I was so aghast that I qualified for this race on my first attempt, in only my second season of triathlon, that my two goals were simple - don’t be last, and don’t be the last Brit!

 

There were 580 British triathletes competing in either the Sprint, Standard or Aquathlon races on the bank of Lake Michigan in central Chicago last month. Spot-the-Team-GB-triathlete started at Heathrow, where scores of navy and red tracksuits sailed through departure lounges, quite often with a pointy helmet seen peeping out of the top of a bulging backpacks. 

 

Age-group triathlon championships were a foreign concept to me a year ago. They happen twice a year – the European Championships in Spring, and the World Championships in September. There are three qualifying races each year for both. Qualifiers for next year's champs can be found here. The biggest highlight of qualifying is you get to wear Team GB kit!

 

 

Team GB Standard Distance women's team in Chicago

There’s always a designated Team GB hotel at World or European Championships but you have to get in early. I qualified in June this year for the standard distance at the Dambuster Triathlon and by then the Team GB hotel was full. A dedicated World Champs Facebook page meant that those travelling on their own could share travel and accommodation plans.

 

The day before the big race day storms and torrential rain struck. Bike racking, which was meant to happen the night before, was postponed until race morning. Disc wheels were banned, then allowed again, not before a flurry of panicked Facebook postings from Team GB triathletes looking to borrow non disc wheels. Not that I was concerned about that. I have perfectly normal wheels on my Bianchi Oltre XR2, and would have been more than happy to eliminate speedy wheels from the competition.

 

The waters of Lake Michigan were one of the clearest and freshest I’ve ever swam in. It was, to us Brits, a tropical 17 degrees C. But I heard a few winces from the Brazilians and Mexicans. One triathlete on the start line from Texas said she’d never swam in a wetsuit because the water she trains in is 30 degrees. But, being used to cold water still didn’t protect me from the washing machine start. I’ve never experienced such an aggressive swim start. I was swam over immediately, dunked and proceeded to have a full-on hyperventilating attack and was forced into breast stroke for what felt like a very long minute. All I could think was I must be the only World Championship triathlete in history breaststroking! 

 

The swim course ran parallel to the bay for 500 meters, turned around and returned south for another 1k against the current, finishing 500m south from the start. Transition was long and uphill, and most were well and truly winded getting onto the bike. Transition itself was full of sand and those like me, who can’t do the shoes-in-pedals trick, had cleats full of sand when they came to mount. I had to give mine a good bang on the floor – there goes another ten seconds.

 

 

Helen Croydon on the bike course

 

I’ve never had so much fun on a bike course. Most of it weaved through a web of multi-storey underground tunnels. It meant lots of tight corners and ramps up and down to different levels. I’ve been known to get bored on a 40k bike course but not this one. Even on the second lap, the course was such a maze that every corner was a new surprise. The course came in short at 37.5k, which explains some fantastic bike times. 

 

A very long 10.6k run course made up for that though. At 25 degrees C and full sunshine, we suffered. The 3.5 lap course ran along one single, closed road and around a fountain in a park in front of a spectator grandstand.  Cheering spectators lined the entire course and I’ve never ran to such a lively atmosphere. Hearing ‘Go GB!’ a hundred times over was the best motivator.

 

The finish line passed the grandstand with an even louder crowd. It wasn’t until I crossed the finish that the gravitas of a race on this scale hit me. Beyond the finish line was a scene of euphoria with triathletes from all nations hugging each other and jumping onto a box for photo opportunities, even if clearly they didn’t even know each other. Paddling pools with ice were provided at the finish too – now you don’t get that often!

 

Sprinting for the finish

 

My result: 41st in the 35-39 female age category out of a total of 107. Team GB brought home plenty of bling. A gold medal from Daphne Belt (F75-79), a silver from Edward Castro (M25-29) and two bronzes from Samantha Rose (F25-29) and Neil Eddy (M25-29). Other results, including the Sprint and the Aquathlon races can be found here.

 

Report written by Helen Croydon, journalist and member of the Triathlon England Media Team. Follow her on Twitter: @Helen_croydon