Triathlon - 8 mile Multi-Terrain Run, 1 ½ mile Canoe, 12 mile Bike
Biathlon - 8 mile Multi-Terrain Run, 12 mile Bike.

An over-enthusiastic cadet marshall put pay to a smooth beginning for the second running (!) of the Mighty Morph, when shortly after a steep uphill climb, ½ mile from the start, the whole field were wrongly sent off down the mountain bike course. This appeared to add about 2 miles to an already testing course as everyone ended up back at the start to begin the whole thing again.

By this time, Chris Knight, who was racing in the biathlon, had already established a considerable lead over the field.The run (eventually) took the competitors across Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, which provided the scenic backdrop for most to enjoy.

The Morph, again this year on the Army training ground at Pippingford Park, included both a triathlon and biathlon (no canoeing) to enable more to take part,and at the end of the first stage Chris Knight was over four minutes ahead of second place Jason Humm.These two led the first triathletes, Andy Mouncey, Rob Green and Richard Norris, as they raced into the transition area – the biathletes picking up their mountain bikes and the triathletes jumping (some literally) into their canoes.

It was great to see some familiar faces from the previous year with the Worthington brothers teaming up with D Hadaway to form ‘Team Migration Boards’, the Read sisters with Margaret Reeve as the ‘Ex-Champs’ and Tony Kelly who finished the run in just under the hour mark.

As the bikers rode and the canoeists paddled, it was clear there was a huge range of abilities present, with some paddlers receiving ‘on the water’ advice from the safety canoeist so as to maintain a straight line.

The biking had also started to take its toll when one rider commented, “….there were riders strewn everywhere in the trees each side of the track….” – an indication of the technical nature of the course.

Chris Knight had by this time stormed around the bike course to finish inside two hours – over 12 minutes ahead of second placed Steve Meadows.

Meanwhile the lead in the triathlon was rapidly changing and Rob Green demonstrated his canoeing skills by catching and passing Andy Mouncey to finish the second stage nearly two minutes ahead of him. These two then closely fought out on the bike section and resulted in a win for Andy Mouncey by only half a minute. Behind them Steve Pocock had a great bike stage to finish up in third place.

With a number of competitors not finishing this year, The Morph again upheld its reputation as a tough race in all disciplines – however, the many portages in the canoeing section failed to stop anyone, which is a great credit to all who entered.

Looking forward to next year when we hope to seeing more new faces and many familiar ones return.

Andy Read