The Colwell Caulker Duathlon -

The Colwell Caulker Duathlon - Base layers, Bridges and Bake off

This morning, 22 Wight Tri warriors (plus a few brave newbies—welcome to the madness) swapped an extra hour under the duvet for Lycra, laces and helmet hair for the first of the winter duathlon series.

The sun teased us with a cameo, but make no mistake—it was Baltic. Dry robes weren’t optional, they were an essential for hanging around for the event to start.

The run: a brisk 2.6km or 4.1km out-and-back from Colwell to Totland.

The ride: a scenic 26km via Milly Road and Brook, or a punchy 16km shortcut, both looping back through Wilmington Lane and Yarmouth.

Drama averted- Neil Cooper nearly launched a rogue bike course mid-briefing, but eagle-eyed teammates saved the day—and 8 extra kilometres leg work.

The event wasn’t without its mishaps- Arielle Elton-Waters and Annette Hickman made an unscheduled pit stop at Yarmouth swing bridge, perfect opportunity for a photo shoot.

Timing wizard Craig “Machine” Wilson nailed his prediction within ONE second for the LLL course finishing in 01:25:59 and was fastest overall. Now that’s just showing off

On the SSS course Newbie Sam Penhall smashed it with the fastest finish in 57:06 and doing it for the girls Kelly Carmichael in 01:11:15. Chapeau.

Winning team goes to Paul Taylor and Paula Griffiths, just 1 minute 42 secs off their nominated time. Huge kudos to Paula—fresh off completing Couch to 5K this week! Awesome.

Wight Tri Bake-off glory: Judges (that’s everyone) devoured multiple entries before crowning a salted caramel masterpiece worthy of a Hollywood handshake if I say so myself

Massive thanks to our volunteer dream team: John Gardener, Martin Goodall, Neil Cooper, Anne & Steve Dines, Mike Kimber, and Loic Le Floch we could not do all this without you guys. Respect.