Luke Harrop Memorial - Gold Coast Triathlon Race Report

Luke Harrop Memorial Triathlon, 25th February 2018
Australian Sprint Championships
Race Result - 1st Place 16-19 Years Female – Australian Champion
 
This weekend was just going to be a fun one. A local, well respected race. Just a simple hit out before Perth next weekend. This race became much more. 
 
Not only did some good competition show up, but thanks to the extensive rain, it became a duathlon due to the water quality of the swim course. Not only was it wet, it was hot. This was going to be a fun one. 
 
Due to the nature of the duathlon, all wave start times were completely thrown out of the window and it became a rolling start. Unfortunately, dad and I didn't even consider how this would affect our start time.
 
We began the day with a casual stroll down to the race, had breakfast and chilled in our mate’s hotel room. Our wave starts we're so late, we thought we had plenty of time. Thankfully, I like to be a bit early so we headed across to the start 30 mins prior to schedule. My wave had already gone. I didn't know what to do. The starters reassured me the chip would start until I crossed the line, but I felt so disorientated. I just ran through my dad’s wave and began to chase. 
 
That was my entire race. A chase. A chase to see how many girls I could catch. I wasn't with anyone so I just had to drive and go for it. It was exactly like a Thursday morning individual time trial, but with a bit more running and a bit faster. I still try hard in training don't get me wrong, but racing is a completely different situation. there were so many people it was more like a 20km slalom course.
 
Although it was odd to be riding a race dry, my legs ached from the tough 2.5km sprint before. I over geared it again with the tail wind and made up quite a bit of ground. Once I was off the bike and on the run, I could feel the heat. I just tried to maintain rhythm and not get too caught up in the hype. The road was burning the soles of my shoes I swear. I even grabbed water (I know right, shocking). 
 
I was incredibly relieved to finish and even managed to out sprint a boy in my age group (hehe). I couldn't wait to have a shower and cool down. 
 
All in all, the race was a great hit out before Perth the next weekend and the atmosphere of the weekend was great. I was happy to come away with an Aussie championship to my name and place 3rd overall. 
 
Thanks to all the SCTA sponsors, coach and crew for all your support and encouragement along the way. Only a month more of racing to go!
:))