Stuart Leng

The Rise of the Intermediate

Despite only 45 entries being received for the Gorton Grueller, there was still a healthy entry for the Intermediate category, with 8 entries in the Ladies section and 12 in the Mens.Gorton members Lyn Ormrod and Vanessa Vear contested the first race, with Vanessa coming out on top with a time of 11:32.

After a long spell away from the X/Training scene with illness and injury, It was great to see Rebecca Robert competing again. Fresh from a week at the Club La Santa complex, she looked in great shape and set a good time for the others to chase with 9:04, which ultimately gave her a first victory in this category.

Gorton's Tracy Tsaki, who is always in the top5/6 when she competes achieved a best ever 4th place with 9:55. The final race proved to be one of the best races of the day with Emma Maggott just edging Lucy Beale by 2 seconds in 9:20. Lucy , who competed in her first event at the Ironman had improved significantly and was a very creditable 3rd. Emma has been a model of consistency, and had picked up two 3rd places at Camberley and Luton. Here, she finished in her best ever position of 2nd and is seriously thinking of stepping up to Open level in the near future.

Who to look out for?

A good standard was set in the first Mens race, with Neil Gorman from Worcester competing for the first time and achieving 6th place with10:29. Another newcomer, Craig Ludlow left Neil for dead with a brilliant time of 8:44, which gave him 3rd place. Robert Neal had a very good victory over the experienced Sean Blyth, and was unlucky to finish 4th in 8:54.

You never quite know what you are going to get with Simon Friel, but this was certainly one of the days when he was on fire and he proved to be very comfortable winner in 8:18. He has all the ammunition to make the step up very soon, but obviously enjoyed picking up a winners medal at last, instead of having to look at Kelly's!

Stacy Cross was the pre-race favourite and had performed very well this year. This course was a little light for him as he prefers the longer, heavier courses  and he just edged Craig out of second place by 1 second 8:43

Success stories Int - Open Female

Whether athletes should step up to Open level is always the subject of debate. There is a fine line between applying a bit of peer pressure to encourage someone from stepping up and that person becoming demoralised if they struggle really badly at the higher level. We can ill afford to lose anyone from the sport in these difficult times. For some the transition appears almost effortless and Kelly Friel is probably the best example. She had the strength needed  for the heavier weights and has the total dedication and focus required to perform at the top level. It has taken Nic Humphrey longer than expected to establish herself at the higher level. She was so highly regarded at Intermediate, but didn't have the natural strength to make an immediate impact. She was offered the opportunity to step back down, but bravely declined and her determination has now started to pay off with two excellent performances in the last 2 events, including a 3rd at Luton. She has gained a stronger focus and improved her training routine.

The success stories

Paul Morton was such an outstanding Intermediate performer, that he was expected to make an Immediate impact at the Open level, but it did take him a little while. Like Nic, he found the heavier bench and shoulder press the hardest disciplines to come to terms with. Now, he competes with the very best, irrespective of the course. His training partner, Steve Mead, who has a very impressive cycling background has also made the transition very successfully. For both he and Paul, there is always the dilemma of whether they sacrifice their excellent cardio fitness to gain upper body strength.

Lloyd Millichap was supreme and untouchable at Intermediate level, but always knew he would struggle on the heavier weights. He is now struggling with a back injury and you do wonder how much the strain of trying to compete at the heavier level may have contributed.

The debate goes on, but the crucial thing is to keep attracting new competitors in the hope that they will eventually fill the void caused by some competitors leaving the sport