Hi Everyone this is my fist attempt at a race report so sorry if it's not up to the usual standard but here goes.

Well the weekend start's with Friday & traveling over to Mullaghmore in the rain which is not a great advertisement for triathlon. Anyway with my bags packed since Thursday it was just a matter of checking everything was in my bag before setting off. I have a habit off checking my bag about 6 times before races a habit i've had since my rugby playing days. Anyway bags packed car packed & off we go. The journey down was uneventful & we arrived about 6.

Arriving in Mullaghmore we were met by Mark Kelly & Neil Bolger assembling their bikes in the car park before bringing the bikes up to their rooms (DON'T ASK)....!!!!!!!!!. Friday night was a quiet apart from Mark & David modeling the new Pulse Race gear. Now if i was to go into all the details of the gear we could have a novel on our hands here but all i'll say is Mark Kelly has never looked so attractive in his TIGHT fitting tri suit & i MEAN TIGHT nothing was left to the imagination & if there was to be an only gay in the village well Mark was him (Sorry Mark) Mags put it into words the think they went along the lines of NO OH NO....!!!. As for David in the tri short's well lets just say if he were to wear the shorts racing he could have spent the night in jail for indecent exposure.

Anyway no need to worry as the gear is going back to the supplier. The rest of Friday night was spent just sitting around chatting with all the Arrivals & talking about race tactics (Not really) David, Barry, Alison, Mags, Donal (The Baker) Harte, Thorsten, Shenda, Sharon, Colin, Neil, Mark 1, Mark 2, Ray & a few others who i'm sorry but names escape me now. One thing that will stand out in my mind for a long time is David Adams heading up to bed & telling us he's of to bed to shave his legs & have an early night...!!! It's something that any Hot Blooded male does not want to hear from a fellow male..!!!! The shaving of legs should be banned from triathlon for males asap...!!! Kathy can you please talk to him..

Saturday morning was an early start for everyone as the race start was 10.30 & as we had all registered the previous night the battle was on for position in transition. Everyone was up at 8 & running up to get the best position for their bikes. Apart for myself & Ray who thought it was a better idea to lock ourselves out of our room. After all the bikes were placed breakfast was calling. Again David Adams was causing havoc at breakfast ordering 6 bowls of porridge for himself. Breakfast done & we all headed off for the race. Setting up is pretty uneventful & no matter what time you think you have the race is upon you so quickly. The small tri was on before the main race  which consisted of a 300m swim which when started there was such a low tide the competitors seemed to be running in the water. The main race was off next which consisted of 3 waves Male, female & over 35's which was me. Now when your told that your a vet at 36 it's really is the end. Might get myself a pair slippers & pipe this week & collect my pension (Vet!!!)..

This was my first beach start & running into the water with all the other competitors was such a laugh. Some of us were running in the water until we reached a level where we could run no more & others decided swimming from the start was the best policy & when a fellow competitor said to me look at yer man as we were running faster than he was swimming it gives you a good oul chuckle. The swim was quite tough & cold, swimming into the waves was quite hard & you could not get a good stroke going as we were being battered back by the waves but once we reached the buoy turning left the swim got easier & i exited the water in 16 mins which disappointed me until after the race to be told most people were roughly the same time & everyone found the swim tough.

In the main male race Donal exited the water in second place & on to his shiny brand new KESTRAL TALON. Donal had borrowed Darren's Zipp wheels & Darren you have no need to worry he really took care your wheels & even won a prize for the most Bunny Hops of the day... Back to the race & Pulse were having a great day & all the top boys were up in the top 20. Pulse could have won club of the day if Donal had not been playing up to the crowd by blowing kisses & waving to the various cameras as he was pipped on the line by 2 seconds by Darren Cranston of Bel-park. Such a showman is our Donal.

Back to my own race which was going well with my fellow pensioners. I'd had a bad day in Athy & was back feeling good in today's race & that's all i wanted from the day. The bike trip was on the main Sligo road & was pretty uneventful apart from the time i got stuck behind a 40ft truck & there was only going to be one winner here. It was nice to to pass the famous David Adams sign & not see him stuck under it. They have now placed straw bales at the sign because of David's antics last year & i'm glad to say everyone avoided the sign this year. As my race started last when i was coming in transition for the run the winner of the race was already decided. The run was tough at the start as we faced a tough hill but once over that it's fairly flat & it's one of the most scenic run's on the triathlon circuit apart when we had to take a minor detour into someone's garden..!! I finished in 1hr 18min & was delighted with that time especially after such a tough swim. As a club we did brilliant & we had 6 in the top 30. Everyone was happy with their race & to see the smile on Sharon's face when she crossed the line was a delight to see as she thinks she swam to Bundoran & back & to hear here tell the version of the swim brought a smile to a lot of faces. That's what competing in a triathlon is all about. Well done Sharon as it was her first ever sea swim. Also to see Thorsten protest is innocence to the race director who was penalizing him 5 mins for drafting was good entertainment. Thorsten we believe you....!!!!!!

Well done to everyone who competed on Saturday & great times for everyone.. Also to everyone racing on your brand new shiny bikes you looked great.. Race over & the post race party was all we had to conquer now & all i'll say is if i ever see another lucozade again i'll be sick. We had a nice dinner in the hotel & across the road after to listen to the local band out do Coldplay. An early night was had by all (if you believe that well...!!!!). A good night was had & if that was anything to go by roll on Kilkee.

A few thanks to a few people before i finish.

Alison thanks for organizing the accommodation. Alison's Parents, Brian & Marie for there great support & entertainment during the weekend & all the partner's of the people racing your support is greatly appreciated as i know listening to people talking about times can be very very hard on the ear. Ok i think that's all & if i missed anything i'm sorry..

Cheers & see you all in Kilkee.

Derek McCabe