'If you can catch the Subaru, you can have it......', I said, as the competitors followed the lead vehicle out of Pippingford Park, for the initial run stage. Many of the entrants nearly took me up on this rash promise, as they passed the Subaru while it encountered not one, but two oncoming vehicles, along what is normally a very quiet singletrack road!

After this initial 'excitement' it was then left to the competitors to provide the entertainment in this year's MORPH Triathlon and Biathlon. Over 90 starters embarked on a run route of about 6 miles over Ashdown Forest, where the competitors were given a scenic trip across what is essentially a very beautiful part of the South of England. It is, however, not always easy to take all this in when you are slogging up yet another hill. Towards the latter half of the run the route passes along a delightful stream-side path which for some took their minds off the hard slog of the open heathland and for others proved to be wet, slippery and troublesome as it was impossible to get any sort of running rhythm while they were ducking under branches and jumping small streams.

While all this was happening, the front runners of both the triathlon and biathlon were setting a blistering pace with Nigel Cook in the biathlon finishing the run section in 39:58, Grant Lemke in the triathlon only 3 seconds behind and Keith Read (last year's triathlon winner) 6 seconds further back. The womens' event was equally competitive with Bridget Cuthbert flying around in 47:32 closely followed by Alison Bromley in 49:01 and Sarah Whiddett in 49:17.

As many launched onto the water (and into the water for some!) the race took on a whole new dimension, with those who were more competent in a kayak catching and passing the faster runners from the previous stage. Looking at the timings from this section there were many changes of position as the stage shook out some of the cobwebs from those who hadn't stepped into a kayak for a long while. For the front paddlers it was purely an inconvenience to have to get out and carry their boats around the weir - for others it proved to be a killer section, draining energy levels and not allowing any sort of paddling rhythm. With the majority of triathlon competitors at various stages of the kayak section, it was a fantastic sight to see so many boats on the water - this did also make the portages more interesting, though! Even with this much traffic, it was top paddler Keith Read who came out first having established nearly a three minute lead on second place Grant Lemke. Bridget Cuthbert had put in an exceptional performance in the kayak stage to put herself 9 minutes ahead of second place Sarah Whiddett with Alison Bromley a very close third.

Meanwhile, in the biathlon, Nigel Cook was trying to maintain the lead from his fast opening run into the bike section, but with Peter Cottington and Steven Cottington (last year's biathlon winner) hard on his heels, this was never going to be easy. The two Cottington brothers wore down the lead over the next hour but Nigel Cook held on to win The MORPH Biathlon in 1:59:45, only 40 seconds ahead of Peter Cottington in second place. In the womens race, Rachel McLellan put in a flying bike stage to secure first place in 2:34:35 ahead of Kate Ross and Lucinda Read.

By this time, the lead group of the triathlon field were well into the final bike stage. With Keith Read having opened up a good lead in the kayak section it was up to the following group to catch him. The bike stage consisted of a tricky, technical waterside path followed by a long slog uphill which left many walking and pushing their bikes. It was on this hill on the final lap that Grant Lemke finally caught and passed Keith Read for the lead which he held until the end, beating Keith by a mere 38 seconds! In the womens triathlon race, it was Alison Bromley and Sarah Whiddett who then put in superb bike stages to pass Bridget Cuthbert, with Alison finishing in 2:51:10 ahead of Sarah in 2:58:43 and Bridget in third place with a time of 3:01:10.

The race continued with some exceptional individual performances, proving that there are many capable athletes at this distance and that the variety of disciplines involved is both challenging and exciting.

Many, many thanks to all the competitors who entered this year - the largest to date - it couldn't happen without you. I apologise that this report mentions only a handful of competitors by name, as these were easiest to keep track of. For many, however, the real race is not at the front at all, and it is the many competitors who rarely get noticed or named that I would like to extend my thanks and congratulations for your tireless effort entering and competing in The MORPH, and for those who come back year after year (you know who you are) - well..... you must be mad!

Many thanks also to all the marshalls and helpers who again gave up their Sunday, free of charge, to concentrate on race numbers and stopwatches.

See you all next year

Andy Read

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