury Sprint Quad – 550km river swim/5km river kayak/23 road bike/5km run.

We are so pleased to have this race back in our calender this season. An excellent fast, flat sprint race, running on the back of a very popular Triathlon. A great day out with a superb race atmosphere, with lots of support especially on the 3 lap run course around the Showground! A real ‘feel good friendly race’ instigated and organized by one of our very passionate quadrathletes along with SYTri … one not to be missed!

Entries OPEN Shrewsbury Quadrathlon

RACE 4 – 7th September – Awesome Foursome Quad World Cup Series Race – 800km sea swim/30km road bike/10km canal kayak/10km mixed terrain run.

This is one of our longest running established Quadrathlons, in beautiful Cornwall in the surfing town of Bude. It never ceases to amaze me, I have raced it in all weathers …. it is always a brilliant exciting and challenging race and a great end the race season! Swimming in the sea, there’s plenty of hills on the bike, a historic canal for the kayak and amazing coastal views on the run! It’s one of those addictive races that keeps drawing you back. The race is on a Saturday so plenty of time for sun, sand and surf too!

Entries OPEN Awesome Foursome Quadrathlon

RACE 5 – 29th September – Brigg Sprint – 750km river swim/18km road bike/4km river kayak/5km road run.

This is a great event to finish the season, organized by the dedicated Lincsquad Team. The course is flat, fast and ideal for both experienced quadrathletes and those wanting to race the shorter distance. Its our final Championship Race of the season, so great racing is always guaranteed!

Entries (Not open yet) Keyo Brigg Sprint Quad

All links to these races are on our ‘events’ page. I hope I have tempted you …. keep you eye on the events page as some race organizers may offer early bird race discounts!

You must be a BQA member to race for the ‘GB TEAM’ at the World Championships or in a World Cup race, and also to qualify for all BQA prizes in the National Trophy Series. We do need your memberships to help fund our sport. Money goes towards various areas within the organization, one being our website, where we keep you updated with the latest news and events. Our biggest annual outlay is insurance, which we use to cover the races on the British Quad Calendar, without this insurance many of our races wouldn’t take place. We also affiliate to the World Quadrathlon Association ‘WQF’ so our athletes can race at World Cup Races the World and European Championships. The future of British Quadrathlon is in our hands, so please support the BQA and you will be helping to keep our small sport alive!

BQA 2024 Membership

BQA 2024 Trophy Series
2nd June – Brigg Bomber
23rdJune – Dearne Valley Sprint & QuadKidz
1st Sept – Shrewsbury Sprint Quad
7th Sept – Bude Awesome Foursome Quad
29th Sept – Keyo Brigg Sprint

Races supported by BQA (not Trophy Races)
18th May – Montgomery Canal Triathlon (Charity Event)
8th June – Norfolk SuperHeroes Quad Norfolksuperheros
14th July – Deva Divas Quad Deva Divas Quad

Wishing you all a Very Happy Christmas … Safe Training over the winter months, look after those bodies and train well! We look forward to a very exciting 2024 Quad Season!

Jean and the BQA Team

BQA 2023 Annual Report

November 18, 2023 Jean Ashley

To our 2023 Quadrathletes, BQA Members and Race Organizers, this year on the whole, has been an improvement on the last few years, even though our numbers are not back to ‘Pre Covid’ we are seeing many athletes getting into ‘race mode again! We had 4 Quads in our calendar, with sadly Shrewsbury having to be cancelled due to organization issues. The numbers racing across the board were were reasonable, but hopefully we can continue to build on getting more athletes into our sport next season.

‘The BQA’. would like to say a Big Thank – our wonderful Race Organizers, without you our sport would simply not exist, you have very successfully done us proud yet again, and also to every single one of you that made it to the start line this year, be proud of what you have achieved and we look forward to seeing you again next season!

If you’d like to read our Annual Report 2023 and Onwards & Upwards 2024 please see the link below. As always we are welcome to ideas, and suggestions for future events, so if you have any thoughts or contacts please get in touch.

BQA- ANNUAL REPORT & AGM 2023

Thanks Jean BQA Secretary – malpasashleys@btinternet.com

Final Round-Up National Trophy Champions 2023

October 9, 2023 Jean Ashley

It was great to get back to an almost full National Trophy Series this year. Sadly Shrewsbury had to be cancelled, but we still had 4 excellent races in our calender, The Brigg Bomber (World Cup Event also) Dearne Valley Sprint, Bude Awesome Foursome, and The Brigg Sprint. On behalf of the BQA I’d like to say a Huge THANK YOU to all our Race organizers and volunteers, who work so hard each year to put on these events for us, it is a big commitment and we really do appreciate your time! Thanks also to all the Sponsors who support them, and to you the BQA Members for you annual fees, which are vital so we can run the BQA Governing Body and more important provide the ever important Insurance fees to be able to support the Race Organizers…. Big Thanks!

This year we had we had 41 male athletes and 15 female athletes racing in the series, but only 1 athlete managed to do all 4 races ….. a huge well done to Phillippe Jumeau! It has been a difficult season for many of us, with injuries and other life issues, but lets hope 2024 will bring a fresh start, plenty of motivation and lots more of Quadrathletes back in ACTION!!

Well done and a big thank-you to all Quadrathletes that raced in the series, there have been some excellent performances and big improvements for may athletes this season, its been great to see some old faces back into our sport and as always so good to be welcoming newcomers, we hope to see you all again next year!

(L to R) Champions Philippe, Donna, Gill, Nick and Lance

BQA NATIONAL TROPHY CHAMPIONS 2023

Male Overall
1st Nicholas Farnell 322 points (Vet 60)
2nd Lance Ball 295 points (Vet 50)
3rd Phillippe Jumeau 294 points(Vet 60)

Female Overall
1st Gillian Melia 360 points (Vet 50)
2nd Donna Chappill 325 points (Vet 50)
3rd Caroline Jones 315 points(Vet 50)

Age Group Winners
Vet 50 Male Lance Ball
Vet 50 Female Donna Chappill
Vet 60 Male Philippe Jumeau

Congratulations also to our Age Group Winners who have all produced some fabulous results this season! We have great depth in strength and experience in our age groupers, they are all great ambassadors of our sport and we are very proud to have them in our BQA Quadrathlon Family! Well Done to you all!

Full Trophy Results BQA British Trophy 2023.5

The Eric Hatliff Memorial Trophy ‘For Endeavor’ 2023 Congratulations ‘David and Caroline Jones’ They have both shown Enthusiasm & Commitment and have been consistently Sharing your Passion for our Sport
Showing True Dedication!

They are members of ‘Manvers Lake’ along with organizing and coaching training sessions. they have encouraged many Athletes into our sport, and even have time to race themselves! They are all great supporters of The BQA and spread the word of Quadrathlon far and wide! On behalf of the BQA we wish to say A BIG THANK-YOU for your Time and Effort it is very much appreciated by us all!

Have a Safe Winter and Come Back Stronger #2024 …. Jean Ashley

WORLD CUP TROPHY & WQF NATIONAL TROPHY

Also across the World the WQF have a Series of Events which make up the World Cup Results, these are the Best 5 Results to Count. Congratulations to The winner of men’s overall World Cup is Ferenc Csima (HUN) The second place is going to Leoš Roušavý (CZE), the third place is going to Laurent Martinou (FRA).

The winner of woman’s overall Word Cup in 2023 is Susanne Walter (GER). The second place is going to Ellen Mielke (GER), the third place is going to Antje Fiebig (GER). World Cup 2023.12

World National Trophy – The Country that has scored the most World Cup Points. 1st place is Germany, 2nd Poland, 3rd CZE and 4th GB WQF National Trophy 2023.9.2

Brigg Sprint 2023

October 9, 2023 Jean Ashley

Big Thanks to LincsQuad Quadrathlon Club for hosting the race, and to the ‘Small but amazing Team’ of organizers and Marshalls who work timelessly to make this event possible! The race consisted of a 750m river swim, followed by a 19km road cycle, then a 4km Kayak and finishing with a 5km run. The course is flat, fast and ideal for both experienced quadrathletes and those wanting to race the shorter distance. There was a good turnout of 22 athletes, a lot of them looking for those vital National Trophy Points, as it was the final trophy Race of the Season!

Overall Winner Nick Farnell with his fishing accessories!

The weather was kind, warm with no wind and it stayed dry, so a great morning for racing. The air temperature and river temperature were almost the same, so everyone enjoyed the swim and came out smiling!

The rain stayed away and despite the roads being wet the bike leg was ok, though Wayne Smith did have an incident but thankfully carried on the finish strongly.

The kayak went smoothly for everyone, though Nicolas Farnell did do a bit of fishing on the way back home, thankfully it didn’t slow him down too much as he went on to take the win!

The run is out and back, a lovely run back along the river fast and flat and always gives the athletes chance to encourage, and see everyone in the race!

Well done to all the athletes racing, some newcomers, and off course our ‘year in year out’ BQA Quadrathletes who are the back bone of our sport, constantly supporting all our races each year! We even had an International competitor ‘Tristan Mannix’ from the USA, he had a great time, smiled all the way despite his difficult kayak leg, if he comes back next year, we promise we will find him a kayak that only goes in a straight line! He loved the event and has gone home with lots of ‘BQA and Lincsquad Stash’ so he’ll certainly be spreading the Quad News back in the USA!

So Congratulations to Overall Winners, Nick Farnell and Natalie Abbott plus all the Quadrathletes that raced, it was so good to see the enthusiasm and commitment as you all embraced this great Sprint Event! Well done to everyone who crossed that finish line and to all the Prize Winners and BQA Trophy Winners too!

As always we must say a big Thank you to Lincsquad for organizing their 2nd Quadrathlon of the year! It gets harder and harder each year especially with rising costs, finding enough people to commit to helping out, its a difficult task each year, but you all certainly did an amazing job and you put so many smiles on all those athletes faces!
So again its a Big Thank you from the BQA and it’s members, Be Proud you all help keep our small sport moving forwards 🙏 #smallsportbigheart 💜

Congratulations to the Overall Winners and Age Group Winners! As always Thanks to our BQA Members, its your Support and Membership Fees that help keep our sport ALIVE!!

Overall Winners Jason, Nick, Lance — Overall Winners Nick, Jason, Lance

MEN
1st Nicholas Farnell 1:40:47 (Vet60) BQA
2nd Jason Frary 1:41:37 (Vet50)
3rd Lance Ball 1:44:25 (Vet50) BQA
4th Philippe Jumeau 1:45:00 (Vet60) BQA
5th Jeff Chappill 1:50:50 (Vet50) BQA
6th Wayne Smith 1:50:58 (Vet50) BQA

Overall Winners Natalie, Gillian, Hermione

LADIES
1st Natalie Abbott 1:53:17 (Vet60) BQA
2nd Gilian Melia 1:55:24 (Vet50) BQA
3rd Hermione Ball 1:57:43 (Under20) BQA
4th Clare Addy 2:05:16 (Vet40)
5th Donna Chappill 2:08:12 (Vet50) BQA
6th Emma Mitchall 2:09:12
7th Caroline Jones 2:27:20 BQA

FULL RESULTS Sprint Quad Results

Well done also to Team Winners ‘Swim Bike Cake’ 1:51:48 The team stared 2 supportive BQA members Pete Tindle and Lizzie Angood getting back into things after a new addition to their family … Congratulations!

It was also the Final BQA Trophy Race of the Season, its always a great pleasure to present these Trophies and Age Group Prizes each year, along with our Eric Hatliff Trophy Winners. Congratulations also to our Overall Winners: Nick Farnell and Gillian Melia, and our Age Group Winners: Lance Ball (Vet50) Donna Chappill (Vet50) and Philippe Jumeau (Vet60) they have all produced some fabulous results this season!

The truly deserved Winners of the Eric Hatliff Trophy are Daivd and Caroline Jones, who not only race but also give so much back, coaching, motivating and organizing races at Manvers Lake! We have great depth in strength and experience in our athletes they are all great ambassadors of our sport and we are very proud to have them in our BQA Quadrathlon Family! Well Done to you all!

Full Trophy Standings 2023 BQA British Trophy 2023 RESULTS

Thank you to Lance Ball for his Race Report, and Congratulations to him on his brilliant race season, and to his daughter Hermione who continues to improve from strength to strength!

I have been participating in Quadrathlons for over 10 years. However this race at Brigg was going to be particularly special for me. I raced together with my daughter Hermione Ball as a pair just a couple of weeks ago at the Awesome Foursome in Bude where we had a fantastic race. Hermione has previously raced in other quadrathlons, but this event at Brigg was to be our first ever father and daughter race where we would be competing in the same event against each other.

As always, we started off by getting into the river Ancholme to acclimatize. Hermione entered well before myself. It was a little chilly so a couple of minutes acclimatizing was plenty enough for my liking. After a brief countdown we were off and without any intention I found myself swimming right alongside Hermione as we proceeded along the river. The last time I swam with my daughter must have been a few years ago when she was much slower. I don’t know when she improved so much, but here she wasn’t just keeping up with me, but started to pull away. I decided that the best option was to tuck in behind and just stay on her feet.

As we approached the turn around point I was still right on Hermione’s feet and Hermione was right behind someone else. This did cause a little dilemma of what to do at the turn with no buoy to go around. As the person turned in front of Hermione, Hermione stopped where she was and I stopped behind Hermione. Now stationary, should we turn in front of each other, around each other, try and follow some sort of arc that the person in front has done? I probably only hesitated for a couple of seconds, but it felt like I confused myself for ages. I looked across to the bank to see Pete Chappill waving at me to start swimming back towards the leisure centre, so I took this as a sign to stop messing about and to just start swimming in the opposite direction. Approaching the pontoon, Hermione was still in front of me, but I tactically swam to the left immediately behind someone else, which sneakily blocked Hermione out to the right. As a result we were absolutely neck and neck as we clambered out of the water and headed off to transition.

T1 was the second time I became a little confused, since I’m used to getting into transition to find many more spaces where bikes had previously been racked. I’m sure what exaggerated the feeling was that the triathlon competitors swimming inside the leisure centre had yet to come out, so there was a whole sea of bikes in transition, giving the impression that no bike had left. I inquired with my fellow quadrathletes who confirmed that we definitely were cycling next and not kayaking, so I duly set off as anticipated with a bike in hand.

I’ve completed several long distance cycling challenges recently, so I was more than happy to be out on the bike course, enjoying every minute of it.
Approaching the halfway point, I caught up with 2 competitors that were both keeping towards the left, all the way around the roundabout. I took the racing line around the roundabout and managed to overtake both in the process before accelerating with a tailwind back towards Brigg.

Not long after leaving the roundabout I noticed my Masters 50 rivals, Wayne Smith and Jeff Chappill approaching in the opposite direction. I had hoped that I’d have created more of a gap, since I knew that they were better runners than myself. I was particularly pleased to see Hermione approaching sooner than I expected and knew that she must be having a good race,
Unfortunately I had no idea how many had passed me in the opposite direction when I was heading out, so I had no idea what my current position was. Halfway back to Brigg, one of the competitors that I’d been so pleased to overtake at the roundabout, came past me and just carried on pulling away. I’m not certain who they were, but I’m sure they were from the relay team, so presume that they didn’t need to save any energy for the kayak and could just go all out for their last few bike miles.

There were no dramas for T2, except that when placing our kayaks, I had started a second row for Hermione and mine, expecting others to have been in theirs before we needed ours. However not many had been moved, so it cost me a few extra seconds whilst I carried my kayak from a little further away.

Once under way in the kayak, I could see Philippe Jumeau about 30 seconds ahead of me.
I could just about tell that I was closing, but only very slightly. After passing the moored boats and heading out towards the red bridge I could see Nicholas Farnell and Jason Frary battling it out in the distance. I couldn’t see anyone else, so concluded to my own amazement that I must be in 4th position. Approaching the bridge I could see Philippe turning and appearing to take longer to do so than I should, since he was clearly paddling a kayak that was much more unstable than mine. I thought that this was my big chance to catch up. Unfortunately the turn wasn’t one of my best, having intended to turn under the bridge I ended up drifting beyond the bridge, turning later than I needed to. I still managed to make up a few seconds and that helped with the incentive to push on hard. Halfway back to the leisure centre and I was close enough to start feeling the assistance from being behind Philippe. Once there it was reasonably quick to catch up and begin the overtake. Somewhere near the moored boats I managed to complete the overtake but knew that I wasn’t going to be able to pull much ahead, if at all. However getting to the pontoon ahead was likely to be beneficial in receiving the first help in exiting the water. I’m sure it was as Mark Pryor encouraged me to run on as he took care of my kayak.

A quick T3 transition meant that I headed out onto the run probably 20 to 30 seconds ahead of Philippe which I doubted would be enough.

At the ‘run’ halfway point, there wasn’t anyone close in front of me. I saw the turn around marked on the floor, but decided to continue running past this point and instead ran around the marshall standing slightly further along the path, just to make sure that I’d gone far enough! Much to the bewilderment of the marshall. Heading back I saw Phillippe wasn’t far behind and that it would be a hard fought last few kilometers. My tactic to try and stay ahead was to sing AC/DC songs in my head.

It was again good to see all of my fellow quadrathletes as we passed each other out and back on the run. Weighing up how well each of our races must be going we still offered each other encouragement to push on. Natalie Abbott was having a great run as the leading female. Hermione was still going strong, continuing to have a really great race.

As I approached the leisure centre I was still feeling good, looked around and couldn’t see any of my rivals. Nicholas Farnell had already finished first a few minutes earlier, closely followed by Jason Frary. I crossed the line in 3rd place to claim my first ever individual podium finish.
Philippe crossed the line about 30 seconds later and immediately came over to congratulate me.

Natalie Abbott continued with a very fast run to become first female finisher, followed in by Gill Melia. I was particularly looking out for Hermione and was so thrilled when she came across the line after Gill to claim 3rd female.

For our first race competing against each other, both Hermione and I absolutely loved the event. Not just because we both had great races, but because of the friendly atmosphere amongst all of the athletes taking part that are just too many to name here. Most of all though, we are so grateful to Lincsquad, the marshalls and all of the volunteers that enabled this race to take place, providing a great friendly atmosphere and giving us encouragement all the way around.

Thank you so much everyone, we look forward to seeing you all again next year.
Regards, Lance and Hermione.

Bude’s Awesome Foursome Quadrathlon 2023

September 22, 2023 Jean Ashley

‘On behalf of the BQA’ A Big thanks to Simon and his great team ‘Shoreline Extreme Sports’ for organizing another Bude’s Awesome Foursome Quadrathlon, blessed with fabulous weather this has got to be one of our most scenic Quadrathlons on the circuit. Sadly the numbers were on the low side, but a great time was had by all and we really must try hard to get more athletes down at this event wonderful event next September.

Shoreline Extreme Sports Report:

With a great field of quadrathlon athletes from all over Britain, Bude once again hosted the Awesome Foursome Quadrathlon in close to perfect conditions. At the end of the Individual race winner Mark Turner from Barnstaple was asked what he thought of the race. His reply was “Every bit of it is hard but at the same time enjoyable! The open sea swim was brilliant, calm conditions and a great temperature, the cycle ride has some of the worst hills I’ve ever been on, the kayak leg was smooth, the Bude canal is perfect for this and the cross country run with the coastal hills sapped everything I had left!” When asked would he come back and do it again, his reply was “Of course, it was brilliant!”

The Awesome Foursome Quadrathlon held annually in Bude combines the four disciplines of Swimming, Cycling, Kayaking and Running into one long endurance race. Athletes enter either as relay teams of four, as a pair or as individuals completing the whole event by themselves. The race makes the most of Bude’s wonderful environment and builds on the very popular Shoreline Triathlon which was run earlier in the year. The swim course, approximately 1000m, takes place at high tide within Summerleaze Bay. The 30 km cycle takes athletes out of Bude along the spectacular coastal roads to Widemouth, Wanson Mouth and the notorious 30% hill at Millook before returning the competitors back to the Bude and its historic canal. Next comes 10 km of kayak racing up and down the Bude Canal before the final 10 km run stage following the towpath to Helebridge, fields to Widemouth and coastal path back to the finish in Bude’s lower canal wharf area.

Race organiser Simon Hammond and his team at Shoreline Extreme Sports have been running this race for the last 20 years. and would like to say a ‘Huge Thanks’ to our sponsors Penbode Vets, The Crooklets Beach Cafe and Finn Solicitors and to all the many people that support us including the 26 local volunteers who brilliantly marshaled the course. “Its a really nice end of season event” Simon explained “We get lots of great local support both in terms of people volunteering to marshal and also plenty of local competitors. There are lots of races going on within the race. This year it was the local youngsters relay team of Zack Davis, Max Rodriguez-Emery, Drew Bardsley and Saul Barraclough that got everyone excited. They stormed off from the start and never looked like being caught, finishing first in the Relay category miles ahead of any other team!

Its a tough race if you do the whole thing on your own but so many of this years entries were either Pairs or Relay Teams where the experience is shared! Local Adventure business Adventure Bude put in a strong team and the oldest competitor Nick Cole who had his 80th birthday on the day of the event was in the the second placed relay team aptly name “The Birthday Party.”

With a late start this year at 2 pm, due to the tides, competitors were blessed with near perfect weather conditions, warm but with a little cloud cover to keep things safe! The fastest competitors were finishing in just under 3 hours, having completed the swim in around 20 minutes and then the cycle, kayak and run all taking around 50 minutes each.

So the fastest time of the day was set by Relay Team: ‘Class of 23’ (Bude) 2:49:35
Individual Men
1st Mark Turner 2:50::26 (1st Senior)
2nd James Thornton 2:53:20 (2nd Senior)
3rd Steve King 2:55:15 (1st Vet 50)
Individual Woman
1st Rebecca Newson 3:10:11
Pair: Jon and Summer Gatrell (Bude SLSC) in 3:21:29
with BQA Members Hermione & Lance Ball in 2nd 3:24:30

Congratulations to all our BQA Members, as always thanks for flying the flag!

Nigel Unwin 2.59.26 (2nd Vet 50)
Peter Chappill 3.37.16 (2nd Vet 60)
Phillip Jumeau 3.44.54 (3rd Vet 60)
David Browning 3:47:26 (4th Vet 60)
Nicola Hamerton 3.42.32 (1st Vet 60)
Donna Chappill 4.29.40 (2nd Vet 50)
Full Results Below Quadrathlon Results 2023

Thanks to Lincsquad’s Donna Chappill for her recollection of her race! Well yesterday I completed one of the toughest challenges yet, the Awesome Foursome Quadrathlon. I’ve been wanting to do this for years, having watched Pete, Jean, Jac and other BQA members, but never had the courage to enter. However, this year I decided that I would and I am so pleased that I conquered my fears and entered (probably drunk at the time).

With the help support and encouragement, I was so scared, of my darling husband Jeff, my brother-in-law Pete and sister-in-law Dawn, I got to the start line and off I went. The sea swim was 800mtrs but they moved the buoy due to a neap tide so swarm just over 1100mtrs. This was followed by 30km of one of the most heart breaking hilly cycle courses which includes Millock, the never-ending hill apparently it’s a 1 in 3! Then for a nice sit down to paddle 10km in Bude canal, couldn’t help but say hi to people and a quick natter with the fishermen, two low bridges, 5 turns and done. Finally a 10km mixed terrain canal/coastal path run, with an aching back and some great support from Jeff and the marshals, I actually completed this undulating course…..and then I was done….totally and utterly exhausted but so chuffed with myself….would I do it again oh yes, despite aches and pains where I didn’t know could ache.
Oh and I got this too in fact four of us all BQA received a trophy this year!

Congratulations Donna … we are very proud for you!

This leaves the BQA Trophy Series wide open and will depend on the results from the final race in the Series ‘Brigg Sprint’. Trophies are awarded each year, provided each winner has done 3 races in the series, and must be a current BQA Member. (In the event of a tie the 4th race points will count to decide the winner).

THANK YOU as always to John Kavanagh for his time and effort for putting together the Latest BQA Trophy Standings: BQA British Trophy 2023.4

Overall Winners Perpetual Trophy for Male and Female. BQA Kit vouchers for winners Male and Female in each age category, Juniors (u23), Seniors, V40+ V50+ V60+ Vet 70+

Eric Hatliff Memorial Trophy & BQA Kit Voucher awarded each year ‘For Endeavor’ given to an athlete(s) showing his/her enthusiasm and commitment to the sport of Quadrathlon.

These Awards will be presented at Brigg Sprint 1st October 2023

Author: Jean Ashley