A break in the weather meant conditions were good for the Horwich Tri. A slightly shorter ‘Olympic distance’ course this year to attract more entrants, but what is lacked in distance it made up for in altitude. Team JMC athletes Adam and Nick were scheduled in the same swim wave, and at 10:31 were both underway. Both completed an identical 9 minute 500m swim and entered T1 together. Adam made it out first after taking the decision to ride in the Tri suit alone, whilst Nick fought to get an extra layer on. Adam opened up a 300m lead but 45 minutes into the 40k bike the gap was closed and Nick arrived back in T2 ahead. The lead wasn’t there for long though as Adam displayed his superior running talent on the 5 mile run and long ascent up to Rivington Pike. After rounding the Pike itself and the decent back into Horwich, both arrived at the finish just a few minutes apart in just over 2 hours, with Adam taking 21st and Nick securing 31st position in the rankings. A notoriously difficult triathlon, attracting some strong competitors meant it was particularly satisfying to have even made the top 50 from the 250 finishers. A great race for the team and individually, and a perfect strength workout for Ironman UK preparation.