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. Click here for more information on our chosen charity for 2023.
One of the key trademarks of the Norfolk Superhero spirit is the ‘buddy system’. People take part in teams of two, working together so they are able to help each other and share in the success of completing the challenge with another person. On the night of the event, we all celebrate together with dinner and dancing.
The spirit of the superhero, combining a quirky challenge, teamwork, friendly competition and fundraising for a local charity has been central to why people love taking part in this event year after year.
This year felt like it was going to be a good one before it had even started. The organising team
expanded last year with the arrival of Carlotta and Nick who were nicely bedded in for this year,
Jess and Riddy were promising big things on the catering and merch front, and we were all really excited about the charity we had chosen, NOURISHING NOR FOLK.
As always this has been an amazing Event, take a read of this years Race Report, if you fancy a crack at it next year you’ll need to get your Entries in Early … its always a sell out!
BQA National Trophy RACE 2 – 25th June – Dearne Valley Sprint Quad & QuadKidz – This race takes place around the Manvers Waterpark and its surrounding area, all the racing takes place within this lovely venue. The aim is to deliver, a Quadrathon where people from all walks of life can participate. Mark Benton (organizer) quotes ‘All that we ask is that you enjoy your training towards it and feel a great sense of achievement afterwards’.
The Junior Quadrathlon will run along side the sprint event, the first ‘QuadKidz’ race of the season, with various distances for the 3 age groups … it will be time for our Quadkidz to Shine!
Team Manvers are offering training sessions through 2023 at the lake please see details below ‘Introduction to Quadrathlon – Training Days. If you are worried about any part of the event then please join us on one or more of these training days.
Sprint Quadrathon – Swim, Bike, Paddle and Run
Sprint 800m Swim, 15k Bike, 4k Paddle, 5k Run – Start Time 9.30am Price £15 Quadkidz (ages 9-12): 100m Swim, 2k Bike, 400m Paddle, 2k Run – Start Time 8.30 Price £5 Quadkidz (ages 13-15): 200m Swim, 4k Bike, 800m paddle, 2k – Run – Start Time 8.30 Price £5 Quadkidz (ages 16-18): 800m Swim 15k Bike 4k paddle, 5k Run – Start Time 9.30am Price £5
Showers, changing rooms available, on site café. Commemorative medal to all finishers. Limited number of kayaks available to use/hire
There are 10 Introduction to Quadrathlon Days through out the year – No experience is needed, and they are suitable for all standards. Come along and try Quadrathlon, we have plenty of Helpers and Coaches who are very motivating and will be available to give you advice.
Summer (May to October) – Swim 8am, Ergo 9am, Paddle 10am, Bike 11.30am Run 12.30am
Winter (November to April) -Ergo 9am, Paddle 10am, Bike 11.30am Run 12.30am
Non Members Welcome – £5 Adults £3 Children – to include use of kayak, BA, Paddle and swim wetsuit. You will need to bring a gravel, hybrid or mountain bike (we may be able to loan you a bike) and running shoes, change of clothes etc. Open to all – suitable for all ages. Hot showers and cafe on site. Suitable for aspiring Quadkidz.
Manvers Waterfront Boat Club are ready to Welcome you! The Lake was created in the 1990’s as part of the remediation works following the closure of the Wath Main & Manvers Main colliery complex and associated railway yards. In addition to its amenity & recreational value, the lake also serves a functional purpose as a balancing lake forming part of a sustainable urban drainage scheme for the surrounding residential and industrial developments.
Manvers Waterfront Boat Club was formed in 2011 and is based at Manvers Lake near Wath-upon-Dearne, South Yorkshire. The club has the use of a purpose built boathouse which is owned and operated by Manvers Lake & Dearne Valley Trust Ltd, a charitable company formed in 2011 to look after the lake and surrounding area.
Since its formation the club has grown rapidly to its current size of over 600 members participating in a wide range of activities. The club currently has sections dedicated to paddlesports (canoeing and kayaking), triathlon, running, angling, open water swimming, windsurfing and model boating. The lake is also regularly used by our partners such as Dearne Valley College and other affiliated organisations.
A great day was had by all in Brigg at the World European Championships, we were blessed with warm sunshine though quite a brisk breeze on the bike course. The numbers were on the low side but it was good too see Quadrathletes coming over from Hungary, Spain and Belgium!
Lincsquad organized the race in great style, the course was very well signed, with plenty of encouraging marshals along the way, 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!
The standard of racing was excellent, and with the Team from Belgium in the mix it made it very exciting to watch. Ferenc Csima(HUN), Nick Verduyckt(B), Team Belgium, Mat Stephenson(GB), William Peters(B) were all fairly close after the swim and bike, with Francisco Jose Lopes Perez(ESP) and our top GB athletes, Nigel Unwin, Oli Fairbairn, Jules Taylor and back after a long break Keith Longney were not far behind. The kayak leg certainly sorted the mix out with Ferenc taking a good lead, the Belgiums were all paddling fast with Francisco catching and Mat going into the run just slightly behind . As they moved onto the run the top 5 had sorted themselves out. But there was a battle further down the field between our other top age groupers, Nigel came in 2nd GB athlete, with Oli in 3rd overtaking Jules in 4th and Keith in 5th. There were plenty of other great results further down the field with our BQA Members certainly doing us proud!
The Belgium Team did the fastest time of the day 02:32:01, but with only 48 seconds to spare … a superb effort from our European Champion Ferenc!
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Sadly there were only 5 ladies racing (injuries had stopped a few of our regular athletes from racing). However Gilian Melia put up a good fight to stay in contention, but Helen was going well and managed to hold her off she had a comfortable win in the end. Liz Dawson worked hard throughout to take 3rd. New to our sport was Grace Bird, she did very well, as she is new to kayaking. Our lovely BQA member Caz Jones certainly had the biggest smile of the day as she came over the finish line. It was the longest race she’d ever done, and a fantastic personnel achievement for her, we were all so proud cheer her over the finish line!
MENS Results (TOP 10) 1st Ferenc Csima(HUN) 02:32:49 1st Masters 50 2nd Nick Verduyckt(B) 02:35:24 1st Elite 3rd Francisco Jose Lopes Perez(ESP) 02:42:12 1st Masters 40
4th Mat Stephenson 02: 44:09 2nd Masters 50 5th William Peters 02:49:01 2nd Elite 6th Nigel Unwin 02:54:08 3rd Masters 50 (BQA) 7th Oli Fairbairn 02:54:27 3rd Elite (BQA) 8th Julian Taylor 02:54:58 1st Masters 60 (BQA) 9th Keith Longney 03:00:29 2nd Masters 60 (BQA) 10th Andrew Phillips 03:00:29 4th Masters 50
Well done to everyone that raced and a special ‘Well Done’ to all our BQA members that took part in the European Championships! Nick Farnell, Philippe Jumeau, Lance Ball, Wayne Smith, John McAdam, Peter Chappill, David Browning and John Redmond, thank you for flying the BQA Flag!
There was also a Sprint Quad that took place, so well done and a great effort from those 5 too! 1st Paul Connolly 01:40:04 2nd Ryan Birkitt 02:02:36 3rd Andrew Lawson 02:05:40 (BQA) 1st FEMALE Hermione Ball 02:07:24 (BQA) 4th David Jones 02:24:23 (BQA)
Thank you to all that made this race happen, it was also great to see some of our ‘top athletes from the past, coming back to race again’ we certainly enjoyed reminiscing about the good old days back in the Czech Republic, the post race parties were wild in those days … though we did enjoyed the banter and celebrating in ‘Wetherspoons’ post race too, once again the Belgium Team were on TOP form, and we had a super evening!
Once again a Huge Thank you must go to the Race organizers ‘Lincsquad’ in particular Team Leaders ‘Jeff and Donna Chappill’ and all the marshals for all their hard work. It’s a big effort to organize races for our small sport and as Quadrathletes we really do appreciate the time that goes into putting on these races … So on behalf the BQA ‘THANK YOU’ See you again soon …
Your ‘Fairy Quadmother’ Jean x
Thank you for this RACE REPORT from Jules Taylor Vet 60 European Champion!
I’d been looking forward to the first race of the season for a long time ….and was incredibly nervous as such, my training in general had been good , but not consistent which had been my own fault.
The swim start did nothing to calm me down and I was really not looking forward to getting in with so many others in close proximity, I do all my swim training in a pool , so I’d not enough experience with cold water and other swimmers .The first 10 minutes was exactly as stressful as I expected, but once we all spread out, it settled down and I had a decent swim after all .
T1 went well, and easing into the bike I started to close in and pass quite a few others. A lot warmer than last year , no issues , and back in for T2 .
Having switched last years surfski for a decent K1, I felt confident and was soon moving well.
Keith ( Longney ) Vet 60 had swam and biked well and was a minute ahead , and Oli Fairburn got on the water alongside me .
I last raced against Keith at the World Championships in Sedlcany nearly 20 years ago , so it was brilliant to be up against each other again….I had a score to try and settle as twice previously Keith had beaten me!
Within 10 minutes I’d caught and passed Keith, and coming up to the turn point could check accurately where I was, if I could keep Keith at bay I knew was in with a good chance of top V60. Pacing in the kayak went well alongside Oli , we stayed close for the whole discipline and came out with a couple of seconds between us .
T3 went swiftly and out on the run. It was a hot, mentally a hard run out and back , but once legs had recovered from the kayak I started to move well. Oli and I stayed quite close , swapping leads a few times , and in the last kilometer youth won over and Oli eased ahead.
At the turn point I noted the time when Keith passed, he gave me a 4 minute buffer for the last 5km, I felt comfortable and knew I could hold him off . I finished with not very much left in the tank and it was awesome to be V60 European Champion .
A fantastic competitive race which for me got better and better as it went on. Looking at the results it had been a really close one between Nigel, Oli, and myself….only 50 seconds covered us all after close to 3 hours racing, all of us losing and gaining depending on the discipline…..it’s a brilliant sport! Congratulations to everyone who took part, I had beaten Keith at long last, he was GB’s leading Quadrathlete for many years an excellent competitor, and I’m sure he’ll be back to challenge me before too long!
Instead of the training camp which Lincsquad have organized over the past few years, this year they have decided to organize some ‘Bomber’ route familiarization sessions instead.
The dates are in May on 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th 16th 18th and 19th. Training will be available as ‘route familiarization’ and Lincsquad members have been allocated to guide prospective quadrathletes through the different disciplines routes. This is a great opportunity for those who are not sure of the routes, or those that fancy a training session on the course.
Anyone interested can contact Pete Chappill at petch0252@gmail.com with their preferred date times and discipline requirements.
Thank You Lincsquad …. a Great Offer open to all Quadrathletes!
I just wanted to introduce you to the WQF our World Governing Body, behind the scenes they work very hard, to keep ‘World Quadrathlon’ moving forwards. The World Quadrathlon Federation (WQF) is the international sport governing body for Quadrathlon. It was established 1997 as ‘European Quadrathlon Federation’ and exists since 2001 as ‘World Quadrathlon Federation’. The WQF has her seat in the Czech Republic and is there registered in the Ministry of Interior, Electoral and Association Department. Our Voting member Nations at present are CZE, GBR, GER, and HUN.
At the end of each year we have a ‘World Congress’ to review our sport and look how we can move forwards. We check out new races and federations from across the World, and this year we have taken over management and maintenance of the WQF websites, updated our ‘Sport Order’ (Rules and Regulations), and put together your ‘2023 World Cup Series’. These are just a few of the tasks the WQF do for us all …. so a Big Thank-you to the ‘WQF’ Team below, for your hard work and dedication, it is appreciated by Quadrathletes from the World over!
Executive Board: President – Václav Marek Vice-President – Jean Ashley Secretary/WQF Results Tables – John Kavanagh Chair of Technical Matters – Ferenc Csima Treasurer/Website – Bernd Scheller
For your Information below – WQF Constitution, 2023 Sport Order (Rules & Regulations) and the 2023 World Cup Series and Championship Races. www.quadrathlon.com/world-cup/
Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you’ve all had a good recovery and your ready to kick start your 2023! Hears a few reasons why you should get these dates in your Race Calender ….. get your entries in and have a reason to start training, having a goal does wonders for your motivation, so start your training right now!
I am so pleased to announce the ‘The Brigg Bomber’ will be hosting the EUROPEAN Championships, and Shrewsbury Sprint will also be a WQR Race! Our Fabulous Race in gorgeous Bude , Cornwal ‘The Awesome Foursome’ will be our NATIONAL Championships!
Here is a Run Down of whats ahead!
BQA National Trophy Events for 2023
RACE 1 – 28th May – Brigg Bomber Quad – WORLD CUP & European Championships 1500m river swim/8km river kayak/40km road bike/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 European Championships so certainly not to be missed, Lincsquad will certainly pull out all the stops to make this a brilliant day!
RACE 2 – 25th June – Dearne Valley Sprint Quad and QuadKidz – 800m 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! The aim is to deliver, a Quadrathon where people from all walks of life can participate. Mark Benton (organizer) quotes ‘All that we ask is that you enjoy your training towards it and feel a great sense of achievement afterwards’. 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!
RACE 3 – 3rd September – Shrewsbury Sprint Quad WORLD CUP – 500m river swim/4km river kayak/23 road bike/5km run.
This race just keeps getting stronger and stronger, and is well worthy of its World Cup Status! 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!
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!
RACE 5 – 1st September – Keyo Lincs Sprint Quad – 750m river swim/4km river kayak/19km road bike/5km road run.
Big Thanks to Lincsquad for adding this New Quadrathlon to our calendar last year! The course is flat, fast and ideal for both experienced quadrathletes and those wanting to race the shorter distance. It’s the final Trophy Race of the Season so lots of point to be had and a great way to finish the season.
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 2023 Membership Google Doc
BQA 2023 Trophy Series
28th May – Brigg Bomber
25th June – Dearne Valley Sprint & QuadKidz
3rd Sept – Shrewsbury Sprint Quad
9th Sept – Awesome Foursome Quad 1st Keyo Lincs Sprint Quad
Races supported by BQA (not Trophy Races)
20th May – Montgomery Canal Triathlon (Charity Event)
10th June – Norfolk SuperHeroes Quad
16th July – Deva Divas Ladies only Quad
WORLD CUP SERIES 2023
18 March – Terceira – Sprint (POR)
28 May Brigg – Middle (GBR) Middle European Championships
3 June – Hannover – Sprint (GER) Sprint European Championships
17 June – Kasposvar – Sprint (HUN)
24 June – Tyn – Sprint (CZE)
8 July – Bydgoszcz – Sprint (POL)
5 Aug – Nagyatád Gyékényes – Long (HUN) Long World Championships
26 Aug – Bohinj – Middle (SLO) (MTB)
2 Sept – Ratscher – Sprint (GER) Sprint World Championships
3 Sept – Shrewsbury – Sprint (GBR)
10 Sept – Tiszafüred – Middle (HUN) Middle World Championships
10 Sept – Cazalegas – Sprint (ESP)
This year on the whole, has certainly been an improvement on the last two years, with Covid restrictions gone and many athletes getting back to training and getting their ‘race heads’ back on! We had 4 Quads in our calendar, with sadly Bude having to be cancelled due to a dried up canal caused by a major leak! 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. Please keep spreading the word and as always thank you for your valuable membership and ongoing support, it’s so much appreciated by your Governing Body ‘The BQA’.
I would like to say a Big Thank – You to our Race Organizers who very successfully did 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 2022 and Onwards & Upwards 2023 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.
It was great to get back to an almost full National Trophy Series this year. Sadly Bude had to be cancelled, due to major leak with no water in the Canal, but we still had 4 excellent races in our calender, The Brigg Bomber (World Cup Event also) Dearne Valley Sprint, Shrewsbury Sprint, and The Brigg Sprint. I’d just like to thank on behalf of the BQA to all our Race organizers and support 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 34 male athletes and 23 female athletes racing in the series, but only 3 athletes managed to do all 4 races ….. a huge well done to John McAdam, Wayne Smith and Helen Adams. It has been a difficult season for many of us, with Covid still hovering and other life issues, but lets hope 2023 will bring a fresh start, plenty of motivation and lots more of Quadrathletes back in ACTION!!
Well done 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!
Overall Winner Jules Taylor
BQA NATIONAL TROPHY CHAMPIONS 2022
Male Overall
1st Jules Taylor 315 points (Vet 60)
2nd Wayne Smith 305 points (Vet 50)
3rd Nicholas Farnell 303 points(Vet 50)
Jules has made a come back to Quadrathlon after pursuing other sports, I’ve know him since 2000, when I was fairly new to our sport we had many a great trip to Europe competing in World Championship Events. Other commitments took over Jules life and he moved on to other challenges. I am so pleased Jules has made a come back, he’ll be a great asset to our Quad family, enthuiastic, fun and as I remember always smiling … a fabulous result in his come back year!
Helen has being doing Quads for a couple of years now, and has just got stronger and stronger each year, a well deserved result and she is one of only 3 athletes to do all of our 4 Quads this year! Helen is also a great ambassador for Quadrathlon, and she enjoys sharing her passion with other like minded athletes along the way and will no doubt be supporting our sport for years to come … a great result well done!
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!
The Eric Hatliff Memorial Trophy ‘For Endeavor’ 2022 Congratulations ‘The Chappills’ – Donna, Jeff and Peter They have ALL shown Enthusiasm & Commitment to Our Sport and have been involved with our Quadrathlon Family for many years showing true dedication!
Jeff and Donna
Peter
They have been members and involved in Lincsquad for as long as I can remember, they are key in organizing races at Brigg, along with organizing 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 #2023 …. Jean Ashley
Big Thanks to Lincsquad for adding this New Quadrathlon to our calendar this year! The Keyo Brigg Sprint distance Quadrathlon was organised by our wonderful ‘LincsQuad’ and consisted of a 750m pool swim, followed by a 4km Kayak, 19km road cycle and finishing with a 5km road run. The course is flat, fast and ideal for both experienced quadrathletes and those wanting to race the shorter distance. There was a great turnout of 22 athletes, a lot of them looking for National Trophy Points, as it was the final trophy Race of the Season!
The weather was kind, though a little chilly but no wind so a great morning for racing. Sadly due to the green weed in the river the race had to be changed to a pool swim, nobody seamed to mind this though counting the lengths did cause a few problems, but all were resolved in the final results. Well Done to all the athletes racing, great to see old faces coming back, plus some newcomers, and off course our ‘year in year out’ quadrathletes who are the back bone of our sport, constantly supporting all our races each year!
Jules, Mat, Nicholas
A Big thanks must go to The Lincsquad Team, the instigators of the race, the sponsors ‘Keyo’ and all the marshals that give up their time to enable us athletes to do what we love! It is all very much appreciated by the BQA and all its members ….. Thank -You!
Congratulations to the Overall Winners and all the age groupers! Full results Brigg Keyo Sprint
Male
1st Mat Stephenson 1.23.05 – Vet 50
2nd Jules Taylor 1.29.52 – Vet 60
3rd Nicholas Farnell 1.34.49 – Vet 60
Winner Mat Stephenson
2nd Jules Taylor
3rd Nicholas Farnell
Female
1st Helen Adams 1.41.47 – Vet 50
2nd Gilian Melia 1.42.15 – Vet 50
3rd Alison Stephenson 1.42.28 – Vet 50
Winner Helen Adams
2nd Gillian Melia
3rd Alison Stephenson
John McLeod
Mary White
A special mention must go to our Vet 70 Winners Congratulations Mary White 1.51.08 and John McLeod 1.58.55 they just get better with age!
Lance Ball
I just had to share this story with you all – A mention must go to Lance Ball who’s loyalty and honesty blew away Lincsquad’s organizers following his actions after the sprint event! At the prize giving Lance was given the Vet 50 Prize, he was driving home in the car, after an hour of re-living his race and thinking about his times he convinced himself he’d done 2 laps short in the swim! So he drove back another hour back up to Brigg got into the swimming pool, redid his swim and transition … and like he had suspected it confirmed he’d not done enough laps! So he left his Trophy at the Leisure Centre so it could be given to the true Vet 50 Winner Wayne Smith! He then spoke to Jeff Chappill to say he should be disqualified from the race for not completing the correct swim!
In true Quad Style Jeff (race director) confirmed that the correct action should be a calculated adjusted time with a small addition, so Wayne finished 5th overall 1.39.20 and Lance 6th 1.39.37! A true testimony to Lance’s character and his love for his Quad Family … Thank-you Lance!
A Full BQA National Trophy Series Report and Results will follow soon, once we have the official Standings! But in the mean time Congratulations to Overall Winners Jules Taylor and Helen Adams who have both written us their race reports… thank you!
Jules Taylor Race Report
The weeks always seem to go really slowly leading up to a race , then suddenly its here. The new Lincsquad Sprint Quadrathlon , and the last in the Trophy Series. An easy but long drive up from Bristol after work on Saturday evening , and a few early competitors already parked up . Rumours that the river had been replaced with a pool swim were confirmed as I went down and had a look by the torch on my phone….a swathe of weeds covering the whole surface, not too upset by that to be honest as all my swim training had been pool based this year!
It was a cold but clear morning and very soon many others were filling the car park up …a Sprint Triathlon was also running alongside the Quad, lots of fit looking athletes around.
Kit all sorted , race briefing done , and on to the poolside. With wave starts you’re never sure exactly whats unfolding race wise ….so the best thing to do is just cane it from the start! The swim went well, the lane was never crowded , I was soon out, into transition and out to the river. I was happy and looking forward to a strong kayak and hopefully put some time between myself and the other Trophy contenders , Wayne Smith , John McAdam , and Nicholas Farnell who I had been having a great time racing against for the V60 win in the other races. But all too soon I could feel the weeds clogging up my rudder, I had managed to get a smaller one fitted , but it was still bigger than most on the K1s, and it was not good. I had to paddle as strong as I could , it was so hard and at every turn , the rudder would move but completely ineffective surrounded by all the vegetation. Each turn was rubbish , each turn other paddlers got closer , and closer , and on the final turn basically came to a halt desperately trying to bring the ski around, some passed me and I was getting really stressed about it. Finally pointing in the right direction and suddenly all the weeds seemed to have gone so it was a mad sprint to the landing , and run to transition…..no idea where anyone else was , I was just so glad to get on the bike.
This was not going to be remotely comfortable, it was cold , legs not moving too well and breathing far to hard so trying to settle down , spinning rather than pushing too strong , after about a third of the way finally into a rhythm so I could start to hunt some of the others down. Around the end roundabout , it was not what I wanted to see as many of the Quad riders were way closer than I expected , argh….got to push harder and harder , spin as much as possible , and just stay down on the bars all the way , heart rate way too high. At last I knew where everyone else was pretty much , so as long as no one passed me , I reckoned I could hold them off on the run …my favorite bit.
Transition went easily , and out on the run with cold numb feet but moving well, there had been only one other bike on the racking ….the eventual overall winner Mat Stephenson, so I just had to run strong and all would be ok.
Within 10 minutes or so I was moving well , running hard but felt really in control . Picking others off as they came into sight , it was shortly before the turn around and Mat ran past heading for home looking strong.
At the turn around, I upped the pace to have a good last section to the finish line ….that was hard work but I was extremely happy with my 2nd place overall, and 1st Vet 60!
It was amazing to end up as BQA Trophy Series Mens Champion….not even remotely thinking about such an outcome when I lined up in May for my first Quad for years.
Congratulations to Helen Adams winning the BQA Womens Trophy, and to all the other winners plus all the competitors who have raced this year…so good to see Quadrathlon alive and kicking in the UK.
What a fantastic job Lincsquad did this weekend, and for a first running of this Sprint Quadrathlon I have to say , it was faultless….you all put on a great event that went as smooth as any athlete could ever wish for . Thanks to everyone involved.
Its been a brilliant year , I’ve had some good results , and its definitely got me fired up for racing again . Hope everyone has a great winters training , and look forward to doing it all again in 2023. Cheers! Jules Taylor
Helen Adams Race Report
Having completed three qualifying races for the BQA Championship (Brigg Bomber, Manvers and Shrewsbury Sprint) and this being the last race of the BQA season points mattered! Working out from the BQA results, to win the championship I had to come 2nd overall … no pressure!
The Swim was changed to a pool swim, apparently the sluice gate that operates the water flow of the canal had broken in the shut position meaning no water flow resulting in green duckweed covering the water, it was OK to kayak (unless you capsize) but definitely a no go for swimmers.
After my swim there was a long(ish) run into to transition to pick up my race belt which had the timing chip attached and out to collect kayak, paddle and buoyancy aid. Due to the competitors being set off in waves I had no idea who was where in the big scheme of things, so it was very much a matter of race against the clock and do what I could. A good two lap paddle of the 4km course cutting a trail through the carpet of green with interesting turns under the bridges. Two of us trying the same manoeuvre is tricky so took it steady – now was not the time to go swimming in duck weed. Back to the landing stage timing it well to miss a bunch of paddlers getting out.
Exiting the kayak, the legs felt good – bonus as in past races my legs have cramped up. Having no kit to dump it was helmet on, bike shoes on, pick up bike and out. It did feel a little chilly and I was worried the feet would freeze but there being little to no wind this was not the case – another bonus.
Legs starting to feel like legs do after a bike ride it was onto the run. Surprisingly the run also went well and with the legs holding up the race was complete.
It was now a waiting game as to who came where etc.
… and the results – 1st female out of a field of 9 in a time of 01:41:47 (Overall – 08/22, Age Cat. Masters 50-59 – 01/05)
This race counted towards BQA Championship points, I am now BQA National Ladies Champion for 2022!
LincsQuad Quadrathlon Club – Thank you to the organisers, race directors, marshals, and sponsors for putting on a new event. Without the support and hard work of the club and its members these events would not happen, and hopefully it will be included on next year’s BQA Race calendar.
British Quadrathlon Association – Well Done to all who took part in the races throughout the season, it’s been great racing with fantastic support, advice and encouragement which is what the Quadrathlon family do best! Helen Adams
Jeff and Donna
Also presented at the Event was The Eric Hatliff Memorial Trophy ‘For Endeavor’ 2022 Congratulations the Chappills – Donna, Jeff and Peter – They have ALL shown Enthusiasm & Commitment to Our Sport and have been involved with our Quadrathlon Family for many years showing true dedication!
They have been involved in organizing races and have encouraged many Athletes into our sport, you are all great supporters of The BQA. On behalf of the BQA we wish to say A BIG THANK-YOU for your Time and Effort it is very much appreciated!
Once again THANK YOU Lincsquad, you gave us another a great race and a ‘Perfect End’ to our Quadrathlon Season, we hope to see you all again in 2023!
It was another great day and the rain held off for the Shrewsbury Quadrathlon. This year it was our National Championships and the 3rd Race in our National Trophy Series. Big Thanks to ‘SYTri’, Phil Holden and his ‘Team’ of helpers who made this quad possible. Lots a BQA Members and top athletes were racing, plus it was great to see newcomers to our sport all enjoying this very friendly and welcoming event. Huge Congratulations to all the Quadrathletes out there today, looks like you’ve all had a fabulous day! Well Done to all the Prize winners and a huge thank you to everyone for sharing the Quadrathlon in Passion in fine form! #smallsportbigheart
Congratulations to our National Champions Oliver Fairbairn and Helen Russell and to all the prize winners too.
Nigel, Oliver, Jules
Nicola, Helen, Adele
Male
1st Oliver Fairbairn Senior – 1.34.29
2nd Nigel Unwin Vet 50 – 1.34.34
3rd Jules Taylor Vet 60 – 1.37.50
Female
1st Helen Russell Vet 40 – 1.40.17
2nd Nicola Hamerton Vet 60 -1.49.32
3rd Adele Blakeborough Vet 50 – 1.49.48
Gemma
There was a notable performance from young athlete Gemma Block from Shrewsbury Canoe Club, who was racing in the Junior Category. She certainly looks like one to watch out for in the future. She finished 8th overall and is not only the Junior Champion but also won the prize for the best placed local athlete.
The Team Prize must go to MADCC who were out in full force, as always very enthusiastic and supporting our races throughout the season! Well Done Team Macclesfield Canoe Club!
SHREWSBURY RACE REPORTS
Thanks to our BQA Members Jules Taylor, and Helen Russell for their Race Reports. Jules is making a long awaited comeback and Helen is a regular athlete on our Quadrathlon circuit. The BQA really appreciate input from our members, its always good to hear their side of the story, so thanks for these great reports!
I first met Jules in 2000 when I was fairly new to the sport of Quadrathlon, over the next 5 years we had many a great trip to Europe competing in World Championship Events. Other commitments took over Jules life and he moved on to other challenges. I am so pleased Jules has made a come back after a long break, he’ll be a great asset to our Quad family, enthuiastic, fun and as I remember always smiling!
JULES REPORT
Jules
What a fantastic event this was, Shrewsbury Quadrathlon , running alongside a few other races on the day at a great venue, at the Shrewsbury Show ground. It was a 4:30am start from Bristol with my youngest daughter as support and the best driving conditions ever on the M5. Arrived safely, registration was slick at the BQA tent , gear sorted , and I even had time to chill before the swim .
The Brigg Bomber was my first event this year and 5 months later , this would be my second….but with the benefit of a few months good training between…let’s see what I could do!
It was a deep water start , in the second wave , and it felt cold ! On time we were off, and within a few strokes one guy was ahead , and looking behind I was comfortable building gap from the rest . This was really reassuring as I settled into a good rhythm, I hadn’t swum open water since Brigg so
I was happy with the pool training I’d done . Exiting in second place , I had trouble with a really cold head and my balance ….need to so i do need to practice open water swimming more!
Transition was fast and onto the kayak, and into the water. I just couldn’t find my balance , four
capsizes later I was off and now in first out of Wave 2. Shocking as it was well over a minute wasted , but I was paddling strongly I felt good after a couple of minutes. I Soon picked up on the first wave paddlers , around the turn bouy , and back upstream . Not long before the rest of my wave were on the turn around , so upped the effort and by the end of the kayak couldn’t see the others so happy with a bit of a gap .
Hugely improved transition from 5 months ago , and off on the bike . Still not comfortable with tri bars on this bike, very short wheelbase making it feel twitchy down
on them , so I was still riding without. Rode hard to the turn around then started a timer to see what gap I had on the others…it was 2:30 minutes before we passed each other so that was a 5 minute cushion to the run transition. My Competitive streak had certainly kicked in!
All went well , slickly through transition , and out on the run . After half a lap moving strongly , no sight of anyone from my wave , so tried to maintain pace with not blowing up. I knew I was right on my current top effort so it was constant monitoring how I felt to stay safe. I really enjoyed the lapped run, 3 laps which I broke down into 3 little goals, I crossed the finish line , and I’d run my fastest 5km for some years . It was a great result ….V60 first place , and a real surprise was I was 3rd overall .
It was an excellent course ….absolutely no worries about route finding , top organisation , solid
marshaling , and good weather. Many thanks for a brilliant day to Shrewsbury Triathlon , Phil Holden , and everyone who helped make it a top event.Thank you!
With Bude cancelled , I had felt a bit deflated as that had been my last race this year , and it
would have been my third towards National BQA Trophy Rankings , so had lost a bit of momentum with only 2 races done. Amazingly someone at work has agreed to swap shifts so I can have the 25th September off , and now have 3 weeks before Lincsquads Sprint Quadrathlon , and a chance at a third event !
Woohoo…..excited , and I’m looking forward to seeing you all again soon! Jules Taylor
HELEN’S REPORT
Helen
The third race in the 2022 British Trophy Series took place on 4th September at Shrewsbury Quadrathlon, which was also this year’s National Championship race, so there were national titles up for grabs. The national championship race took place at the West Midlands Showground and saw competitors swim 500m and kayak 4.2km in the River Severn, cycle 23km out to Baschurch and back, before finally running 5km in the showground.
Unfortunately there were temporary traffic lights on the route. Athletes who had to stop had their stop times calculated via their chips but this could mean that the order people finished in was not their actual results position as the results would only become clear once all times had been calculated.
There was a great atmosphere at the start with many seeing each other for the first time again since the pandemic hit. The river was a refreshing 17 degrees and slightly flowing, although the recent lack of rain meant that it didn’t feel as fast flowing as in previous years.
Liz Dawson from Macclesfield and District Canoe Club excited the swim leg in first place with Helen Russell, racing for Fladbury Paddle Club just eight seconds behind and Adele Blakeborough, from Chester Canoe Club in third. However, a swift transition meant that Helen entered the kayak leg in first place. She then went on to build on her lead throughout the race, posting the fastest times in the kayak, bike and run legs and crossed the finish line as the first overall female and National Champion in a time of 1.40.17.
Adele moved into second place on the kayak leg, posting the second fastest kayak leg of the day. However, Nicola Hamerton, from Macclesfield and District Canoe Club was chasing hard and posted the second fastest bike leg and third fastest run leg, which meant that she finished in second place in 1.49.32. Adele was close behind finishing in in 1.49.48. Unfortunately, the aforementioned traffic lights on route meant that neither Adele nor Nicola knew how close their times were and whilst Adele crossed the finish line second the stopped time calculations meant that Nicola was actually the second placed athlete. As well as being on the podium both Nicola and Adele won their respective age group titles.
The race which took place alongside a triathlon, aquabike and aquathlon, was as usual, excellently run and the marshals and organisers did a fantastic job giving encouragement all along the route. It was great to be able to socialise and have presentations again this year, which gave everyone a chance to chat and share their race experiences with each other. Helen Russell
Latest National Trophy Results after 3 Races – BQA Trophy 2022
TROPHY REPORT – After 3 Races John McAdam is in the lead, but it will depend on who is racing at Brigg. Wayne Smith and Jules Taylor could challenge John the last race of the season. In the Ladies event Helen Adams is winning after 3 races, but Liz Dawson could challenge her if she races at Brigg also.
Not all the Age Group Categories will be awarded, as its 3 races to count. But if BQA members race at Brigg we will hopefully present BQA Vouchers to – Senior Women, Vet 50 Male and Female, Vet 60 Male and Vet 70 Male. Remember the Winners of the Overall Winners Male and Female will not win Age Group Prizes it will role down to the next person.
Quadrathlon4YOU is the news page for and by quadrathletes, where you can get involved: share your experiences, chat with others in the Forum, or let us know about new races
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.
As always this has been an amazing Event, take a read of this years Race Report, if you fancy a crack at it next year you’ll need to get your Entries in Early … its always a sell out!
Manvers Waterfront Boat Club are ready to Welcome you!
A great day was had by all in Brigg at the World European Championships, we were blessed with warm sunshine though quite a brisk breeze on the bike course. The numbers were on the low side but it was good too see Quadrathletes coming over from Hungary, Spain and Belgium!
The Belgium Team did the fastest time of the day 02:32:01, but with only 48 seconds to spare … a superb effort from our European Champion Ferenc!
MENS Results (TOP 10)
FEMALE Results
I’d been looking forward to the first race of the season for a long time ….and was incredibly nervous as such, my training in general had been good , but not consistent which had been my own fault.
I just wanted to introduce you to the WQF our World Governing Body, behind the scenes they work very hard, to keep ‘World Quadrathlon’ moving forwards. The World Quadrathlon Federation (WQF) is the international sport governing body for Quadrathlon. It was established 1997 as ‘European Quadrathlon Federation’ and exists since 2001 as ‘World Quadrathlon Federation’. The WQF has her seat in the Czech Republic and is there registered in the Ministry of Interior, Electoral and Association Department. Our Voting member Nations at present are CZE, GBR, GER, and HUN.
WORLD CUP RACES 2023
Big Thanks to Lincsquad for adding this New Quadrathlon to our calendar this year! The Keyo Brigg Sprint distance Quadrathlon was organised by our wonderful ‘LincsQuad’ and consisted of a 750m pool swim, followed by a 4km Kayak, 19km road cycle and finishing with a 5km road run. The course is flat, fast and ideal for both experienced quadrathletes and those wanting to race the shorter distance. There was a great turnout of 22 athletes, a lot of them looking for National Trophy Points, as it was the final trophy Race of the Season!
Hugely improved transition from 5 months ago , and off on the bike . Still not comfortable with tri bars on this bike, very short wheelbase making it feel twitchy down