Corporate Success at the inaugural FT Triathlon supporting Impetus-PEF

13th September 2014

The private equity industry was out in full force on Saturday 13 Sept at the inaugural FT Triathlon supporting Impetus-PEF. Human Race developed this new industry triathlon in association with the Financial Times and Impetus-PEF to raise awareness and valuable funds for some of the UK’s most disadvantaged children and young people. Over £75k had already been raised by the start of the first race with all parties confident of hitting the £100k target.

Corporate Success at the inaugural FT Triathlon supporting Impetus-PEF2

With 350 triathletes competing against their colleagues across Sprint, SuperSprint and Relay distances, the atmosphere was a heady mix of competitive adrenalin and end of summer party.

The morning started gently with the children’s Scootathlon where children between the ages of 4 and 8 scoot, cycle and run around a tailor-made course. The older children then took part in a fiercely contested duathlon that was won by Xavier Taylor who raced the 1km run, 3km bike and 1km run course in a very fast 17:34.

The Marlborough Partners Advanced Sprint wave was all about CVC Capital Partners. A strong looking field assembled at the swim pontoon, with John Brame, racing for CVC Capital Partners looking an early favourite for the win as he powered ahead in the first lap of the 750m swim course. Richard Blackburn, also racing for CVC Capital Partners, proved the stronger swimmer on the second lap exiting the water first.  From then Blackburn led the remainder of the way finishing first in 1:03:51. Speaking after the race Blackburn admitted to being worried about the threat from Brame, however Brame struggled on the run and Blackburn pulled away eventually finishing over 4 minutes ahead of John.

Corporate Success at the inaugural FT Triathlon supporting Impetus-PEF3

 

In the female race, Gemma Farrell and Sophie Hiltermann had a thrilling battle for first place. Hiltermann exited first out of the water by a mere 7 seconds and then saved a further 14 seconds on Farrell in the first transition. Hiltermann kept her lead on the 21.2km bike course but could not hold off the ever present threat of regular triathlete Farrell on the 5km run. Farrell, also racing for the ubiquitous CVC Capital Partners, took the win over Hiltermann crossing the line in 1:17:04.

Corporate Success at the inaugural FT Triathlon supporting Impetus-PEF4

The Mergermarket Group Sprint Triathlon featured the same 750m swim, 21.2k bike and 5km run. In this race,Simon March of Apax Partners and Tim Wood of Alvarez & Marsal changed leads on a number of occasions. Wood was faster in both the swim and the run but lost the lead to March in the bike section where he just could not match the pedal power from March who finished in a strong 1:15:10. Wood came second finishing in 1:15:34. Over in the female race, it was also all about who was strongest on the bike. Katy Shaw was first into the bike section following a strong 12:00 swim, however Claire Cherry of Calculus Capital stormed the bike course to make up for a sluggish swim time crossing the line ahead of Shaw in 1:27:56.

In the Ropes & Gray SuperSprint race, Human Race’s very own Chief Executive Nick Rusling proved his competitive spirit by being the first to complete the 400m swim. Rusling then had a leisurely 4:47 minute transition waiting for his brother Ed so that they could complete the course together. At the business end of the race, Peter James was the clear winner, completing the 400m swim, 10.6k bike and 2.5k run in 44:06. First female and third overall in the race was the very impressive Leander Marks who finished in a fast 48:10.

The PwC Relay again featured the sprint distance of 750m swim, 21.2k bike and 5k run. This was a highly competitive wave with lots of jostling for the best position in the transition area. Team RR Donnelly 1 were the winners with a strong showing across all 3 disciplines. The swim was completed in 10:38, the bike in 40:13 and the run in 19:13 allowing them to win easily by almost 2 minutes with a strong overall time of 1:11:41.

Technical t-shirts were provided by CVC Capital Partners and all competitors received a goody bag, generously provided by Calculus Capital. Following the racing, competitors could take advantage of the Alvarez & Marsal recovery zone where free massage was on offer, as well as a barbeque sponsored by Greenbrook Communications.

Corporate Success at the inaugural FT Triathlon supporting Impetus-PEF5

 

This weekend sees the end of Human Race’s triathlon season until next year. In the meantime, triathletes can get fit for the 25th anniversary of theWindsor Triathlon by taking part in the Winter BallBuster duathlon at Box Hill on 8 November.