BQA Trophy – British Quadrathlon Association

Brigg Sprint National Championships

September 9, 2025 Jean Ashley

Always one of the highlights of the quadrathlon race calendar, this year’s British Championship race took place on 7^th September in Brigg, Lincolnshire. The 2025 national race was a sprint-distance format of 750m river swim, 4km kayak, 18km bike and 5km run and it also doubled up as the third race in the British Trophy Series.

In the run up to the race it wasn’t clear whether the format would be a river or pool swim due to the amount of weeds in the Ancholme but the call was made to start the race in the river. This made for a very challenging first leg with all athletes struggling to force their way through the weeds.

The women’s race was very close and arguably the most exciting of the day! Last year’s Brigg Sprint winner, Rose Durrant exited the river first, just 9 seconds ahead of seasoned quadder Helen Russell. About 2 miles into the bike leg Helen caught Rose and the riders battled each other with positions swapping until the half way point when Rose pulled away and created a lead going into the kayak leg of 21 seconds. Both athletes had to deal again with the weeds in the river but just after the half way mark Helen overtook Rose paddling almost two minutes faster. Helen managed to maintain her lead throughout the run leg completing the final disciple just one second quicker than Rose to finish in an overall time of 1 hour, 43 minutes, and 19 seconds. Rose took the silver in 1.44.46 and Tora Oetgen took the final podium place in 1.56.56. In just one year Rose has improved by 5 minutes and 21 seconds, an incredible advancement in just 12 months. Tora also showed a big improvement finishing 4 minutes 59 seconds quicker than last year. Helen and Rose’s times were so fast that they actually finished 3^rd and 4^th overall beating most of the men!

The men’s race didn’t see much changing of positions. Following on from his victory at Dearne Valley Adam Norfolk was first out of the water and build on his lead throughout the race finishing in 1.28.50. Adam had the fastest time in all four disciplines. Nigel Unwin was the third male to exit the water but moved quickly into second place and comfortably stayed in that position throughout the race to take silver in 1.40.55 and the final podium place was taken by quadrathlon first time racer Richard Evans in 1.45.43. Welcome Richard to our sport!

Congratulations to our national champions Adam Norfolk and Helen Russell. Helen has now won the national title six times.

The first team was Red Roses and it was great to see team member and last year’s overall winner Erik Meilak returning to form after injury.

Massive Thanks to LincsQuad Quadrathlon Club for hosting the race, and their wonderful team of organisers and marshalls who give up their time and work so hard to run this event and make it safe and fun for participants!

Results

Women Overall

1st Helen Russell 1.43.19 Masters 50

2nd Rose Durrant 1.44.46 Elite

3rd Tora Oetgen 1.56.56 Masters 40

Under 20 Hermione Ball 01:57:38

Masters 40 (roll down) Emma Danforth 02:55:26

Masters 50 (roll down) Caroline Jones 02:44:33

Masters 60 Janet Green 02:19:42

Men Overall

1^st Adam Norfolk 1.28.50 Masters 40

2^nd Nigel Unwin 1.40.55 Masters 60

3rd Richard Evans 1.45.43 Elite

Masters 40 (roll down) Adam Draup 02:06:45

Masters 50 Wayne Smith 01:54:59

Masters 60 (roll down) Nicholas Farnell 01:49:32

Masters 70 John Mcadam 01:57:21

This was also the third in the Trophy Series which rewards consistency over the season, as athletes score points at races, with the points from the best three races to count towards the title. Some titles were decided at this race with results to be confirmed soon. With three wins Helen Russell has definitely taken the overall Series women’s title. The men’s title is yet to be decided and will come down to the final race of the season The Awesome Foursome on the 11^th October.

Thanks to Helen Russell for the write up, full results and Trophy Standings will follow soon.

Awesome Foursome Quadrathlon with a NEW Sprint Course too ….. Get your Entry in!

July 18, 2025 Jean Ashley

The BQA are pleased to see that Bude Quad will be also adding a sprint course quad to your usual Awesome Foursome course.

The BQA have decided to include this as a separate race in the BQA trophy series and it will also get Trophy Points. As we did with the Brigg Bomber in June, who also ran two length courses. We will award slightly fewer points for the Sprint, starting at 100 rather than 120, for the short course. This will help people only wanting to do sprint distance races to get 3 races in and be eligible for our National Trophy Prizes.

BUDE AWESOME FOURSOME 11th OCTOBER 2025 – Every year since 2002 we’ve run the Awesome Foursome Quadrathlon, an extreme multi-sport race for individuals, pairs and relay teams to enter. This is an established event in the British and European Quadrathlon calendar regularly being a World Cup ranking event or the European Short Course Championships.

The race makes the very most of Bude’s geography and features. The open water swim takes place within the shelter of Bude’s breakwater. The cycle ride includes some amazing coastal hills (including the 1 in 3 climb at Millook). The kayak leg takes place on the tranquil Bude canal. And the final run follows the canal towpath onto the coastal path and back to Bude. The fastest athletes will take around 3 hours to complete the course with most finished within 4 hours.

Route Description on YouTube

NEW for 2025: The Sprint

“A little smaller but just as Awesome”

This shorter-course quadrathlon will be run at the same time as the full Awesome Foursome but will be roughly half the distance. It will start with the main event and be based at the Canal Wharf but will follow similar routes for the swim, cycle, and run as the Shoreline Triathlon, therefore eliminating the severe cycling hills around Millook. The swim will be one lap of the Bay, the cycle ride will only go as far as the Widemouth Manor before returning to Bude on the A39, the Kayaking will be one lap of the canal and the Run will only go as far as Rodds Bridge before returning to Bude via Lynstone Road.

Entries for either event must be received in advance and you can register using this link RACE ENTRY Quadrathlon

Dearne Valley Quadrathlon WQF Cup Race

June 27, 2025 Jean Ashley

European Championships at Brigg Bomber 2025

June 6, 2025 Jean Ashley

A HUGE THANK YOU to Donna Jeff and the Team at LincsQuad Quadrathlon Club for putting on a great race for the BQA and the WQF yesterday as always they pulled out the stops! Despite having such a small team of helpers, there’s one thing for sure they are 100% committed to make sure these events happen for our small sport of Quadrathlon.

Thank you to everyone who supported the race, all BQA members and competitors, those International athletes too, all helpers marshals time keepers and key event organizers ……. you put a smile on everyone’s faces, made a lot of athletes very proud and gave us all a day to remember.

Big Thanks on behalf of the BQA … Jean

Race Results – Brigg Bomber Middle & Sprint Results

National Trophy Results – BQA Trophy after 2 of 5 races

WQF Results –

WQF race 3 of 9 results with point

World Cup Race 3

WQF National trophy after 3 of 9 races

A Big Thanks to Ian Cooke for his excellent report of the day – European Middle Distance Quadrathlon Championships
(and accompanying sprint distance BQA points quadrathlon)

It’s 08:29 on the 1^st of June 2025 in Brigg, North Lincolnshire, the first day of meteorological summer and a fine and warm day with a little bit of breeze blowing in from the west.

In the river Ancholme, around 110 multi-sport athletes are awaiting the start of their events, now just 1 minute away. The athletes are participants in one of four events being held on that day.

Firstly, there is the prestigious third international quadrathlon championship event of 2025, the European Middle Distance Quadrathlon Championships. This event also doubled up as the third of the 2025 season in the World Quadrathlon Federation World Cup series, following earlier races in Kassel and Gyekenyes. Secondly, this one day championship event was accompanied by its slightly shorter sibling race, a sprint distance quadrathlon, with points being awarded and counting towards the national British Quadrathlon Association series awards. Finally and separate to this race report, there was an accompanying standard distance and sprint distance triathlon.

The Race – Suddenly, the race director, Jeff calls out loud and clear to the athletes in the water…….

‘Is there anyone here doing the duathlon?…….. If you are, you’re in the wrong place……’ So much laughing and smiles from everyone and then bang, we’re off. Two laps of a 750 swim for the European Champs race and one lap for the sprint event. As ever, the swim was a fast affair for those at the front, with the top athletes looking to establish an early lead position.

I settle in, concentrate on breathing, find your own rhythm, count the buoy turns and then back to the landing stage, Here, friendly and familiar faces and voices carry you on your way past the boathouse into transition.

Onto the 30k bike stage and the course was just excellent. For me personally, I’d checked out the bike course on the previous Friday, so it was full gas all the way, tuck in, shrug the shoulders narrow and get aero, every second counts. The loop out of Waddingham and through Snitterby was just excellent fun. 49:24 later and I’m rolling back into the sports center, thinking now about the kayak leg.

One thing that is an absolute pleasure about the Brigg quad races is the boat leg on the Ancholme, 7.8k’s to the wooden bridge and back for the middle distance and just short of 5k’s to the red bridge and back for the sprint competitors.

Paddling alongside Oli Fairbairn on the outward leg, a figure was rapidly approaching us and coming into view on their return, pushing their boat at circa 12-13kph. This was Ferenc Csima, at that point around 20 minutes ahead of us, the eventual overall winner and an absolutely phenomenal kayak racer. Next to cross us was Laurent Martinou, eventual 2^nd place and around 10 minutes behind Ferenc at that stage. ‘Bravo Laurent! Allez, allez, allez…..’ was the shout out as we crossed.

As a side note, chapeau to Laurent, who drove north from his home south of Paris on the Saturday, raced the event and then drove back to the south coast after the race for the 19:30 Sunday evening ferry, top effort! On the return leg, it was great to see Helen Russell in her GB tri-suit on the outward leg, pushing on in the boat on her way to the overall win.

So here we go, the day’s getting done now, just the run to go, 5k’s for the sprint and 9.8k’s for the middle distance event.

This is the classic time to check in with the body……. ‘legs, how’s it going, are you thinking about cramping? No we’re fine. Achilles, how are you? Any tightness? No, we’re alright just now. Ok lower back how are you after the kayaking? I’m a bit sore, but I think I’m good for 10k’s, lets do it…….’ So check the watch, put it on 4 minute 35 second k’s and tick off the distance.

And just like that, the day is done, off the river path, past the petrol station, over the bridge, careful on the little grassy slope and the finish line is there. This sport is just fantastic and the people are just so lovely. Cross the line, go and hug everybody and then look for family supporters.

OPEN RACE RESULTS : The open race overall was won by Ferenc with a fantastic time of 2:29:29, with Laurent 6 minutes behind in P2 (1^st O40 – 2:35:45) and James Block of GBR completing the podium (1st O50 – 2:48:40).

Helen won the female event overall with a time 3:03:33 (1^st O50), with Rose Durrant in P2 (1^st Elite – 3:08:13) with Orna Otoole completing the podium (2^nd O50 – 3:16:50).

AGE GROUP RESULTS: Tora Oetgen was 1^st female O40 (4^th overall – 3:26:46), Hermione Ball 1^st female junior (5^th overall – 3:31:25), Oli Fairbairn was 1^st Elite (4^th Open overall – 2:51:37) Ian Cooke 1^st O60 (5^th Open overall – 2:54:02), John Macadam 1^st O70 (23^rd Open overall – 3:29.18)

In the accompanying sprint event Jason Frary was 1^st in the Open (1^st O50 – 1:39:06), Graeme Tiffany was 2^nd (1^st O60 – 2:03:07), Dianne Hubber 1^st female, 3^rd overall in the event and 1^st O50 (2:10:35).

In positions 2 to 7 in the female sprint came the fantastic group of friends and constant training partners, Janet Green (2^nd 1^st O60 – 2:12:31), Geraldine Richards (3^rd – 2:23:34), Sue Turner, Sue Pilling, Amanda Lord and Lynn Simpson. These women have inspired each other and trained together so hard all winter and spring in all conditions and weathers, nailing every aspect of this demanding sport. Just brilliant, massive well done and be so proud of what you did, experienced and achieved on that day in Brigg.

As always with these events, nothing would ever happen without the input, leadership and expertise of so many people.

Thank you to Jeff and Donna for making it all happen, along with all those brilliant marshals, timekeepers, transition managers and a million other roles that the team at LincsQuad provided.

Thank you to David, Andy, Evo, Janice and their team in covering all aspects of the swim and kayak management. It makes such a massive difference finishing the boat leg, knowing that it will just get taken care of as you continue to the run.

Finally, thank you so much to Jean Ashley and all at British Quadrathlon Association for providing the overall organisation and everything to make these races and race series possible.

Massive well done to all the competitors in both the middle distance and the sprint event. These events are demanding and take courage to toe that line alongside your mates, putting yourself on a canvas showing who you are and what you can do that day. The results are hard won and accordingly, massively satisfying to get.

That was the Brigg Bomber, now onto the rest of 2025! …… Ian Cooke

Photos of the race – thanks from Trevor

Bomber photos.google.com

Final Round-Up National Trophy Champions 2024

November 5, 2024 Jean Ashley

Sadly our National Trophy Series was down to just 3 races this year, Shrewsbury has finally folded completely, which is very sad news, and Bude was also cancelled due to lack of support. Thankfully we still had 3 excellent races in our calendar, The Brigg Bomber (World Cup Event also) Dearne Valley Sprint, 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! I would also like to say an enormous thanks to John Kavanagh who produces the BQA and WQF Tables after each race, this is a huge commitment and we are all very grateful … Thanks John

This year we had we had 27 male athletes and 19 female athletes racing in the series, with 6 athletes doing all 4 races ….. a huge well done to Jules Taylor, Oliver Fairbairn, Phillippe Jumeau, Jeff Chappill, Helen Recchia, and Caroline Jones. Lets hope 2025 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!

BQA NATIONAL TROPHY CHAMPIONS 2024

Male Overall 1st Jules Taylor 340 points (Vet 60), 2nd Oliver Fairbairn 335 points (Senior), 3rd Phillippe Jumeau 298 points(Vet 60)

Female Overall 1st Helen Recchia 310 points (Vet 60), 2nd Caroline Jones 301 points(Vet 50)

Age Male Group Winners Senior Oliver Fairbairn, Vet 50 Jeff Chappill, Vet 60 (roledown) Phillippe Jumeau

Age Female Group Winner Vet 50 Caroline Jones

Congratulations also to our BQA Members 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 Trophy 2024 final results

The Eric Hatliff Memorial Trophy ‘For Endeavor’ 2024 Congratulations ‘Jean Ashley’ The BQA Chairman ‘Mark Pryor’ insisted that Jean should receive this Trophy, although she is having a break from racing Quads, whilst she races around the mountains doing ‘Ultras’, she has continually kept the BQA going behind the scenes for many years. She organizes the Famous Deva Divas Quadrathlon, and continues to inspire many women across the sport. This Year she has been involved with the BQA for 25 years and has always showed enthusiasm & commitment and is consistently sharing her Passion for our Sport!

National Trophy Hall of Fame

Have a Safe Winter and Come Back Stronger #2025 …. Jean Ashley

WORLD CUP TROPHY & WQF NATIONAL TROPHY …and grreat news GB were 3rd in the 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 Arnold Halasz (HUN), the third place is going to Laurent Martinou (FRA). The winner of woman’s overall Word Cup in 2024 is Susanne Walter (GER). The second place is going to Ellen Mielke (GER), the third place is going to Heike Steininger (GER). Results: World cup 2024 9 of 9

World National Trophy – The Country that has scored the most World Cup Points. 1st place is Poland (11280), 2nd Spain (10200) and CONGRATULATIONS in 3rd Great Britain (7722) Results: WQF National Trophy Final

Brigg Sprint Final Race of the Season!

November 11, 2024 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 24 athletes, a lot of them looking for those vital National Trophy Points, as it was the final trophy Race of the Season!

Congratulations to everyone who took part, sadly the Indian Summer didn’t arrive in time and conditions were a tad chilly! The Road works weren’t planned either, but as always Quadrathletes just get on with it and keep smiling! So huge well done to everyone out there racing, and congratulations to our Winners, its great to see 2 newcomers to our sport on the top of the Mens and Ladies podium! Also good to see some new BQA members racing for the first time, plus a great strong contingency from the ever supportive ‘Manvers’ and off course our ‘year in year out’ BQA members who are the backbone of our amazing small sport and support us through thick ‘n thin … Thank You!

MEN
1st Erik Meilak 1.34.50 Elite
2nd Jules Taylor 1.37.44 1st Vet 60 BQA
3rd Oliver Fairbairn 1.39.31 Elite BQA
4th Ian Cooke 1.43.45 1st Vet 50 BQA
BQA MEMBERS
5th Phillippe Jumeau 1.46.15 BQA
6th Jeff Chappill 1.51.58 BQA
7th Lance Ball 1.57.55 BQA

LADIES
1st Rose Durrant 1.50.07 Elite
2nd Helen Adams 2.00.48 1st Vet 50
3rd Tora Oetgen 2.01.55 1st Vet 40 BQA
4th Helen Recchia 2.22.40 1st Vet 60 BQA
BQA MEMBERS
5th Janet Green 2.23.58 BQA
6th Caroline Jones 2.30.38 BQA
9th Amanda Lord 2.44.04 BQA
11th Elaine Oliver 2.50.09 BQA

Full Results Brigg Sprint Quad Results

Congratulations to our BQA National Trophy Winners – BQA Trophy 2024 final results

Overall MENS Winner – Jules Taylor
Senior Winner – Oliver Fairbairn
Vet 50 – Jeff Chappill
Vet 60 – Phillippe Jumeau

Overall LADIES Winner – Helen Recchia
Vet 50 – Caroline Jones

It was a Great Race to End our 2024 Quad Season, and Thank You to everyone who has contributed in any way this year to help keep our sport alive. If you have any ideas, race contacts or can contribute in anyway please share your ideas with us – Jean Ashley BQA email: malpasashleys@btinternet.com

Thank you to Jules Taylor and Helen Recchia, our 2 National Trophy Winners for their Race Reports ‘Brigg Sprint Quadrathlon 2024’

Jules Taylor – As usual , I rocked up Saturday evening , and went for a nice jog to check the run part of the race out. Into the town for pizza , then curled up in the van for a bit of Netflix before tomorrows race. Seeing as my last race was in 35degree heat in Hungary, I was not looking forward to getting in the river at all…..cold water and a fear of open water swim starts was not sitting well.

Race morning having a good chat with Oli , we both nearly missed the start as we were talking so much! So in we went swiftly!

Suddenly, with about two minutes to go before we started I had a massive change of plan. Normally I hang back a bit , and stay away from others, but for whatever reason decided to go for it. I had been putting some strong swim sets together in training, so best put them to the test and try and stay near the head of the pack , what could possibly go wrong! First few minutes went by fairly comfortably and Oli was alongside me still, so upped the effort and a few minutes later was leading the swim! I had never been in this position before, and it felt really good. Up and round the turn point, heading back, and with a couple of hundred meters to go I had someone on my feet, slowly they caught and passed me and were out just before me, not sure who it was as I didn’t recognise them.

Into transition, a swift change, first onto the bike and I even made the decision to put socks on due to the low temperature!

More new territory, leading the bike. Not once did I look back, and just focused on how cold I was getting, I couldn’t feel my hands even though my feet were toasty!

Spinning well, cruising the little elevations, and soon the turn around was close. But then I could hear what I had been waiting for …. the sound of Oli, the unmistakable sound of a disc wheel being ridden fast. He flew past me, round the turn around, and he was off. I was already riding hard, but knew the bike was Oli’s trump card, along with his run, so I just had to dig a bit deeper and see what I could do.

Always keeping him in sight, I managed to not lose too much ground 2-300 meters probably the biggest gap. I never ride with any pace/HR info/bike computer, so when I feel totally at the max, breathing as hard as I can, I just ease up slightly and that’s where it stayed back to transition. Oli was just exiting T2 as I racked my bike, so it was a very slick T2 for me , and we both put our kayaks in at the same time….game on!!

This was playing out exactly as I had imagined, my aces were my swim and kayak, and Oli’s were the bike and run, so both in the kayak together was the perfect race midpoint.

Unfortunately Oli had a issue with his rudder which he had to sort out, so yet again I found myself in the lead. A lot of vegetation in the river was not good, but again head down and I just keep going, all went smoothly up to the bridge turn point . Safely round and then I could see Oli, and with him was Erik Meilak, a new name in Quadrathlon. He had a nice fast K1, so earlier I had googled him for any athletic info and he was a very good kayaker ….. so I upped my effort again! Just before the finish as I expected Erik came by for first off the kayak section, and into T3. As I went into transition Erik was nowhere to be seen so he must have been very smooth and quick onto the run .

I hadn’t seen Oli after the kayak get out, but I knew I couldn’t ease up one bit as his running was always strong. I maxed out a few times before the turn point so had to back off a little, it was at least a minute after the turn Oli came by, so I had about a 2 minute lead on him with about 2km to go, so long as I kept the current pace up I should be ok. I hadn’t noticed Erik go by but a there was a few fast runners from the Triathlon at one point before the turn, so he must have been amongst them. Running back through the town to the finish I glanced back and couldn’t see Oli, so relaxed a little, and onto the finish line, so pleased I’d had a brilliant race!

Second place overall , and subject to the time adjustments for the roadworks on the bike section, I really hoped I had done enough for the BQA Trophy Series Win. Due to the roadworks it turned out to be a real headache for the organisers working out the results …but in the end, I had done enough…woohoo! This was everything I thought it would be, a fantastic hard race, with no sure outcome untill the end. A great win for Erik at his first Quadrathlon hopefully we will see him a lot more next year. Many thanks to Oli for a great seasons racing and pushing me to what were definitely my limits and well done to everyone racing today, plenty of smiles around at the finish!

Its always worth the long drives to race at Lincsquads events I look forward to racing every one. This was yet again a really enjoyable well organised, and so friendly thank you to you all!

After ditching stupid thoughts of doing 24/36 hr runs this year and changing my plans in the Spring to focus on Quadrathlons this year, I never imagined I would of had such a great year

World Age Group Champion Middle distance .

National Champion Overall

World Age Group Champion Long Course .

National Trophy Series Champion.

See you all next year!

Jules x

Congratulations Jules, – I felt worn out by the time I’d read it, a great read Jules, and Thank you for Flying the Flag for the BQA and showing true commitment racing in Europe too – its been a fabulous year for you!

Helen Recchia – Firstly, thank you, to Lincs squad and all the volunteers for organising and enabling the event to go ahead. Thank you for everyone for being so friendly and encouraging. The morning was freezing 6 degrees! It was with some trepidation that I checked in, (thinking why am I doing this?) still unsure at that time whether it was a river or pool swim. River it was, (the triathletes had the pool) the Duck weed covered river looked so inviting! The good news, the river was a toasty 13 degrees a lot warmer than the air. Off we set at 8.30am, I am a slow front crawler a lot of breaststrokers are quicker, exited the swim by rolling onto the platform like a beached whale and into transition. Wetsuit came off quickly, air temperature still freezing, fleece on, so glad I took it, helmet on, socks, shoes (don’t do clipped in), puncture repair kit round waist, number with timer to back, couldn’t coordinate putting my gloves on, my hands were too cold (big mistake).

Cycle route was fine, the wind was kind, I had done the Brigg Bomber so knew the route, just a holdup both ways for the roadworks, and hard changing gear as my hands were so cold (blister as proof!) my bike has the old type gears so glad I put the fleece on. Into transition again rack bike, kayak shoes on, no idea where I was in the race just knew I had to get to the end to finish 3 trophy qualifying events for the year.

Set off on the kayak this was the leg I knew would be hard so despite being a reasonable kayaker historically, involved in Hasler races etc. A shoulder injury has changed that. So, for me my kayak was very slow, bit of a head wind on route back to the exit point and back into transition for the run.

Shoe change, keep the fleece on, still freezing, eat a cereal bar, jelly babies, move number to the front. Out on the run, lovely run, about 1k into the run took my fleece off, feet were still freezing though, home straight back into the leisure centre job done. The exhilaration at the end is terrific… that’s why you do it! such a sense of achievement. 1^st in the ladies 60 category and BQA ladies Trophy winner 2024. So chuffed with the results never thought this would be possible I was born in 1955 so 70 next year! If I can do this how many others could do the same……..?

Helen Recchia – My Quadrathlon journey

My sporting background is from racket sports mainly (apart from the few bits you did at school) but gave those up in my forties. I have always been interested in walking and the outdoors.

I think it was in 2011 my daughter wanted to swim the length of Coniston but needed a Kayak support, she said you can do that! The same day I signed up for a Beginners course at Malton & Norton Canoe club, spending the next few weeks doing the course upside down in the river Derwent! My kayaking journey had begun. I got involved in flatwater racing ‘The Hasler’ events for my club. I managed over the years to get promoted to Division 7. The races were hard but fun and I have met such a great bunch of people. I even got involved for a short period of time with Canoe polo. A torn shoulder ligament stopped me kayaking for a while and it was hard to get back into it. This year has been my first full year back kayaking. At the beginning of 2024 I was demoted down from 7 to Division 9, but managed by the end of the season to creep back up to Division 8.

About the same time 2011, I was encouraged to do more swimming by some friends. I was able to swim front crawl but not very well, 25m was a struggle. Slowly I improved. Then I ventured into open water swimming, it took about 4 years to settle into that and in 2015 I swum the mile in Windermere. In 2015 I also did my first super sprint Triathlon the run was terrible I thought I was going to collapse.

I had always hated running possibly because I was just never fit enough but with work, I did a race for life my first 5K, I thought never again! …..I still went back for more. A friend suggested we cycle the coast to coast, (around the same time I had been cycling back and forwards to work about 16 miles a day) so I thought why not? we did it in 3 days just fantastic. Parkruns came along, well how could I resist!

My first Quadrathlon was at Manvers a sprint distance, a fantastic setting for an event, I got to the end of it but thought never again! Well for a day anyway. So planned to try and do 3 of the events the next year, injured my shoulder so did the Triathlon at Manvers instead. I couldn’t kayak but I wanted to do The Brigg Bomber so I entered a Ladies team, everyone loved it, and all said they would like to do it again, I did the swim leg. Then Covid hit putting everyone out of action. Post Covid I entered The Brigg Bomber again, another Ladies team, this time I did the run leg, again all loved it. I announced to the team that I would like to do it as an individual.

2024 was my first full Brigg Bomber and a first for that distance. Sadly, my shoulder does not like the kayaking, so I am hanging up my kayak, I Still hope to enter a Ladies team next year, but my main emphasis will be Triathlons.

To all out there give Quadrathlon a go you will never know until you try, it is just amazing what you can achieve.

Congratulations Helen, and well done for completing the 3 races this year, winning the BQA Trophy is a fitting tribute to what you have achieved. Good Luck with your future Triathlons!

Fantastic News from Awesome Foursome in Bude

July 7, 2024 Jean Ashley

Our next British Quadrathlon Trophy Race is ‘The Awesome Foursome’ on Saturday 7th September. Every September since 2002 Simon Hammond and his Team have run the ‘Awesome Foursome Quadrathlon’, an extreme multi-sport race for individuals, pairs and relay teams to enter. This is an established event in the British and European Quadrathlon calendar regularly being a World Cup ranking event or the European Short Course Championships. This Year it is part of the World Cup Series!

Route Description on YouTube

BUT THE EXCITING NEWS for 2024 is the New Shorter Course:

‘The Wallaby’

“A little smaller but just as Awesome”

Organizer ‘Simon Hammond’ has had a demand for a smaller quadrathlon to be run within the existing Awesome Foursome Quadrathlon. So ‘The Wallaby’ race will be run at the same time as the main event and we have just an Open Men’s and Open Women’s class. Prizes for 1st 2nd 3rd Mens and Ladies only, both events will be priced at the same £52. Details are:-

This shorter-course quadrathlon will be run at the same time as the full Awesome Foursome but will be roughly half the distance. It will start with the main event and be based at the Canal Wharf but will follow similar routes for the swim, cycle, and run as the Shoreline Triathlon, therefore eliminating the severe cycling hills around Millook. The kayak leg will still be the canal but half the distance of the full quadrathlon.

The swim will be one lap of the Bay, the cycle ride will only go as far as the Widemouth Manor before returning to Bude on the A39, the Kayaking will be one lap of the canal and the Run will only go as far as Rodds Bridge before returning to Bude via Lynstone Road.

Huge Thanks to Organizer ‘Simon Hammond’ for instigating this shorter event for our Quadrathlon Community, we really do appreciate your extra work! Entries for either event must be received in advance and you can register using this link .The-awesome-foursome-quadrathlon

IMPORTANT INFORMATION. For the WORLD CUP SERIES you will only get allocated World Cup Points for the Full Distance Event. (No points for ‘The Wallaby’).

For the BRITISH QUADRATHLON TROPHY SERIES for the Full Distance Event you will be rewarded with FULL points – and we will also be giving ‘The Wallaby’ National Trophy Points. These will be reduced by 20 points for the shorter distance, we feel this is the FAIR option, but this will allow all the BQA Quadrathletes to claim those valid points! We hope this may encourage many more athletes to take part as ‘Shrewsbury Quad’ has been cancelled, this is a fantastic opportunity as it enables athletes to still get 3 Races in for the BQA National Trophy Series!

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

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

Category: BQA Trophy