Wiggle SteelMan is a great challenge of an event in the Human Race triathlon calendar, with Olympic and 3/4 Olympic distances providing the opportunity for triathletes to put their training to the test.

This year’s event also saw the return of the very popular Aquathlon (swim, run) and AquaBike (swim, bike) options, giving swimmers the opportunity to combine a second discipline with the swim. After their popularity at last year’s event and some feedback from enthusiastic participants, Human Race introduced longer distances for 2015 in order to meet demand.

Event title sponsor Wiggle were at Dorney Lake bright and early setting up for the day, available for any competitors needing to make last minute purchases.

The day started with an eerie mist descending upon Dorney Lake, which was quickly burnt away by bright sunshine. With only blue skies to be seen, it was set to be a scorcher! The Mediterranean weather the UK had been experiencing on the lead up to the event meant that the water at Dorney Lake was far warmer than many had been expecting or preparing for in the build up to the Wiggle SteelMan triathlon. Wetsuits were declared optional by the race officials at the start of the day, which is always a dilemma for a triathlete! The temperature at Dorney Lake climbed to 27 degrees as the day went on, meaning the run leg would be hot work.

As always Human Race had some fantastic crew members on hand to keep the runners hydrated throughout the run and to the delight of many, Erdinger Alkoholfrei greeted the weary competitors at the finish line with a refreshing isotonic energy drink, which went down extremely well!

First off were the men taking on the Olympic distance, who set off at 9am. First in over the finish line was Chris Fox in 2:08:52, followed by Philip Westobyin 2:09:55 (Army Triathlon Association), and in third place Nick Wheldon in 2:14:36.

The Women’s Olympic wave set off shortly after, and first over the line with a very quick run was Sarah Lewis (Ful-On-Tri) finishing in 2:17:49. In second place was Charlotte Bowsher in 2:25:54 and in third place came Vikki D’Arcy in 2:26:29.

Up next was the Challenge wave. The young Ryan Griffiths flew round the course in an impressive 1:29:06, and was shortly followed by Steve Fell (Evo Tri) in 1:38:27 and in third Xavier Salaun in 1:44:33. The first to finish for the women was Stephanie Davis with a time of 2:00:31, Stephanie was followed by Amy Lilley in 2:05:17 and in third place came Jessica Jones in 2:14:24.

The AquaBike Short distance saw Sharkie Jaggard (Thames Valley Triathletes) finish first with a time of 48:49, second place went to Eamonn Deeley(49:25) and in third was Kevin Ormerod (Hillingdon Triathletes) with a time of 53:48. The fastest three females were Claire Vallance (55:31), Stephanie Wheatley (58:27) and Georgina Phillips (58:54). Next was the AquaBike Long distance. In first place for the men came Grant Bateman (Hillingdon Triathletes) with a time of 1:30:31, Mark Hyde (Evo Tri) followed in second place in 1:35:59 and in third was Luke Gossett (1:37:14). The top three females from the AquaBike Long distance finished in quick succession with only 1 second between each of them. Gemma Royles (Welland Valley Triathlon Club) finished in first place with a time of 1:46:04, in second place with a time of 1:46:05 was Charlotte Saunders and in third was Melinda Atkinson in 1:46:05.

The final races of the day were the Aquathlon Short and Long distances. The Short race was well and truly chicked as Janette Cardy (Team Dillon) came home first in a great time of 31:12. Robert Streeter (Phoenix Triathlon Club) was the fastest male finisher in the Aquathlon Short with a time of 36:34. Frances Gresty was the second female over the line in the very exact time of 40:00 and Kirsty Tomblin close behind in 40:02.

The Aquathlon Long distance saw Anthony Rosevear (Bingham Tri Club) finish first with a time of 57:58, followed by Jay Munkley (58:04) and Ben Thomas (59:06). Lisa Wildgrube was the fastest female finisher with a time of 1:05:36, closely followed by Francesca Dessain (1:07:39) and Harriet Sumner (1:13:05).

Zipvit Sport supplied the energy drinks and bars to aid the performance of our triathletes and aquathletes throughout the day and they also provided the opportunity for all at Wiggle SteelMan to be in with a chance of winning two bikes worth 9k! Spatone were also on hand with liquid iron supplements at registration for competitors to try. If you haven’t heard of Spatone liquid iron supplements and have suffered from fatigue during training, check out how Spatone can help your training here! Tannus solid bicycle tyres were in the event village providing people the opportunity to try one of their puncture-free tyres for the day.

It was a fantastic day for Wiggle SteelMan, with all the participants giving their all and many smiling faces around the event village.

Next up for Human Race are a trio of different events taking place next weekend at the fantastic Dorney Lake. First off on Friday the 10th July is the Media Trust Triathlon. Saturday the 11th July sees Lidl BananaMan take place, with a variety of distances and plenty of free food available. Finally, on Sunday the 12th July we have the Shock Absorber WomenOnly Challenge, which is a women only event with plenty of great opportunities to try different distances and disciplines.