RACE 35 - HEVER CASTLE EVENING SPRINT TRIATHLON - 13 July

The race was described on the event website as starting "with an open water swim in the spectacular 38 acre Hever Castle Lake, transitioning into the cycle which will take place around the 20km circuit through the High Weald of Kent an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The run will then circumnavigates the estate and award winning castle grounds before making the dash to the finish beside the lake." Which you'll be pleased to hear pretty much sums it up. I've put a bit of history about the castle at the end.

Well it was a bit of an odd feeling getting ready 
for an event mid-week. Having spent the morning at work, I had the afternoon off so I didn't have to rush around and I also hoped to miss the rush-hour traffic. Packed the car and headed off at about 3pm so instead of rush-hour, hit the Bromley/ Beckenham area school kicking out time instead, so hoards of children, 'youff' and parents in their 4x4's (as you know how much off-roading you need to do in suburbia) made for a fairly slow exit from London.

Once following the brown tourist signs to Hever Castle there was minimal traffic and truly glorious countryside - the Weald of Kent. This area also has Chiddingstone Castle and Chartwell - home of Winston Churchill, nearby.

We didn't park in the main visitor car park but down a very potholed track (oh the poor mini) through a very tight gate and into a very bumpy field. It was then a lovely 10 minute woodland walk down to registration and transition. However I'm glad it was dry otherwise the car parking and the walk to registration would have been 'interesting' to say the least.

At registration we were given our race numbers that were then inscribed with indelible pen on the back of both hands and on one leg. It certainly illicited comment the following day at work as I was unable to get it all off so it looked like I'd got tattoos on both hands. I racked the bike, sorted my gear, had a chat with adjacent competitors and went off to explore the grounds and find a cuppa.

I must admit I was looking forward to the race as it gave me a chance to see Hever Castle and more importantly try out my new wheels. As I've mentioned they are Planet X 50/82 - that's the depth of the rims in millimetres, and I had them fitted with Vittoria Corsa Evo CX "tubs" that can be inflated to 200 psi! These tube less tyres have to be glued onto the rims. To prevent punctures they have kevlar protection and if they do puncture I have a clever little aerosol that combines glue and compressed CO2 to seal and inflate the tyre.  Hopefully I'll never have to use it but it's good for peace of mind. Also with the deep rims it meant that I had to buy valve extensions as obviously normal tyre valves are just too short and I had to fit new special brake blocks as normal ones would damage the carbon rims! Its amazing that when you buy one thing (wheels) how it leads onto other purchases! That's half the fun of triathlons though is the "kit". One thing's for sure though, now the new wheels are on it certainly looks the part - just hope I can perform half as well as it looks! Especially as there is one kind of competitor that tends to attract most mockery and that's the one with "all the gear and no idea"!

Cuppa in hand I wandered down to the lake where we'd swim - not in the moat unfortunately, I realised that you couldn't see the castle from this side of the grounds (subsequently found that in fact I would only catch a brief glimpse during the run I when of course I was not in the best state to appreciate it!) Watching some of the swimmers from earlier waves and cheering them on, I realised they looked rather small and as they emerged it was apparent that they were children! 


So Wednesday for them would be go to school, after school do triathlon - hopefully they were let off homework. It was amazing to see as there was a wave for 7 and 8 year olds, and some of them were so tiny! They emerged in their little wet suits, ran up the hill with utter concentration on their faces, to be greeted in transition by parents and siblings to go off around the castle grounds on their bikes, before do a run! Even the 7 year olds were doing a 100m swim in the lake, a 4 km cycle and finally a 1.3km run. It was really impressive watching them.

Then watched some of the earlier adult waves starting and took some photos of the start by the impressive loggia.

So cup of tea - done: photos taken - done: get into wetsuit ready for my start - to do. On way back saw someone in a Windrush triathlon suit (the club I'm a member of) and introduced myself. Johnny suggested I get ready and then meet up near the swim start which seemed like a good plan.

Down at lakeside the buoy for the turn around of the 750m swim we decided looked very distant. However the die was cast as we called to the race briefing. The organiser while waiting for some late arrivals regaled us with the history of the lake and from memory (which is a bit sketchy as I had normal pre-race nerves) it took 800 men, 2 years to dig it by hand, with most of the spoil going by rail to Edenbridge. One workman used to walk from Tunbridge Wells (12 miles) do a 9 hour shift, then walk home again! Certainly puts a 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run into perspective.

The lake temperature was 19 degrees so wetsuits were optional and while most were wearing them (they give extra buoyancy) a few hardier souls were just in their tri-suits.
Then it was down "some of the slippers steps in Kent" as they were described to the start line. They didn't keep us treading water long and it was off. As it was a straight out, round the buoy and back course, you do get to see how far in front/behind you were. Put it this way I wasn't' last but I could see people finishing their swim soon after I tuned around the buoy for the swim back!
Finishing it was then a run uphill (not as bad as Blenheim's) but enough to get you breathing heavily (that is if you weren't already from the swim) and onto to bike.


The first 50m were a bit of a nightmare as it was a rough gravel track - a mountain bike would have been a better option rather that a time trial with skinny race wheels.
Then on an access road with some vicious speed bumps and potholes - never mind as it meant you had enough time to catch your breath before hitting the open road. It was then a case of winding the bike up and down onto the tri-bars through some very beautiful countryside including some "cheeky" hills (their words not mine) and some rather petrifying downhills (usually with a blind bend at the bottom). Traffic was fantastically light - well I suppose most 'normal' people are tucking into their evening meal; watching some mind numbing TV or down the pub, and not haring round the countryside trying out their new wheels.


After a 20km circuit it was a tentative return to transition over the speed bumps, potholes and gravel for a quick change of shoes and on to the run. I'd been warned that the first 1km was uphill but rather complacently I thought how hard could it be considering the races I'd done the previous week end. Well I found out! Very hard as I hadn't taken into account quite how much I'd put into the cycle. Then it was downhill to the lake on woodland tracks and then round the lake where the route bificated - one being the 4km run of the super sprint (named the Anne Bolyen) and our 5km (Anne of Cleves). This did mean that while one guy had sprinted past me I found that he was doing the shorter course so it was a bit difficult to judge how well you were doing. Also it was disconcerting in that I'd managed to stagger passed a rather attractive runner at the top of the first hill, only to pass her again on the last hill.

One problem I found with the rest of the run was that it followed a mown path. Though the grass gave the appearance of level ground, it was anything but underfoot. It made it much more difficult to judge your footing than 'real' cross country running.

During the run we got our only glimpse of the castle as we ran through the 'Elizabethan Village'. Looks utterly stunning and intend to go back when I'm in a fit state to appreciate it (possibly in September when I've booked another triathlon here - albeit it a longer one).

Then it was one final hill (past the attractive girl that I may have mentioned before?) - a deep gravelled path which was particularly energy sapping, and a 300m 'sprint' to the finish - with Johnny cheering me on!  Having checked our initial results it was back to the car to try and fit two bikes in the back of a Mini-Clubman which was easier said than done. Though it proved to be a lot easier getting them in than out the other end as they were well and truly tangled! Note to self - must find a better way of doing it as I've a couple of weekends coming up when I need to get a mountain bike and tri-bike in the back. 


The journey home consisted of following another competitor i.e. another car with a tri-bike on the roof rack as they seemed to know where they were going until we reached a point where I actually recognised the place names and road numbers and could head back into London. It was nice to have company as it made the journey go a lot quicker. Also I realised that it's been a while now since I've needed my 40 winks on the way home from a race. The only downside to the journey was that we started to discuss food with about half an hour to go - I'm convinced by stomach was touching spine I was so hungry. On reflection should have stopped after the race to get a sandwich or something too keep me going.

Mid-week racing is certainly fun and feels a little more relaxed but I'll probably give it a miss if I've a weekend race before and after as it is a little tiring doing four races in eight days. Oh and the wheels, did they work? Well I don't know whether it was purely psychological or not, but checking the cycle splits, I make it I was 5th fastest - so know all I need to do is improve the running and learn to swim properly!


RESULT: 27th out of 161 in a time of 1:24:32




From http://www.hevercastle.co.uk/ :

There have been three main periods in the construction of this historic castle. The oldest part of the castle dates to 1270 and consisted of the gatehouse and a walled bailey. In the early 1500s the Bullen family bought the castle and added a Tudor dwelling within the walls and so it became the childhood home of its most famous inhabitant, Anne Boleyn. It later passed into the ownership of Henry’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. From 1557 onwards the Castle was owned by a number of families including the Waldegraves, the Humfreys and the Meade Waldos. Finally, in 1903, William Waldorf Astor invested time, money and imagination in restoring the Castle, building the ’Tudor Village’ and creating the gardens and lake.


The castle has a homely atmosphere [if you can call a castle homely!] and houses historic 16th century Tudor portraits, furniture and tapestries. Other artefacts include two magnificent Books of Hours (prayer books), both signed and inscribed by Anne Boleyn. Costumed figures of Henry VIII and his six wives in the Long Gallery adds to the atmosphere and is popular with the children. The Council Chamber in the thirteenth century gatehouse contains collections of historic swords, armour, instruments of execution, torture and discipline.

The spectacular gardens at Hever Castle were laid out between 1904 and 1908 by Joseph Cheal & Son, turning marshland into the spectacular gardens you see today. One of the most magnificent areas of the gardens is the Italian Garden, which was designed to display William Waldorf Astor’s collection of Italian sculpture. Over 1,000 men worked on the great design with around 800 men digging out the 38 acre lake at the far end of the Italian Garden – taking two years to do so! Within four years the 30 acres of classical and natural landscapes were constructed and planted.  125 acres of the garden has now reached its full maturity and includes the colourful walled Rose Garden which contains over 4,000 plants..

There are many water features around the gardens, including Half Moon Pond, the Cascade Rockery, the cool and shady grottoes, the formal loggia fountain based on the Trevi fountain in Rome, and the more informal Two Sisters Pond.

Other areas that you can stroll through include the Tudor Garden, Rhododendron Walk and along Anne Boleyn’s Walk with its collection of trees planted over 100 years ago. In recent years, the present owners have made several changes in the garden including the Millennium Fountain which can be found on Sixteen Acre Island, forming an interesting feature at the far end of this more informal area of the gardens. The 110 metre herbaceous border has been reinstated and Sunday Walk created, providing a peaceful woodland garden following the course of a stream. In addition to the existing Yew Maze, a splashing water maze has been built on Sixteen Acre Island - a unique feature which is especially popular with the children!