Incredibly detailed supporters report from Hairier Half

Cheers to the dynamic duo (mostly Meldy obviously)for organising us

Very random thoughts….

Bike aid station

RC’s signs
Having a water butt of water fall onto my shin
Encouraging riders to get their bottles in the goal – so much fun!
Meldy and I sorting through the discarded bottles in a similar style to the two charity shop ladies from The League of Gentlemen
Seeing Meldy going into one of the portaloos, getting Barlos’ attention, both of us quietly running over and then repeatedly banging the sides of the portaloo as hard as we could
Cake’s fag break
Worrying that AJH was gonna DNF when she rode past me saying “I’m stopping” – the silly moo was just stopping to take some drugs ffs!
For fear of embarrassing him even further I won’t put his number on here, but the rider who couldn’t throw to save his life
Seeing all the pirates ride through 3 times – fab!

Run

Competitors need to have name in large letters on their number!
Getting to see the pirates at the crossover point so many times
Shouting at and having banter with all the runners – I hope they got as much out of it as I did
Giving Petal and hug and words of encouragement as I’d remembered she’d said at Roth that she would need help on the run – I hope they did the trick…..
Being able to see people finishing from across the lake was a real bonus
Being impressed by joddley’s ability to stay in the zone despite me shouting her name in her ear from 2ft away
Kanga’s mincing
Stop smiling and start running (TM)
Managing to avoid Cake giving me a sweaty hug
Seeing the guy who couldn’t throw twice on his way round – oh, the abuse he got
Giving DTB my apple
Giving DTB my crisps
Giving DTB half of my muffin
Managing to not eat my jelly babies until 8pm
DTB taking some of my jelly babies
Re the bloke who walked the entire way looking rather unhappy – his parents were marshalling the run next to where we were standing and I had a chat with thedad at the finish. Apparently his son had injured his leg at some point before the event and couldn’t run at all, but decided to compete anyway despiteknowing that he would be passed by a large number of people- fair play to him as a lot of people in his position wouldn’t have started.
The finishing chute – yelling like an idiot whenever someone finished
You are a gaylord!
You are a triangle!
Giving the last finishers what will hopefully be something they’ll never forget
Being wowed by every single pirate’s performance, whatever time they did

A great day!

via Outlaw Volunteers – Runner’s World Forum Messages.

Great race, great time had by all from what I’ve read.

There’s many reports and information on the Outlaw thread.  I’ve taken a couple of the reports at random and put them here on the site but there’s more on the thread if you’re interested.

First timer Ironman – Purpletrilady – who was more than a little worried about the cutoffs!

Swim

The weather was fab and I couldn’t have wished for a better morning. The sun was just rising and the lake looked spectacular. I wondered down to the lake with a few pirates and I felt astonishingly calm after the nerves of the previous weeks. I had two objectives for the day, one was to finish and other was to enjoy the day. I had trained for nine months and I had been so looking forward to this day, I wanted to cherish every minute of it.

We got into the water, it was bloody cold and I was glad I had 5 minutes in water to acclimatise as I struggle to breathe when I am really cold. “Breathe slowly, stay clam”, that was my mantra as I stood waiting. The hooter went of , and immediately I had problems. I couldn’t breathe and my chest was really tight. I’ve had lots of problems with OW swimming, I’m a confident pool swimmer but in OW everything goes wrong.,

I tried to calm down, I stopped, did a bit of breaststroke, stopped again. I took a look behind me and saw that there were just a few stragglers behind me, I was right at the back. I suddenly had a panic thought that I might not make it out of the swim. I knew the distance wasn’t a problem, I had done it many times in training, I just needed to HTFU and get going. Normally I breathe every 3 strokes so I tried breathing every two strokes and managed to get going. Then suddenly, after about 5 minutes of swimming I was breathing better and the tightness in my chest went. I tried to swim every three strokes but every time I did the tightness came back. So I swam the whole way breathing every two strokes, something I had never done before. The weeds were awful, like trying to swim through bit thick mats. I had too stop a few times as a I got tangled up in them.

Someone one once told me that if you say “bubble” as you breathe out it helps you expel air. I spent the whole 3.8K saying “bubble, breathe, bubble breathe” it was the only way I could stay calm. About ¾ of the way around I started to feel cold and shivery and that frighted me. I kicked my legs and tried to swim quicker to warm up. Luckily the cold feeling didn’t last long.  Bizarrely the tight chested feeling came back when I saw the speedo gantry, I had to focus on keeping calm right to the end. Needless to stay I was mightily relieved when I got out of the water.

1:30 swim, much slower than I am capable of, but I was just pleased to be out of the water.

T1

I was so pleased that there was someone help me get my wetsuit of. I struggle to get it off at the best of times and I was still feeling a bit panicky so it was good to get some help. The transition tent was very empty when I got there. Once I got my bike gear on , a big smile appeared on my face I knew the worse was over and I could enjoy the rest of the day.

Bike

The pirate feed station was at 16 miles and I spent the first hour of my ride counting the miles to get there. I was so looking forward to seeing some friendly faces. It didn’t disappoint ! The signs really made me laugh and the support was fab.

I struggled a bit on the first loop as I was expecting it to be very flat and there were more up hills than I expected. Those of you that have followed my training will know that I hate hills with a passion. However, at the end of the loop I realised it wasn’t bad at all and I knew I was going to make it round. The 2nd lap was brill, the support was just amazing. I cried when I got through Southwell, I was just over whelmed by all the support. I had to stop quickly though as I couldn’t see as my sunglasses filled with water!

The 3rd lap was a bit lonely, there was only a few of us left out and most of the supporters had gone. My race plan was to keep my average mph between 14 and 14.5 mph. I arrived at t2 having done an average of 14.4mph. I was very pleased.

7:44 for the bike

T2

Put my running gear on with a big smile on my face. The worse was over, I love running and I had 7.5hrs to do a marathon.

Run

There is not a lot I can say about the run other than I loved every minute of it. The support was brill and I couldn’t stop smiling all the way round. Every mile done was a mile closer to the end and I got more and more excited as time went on. I was amazed that I kept running, I think I was being powered by adrenalin. I had only ran 15 miles in training so I kept expecting my legs to give up at some point, but it never happened. I just kept on running.

4:54 for the run (a marathon pb for me!!, only done one before and it took 5:10)

The finish was everything I had hoped for. I felt full of energy as I ran down towards the finish line. Pirates you were brill, fabulous support!

I had three objectives when it comes to how quickly I wanted to do the IM. My main objective was just to finish. No2 objective was to do it in under 16 hours and no 3 objective was to do it in 15 hours. I never thought anything less than 15 hours was possible.

Finishing in 14:18 was a dream end to a dream day.

Cona

What a day, I’m in pieces this morning. Great event and even better pirate support. Well done all. Off on hol’s tomorrow so the race report will be in a week or so.

this was my first IM so alot of it was uncharted water around distance, nutrition etc. A big thanks to Ridge back max as well as his pre race pep talk on “race your own race, never push too hard on the bike, let them overtake you on the bike, you’ll catch them on the run” couldn’t of worked any better. Brief race summary:

swim – no wind wgat so ever and being open i was a little worried about cross winds. Nice start splitting the field into bays and i ended up in the middle od bay 2, only downside to the swim were the weeds, at times felt like you were crawling over ground!! reat out and back, did’t sight forward in the entire swim, just kept the bank at roughly the same distance. Better without loads of bouy turns, Think I’ll get in the cannel next spring!! Really pleased, i was hoping fir around 1.20 but was out the water in just over 1hr11min

t1 – Cossey to say the least, the change tent needs to be bigger next year. Far too many cracks close to your face when changing. Decided to go for comfort over soeed so git fully changed into bib shorts a cycle top. Took my time and all went to plan. 7min2secs

Bike – 3 loop course which had a couple of long uphill drags but nothing that felt too bad on the first loop, all went well, great support at the pirate feed station and in the small villages around the course. Didn’t feel like I was pushing too hard apart from the 2nd half of the last loop, legs starting to smart abut by this point. Ended up being about 100 yards behind FB for the full 112 miles!!!! Not a pleasent site. Finish the bike in 6hr 2min 35secs

t2 – fewer people in the 2 man tent they called t2 this time and was uneventfull. It was like a Purate convension when i got ibto change, think there were 5 of us in there. Fully changed again away I went.  5 mins 37 secs.

Run – 3 loops of around the boating lake then out and back to Notts Forrest footy stadium, good to pass so many pirates on the run course going in the oppersite direction, great for moral and support. Was feeling reatively strong until the last 10 miles when my legs we’re starting to really hurt. Managed to stick with Ridgebackmax for a period but he was too strong so left him to get a great PB. Once again, fabulous support from the pirates and all spectators around the the boating lake. Being a Pirate is something truely special as EVERYONE knows who you are and gives you a Aaarrrrrrrrrhhhhhh of encouragement. Came into the boating lake with about 2 miles to go and needed to run just under 10 min/miles to get in under 11.30. It was painful but amazing all the same. Great to run down the finish chute hear your name being called out. Got around the run in 4hr 1min 37 secs.

Finished in 11hr 28mins 12sec.

What an amazing experience! I was in the medical tent for 30 mins as I could bearly stand up, felt vey hot and light headed and had nothing left. A huge thanks to all the pirate support in the build up to the race and during the event.

And if course, the Mrs, I wouldn’t be be here without your support over the past 6 months, sorry for missing all those weekend lie ins. Love ya lots.

Right, congratulations to all pirates that finished, a huge achivement for all. Speak to you in a week when I’ll be back from doing F@CK ALL in Croatia.

Ridgebackmax

The following article appeared in German – translated below by IW.
The original article can be viewed here with pictures.

The Unusual Triathlon Troop of the “Pirate Ship of Fools”

The Triathlon Pirates

They appear almost untrained, some are overweight. Their motto: anyone can finish an Ironman. The Pirate Ship of Fools are amazing, both motivated and relaxed at the same time.

If you want to do an Ironman, you need to thoroughly prepare yourself in training for 226km in 3 different sports. Rather too much, than too little. The crew of the PSOF see it differently – train as little as possible is the motto on the Pirate ship. “Yes” says Andy White, “it’s possibly true that we’re a little bit mad”.   Crazy enough to race an Ironman every year.    Crazy enough to drink a beer or two before.  But ambitious enough to get to the Finish every time.

“Who are we? “ Andrew Greenwood grins. “We’re a pack of crazy sports nutters, who don’t take everything too seriously”. He himself, like almost every other Pirate, is often to be found on the Runner’s World Internet forum. After half a dozen marathons he was looking for a different challenge, said Greenwood. Similar story from Andy White, who had also completed a number of marathons, then got injured and decided to start triathlon instead. He found the Pirates and plenty of advice – the support on the forum is great, says White.  2008 he debuted in IM France, and in Zurich finished in 12:41. The race wasn’t that hard, he said – when you take it too seriously you don’t get far. The basic Pirate idea is that sport should be fun. Even so, it won’t happen without some training. White swims 3 times a week for about an hour, also cycles and runs 3 times. He makes no secret of his ambition to do an IM under  11:30 and laughs “then I’ll quit and just cycle”.

Iron Godzilla, another Pirate, wrote on the forum that IM training changes  your life: I’ve got a load of obscene skintight lycra garments, my washing machine is full every day, and everyone thinks I’m mad – except those who I used to think were mad”.

And then there’s others like Debbie Stanley, who just “had” to become one of the yellow and black crew  after supporting her  husband through IMDE 2006. “It was clear I had to become a Pirate”. She’s aware she doesn’t look like your typical IM finisher. “I’m slow and not very good” said the marketing manager. “But it doesn’t matter – we have some really good Pirates who have raced in Hawaii, and then there’s others like me”. Fast or not, Debbie is also a proud IM finisher, crossing the line in Zurich in 15:44. Afterwards she was full of praise for the support from the other Pirates and their family and friends. Debbie had also followed the Pirate tradition of trying something new on race day – her bike shorts! Not a great idea – she was a bit sore after the race!

Everyone had a beer in their hand – Andrew Greenwood said, with a broad grin. “It’s hard to be a Pirate when we get together before a race and drink a beer or several, sometimes one too many”. But sociability is very important to the Pirates. Greenwood  –  “I had no idea what was waiting for me in Zurich until I went into my hotel and saw about 30 Pirates, all totally relaxed, each with a beer in hand. They didn’t look like really serious IM athletes.”  11:53 was Greenwood’s time in Zurich. He says he would love to go under 10 hours. “I know it’s a bit of a crazy dream”.

But not too crazy for a real Pirate.

Written by Daniela Zeman

1. log into paypal or set up an account, it's easy https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_home

2. select send money from the top menu tabs.

3. select personal payment of whatever to thepirateshipoffools@googlemail.comcouple of screen shots. fill out form as per below

4. confirmation screen, john will receive £5

5. hit “send money”

If people don't have a paypal account i guess money could be transferred directly to the account i think setting up paypal acc would be easier, or maybe i can invoice people via paypal, not sure if that actually makes your payment easier though. cheques/cash may be a possibility if someone else can handle them. thx

Alan and Nicky (Toucs and Happychap) are organising a mara in Sept, in a vineyard in Surrey, looks like there’ll be wine on the way round, and proceeds to charideee..

read more here on their site

Bacchus Marathon 12th September 2010, 11am Online entry here This fantastic new 2 lap event in the beautiful Surrey countryside offers an undulating, multi-terrain marathon with a difference. Those who do not wish to complete the full marathon have the option of doing the half. There will be a six and a half hour cut off for the full and a five and a half hour cut off for the half The focus of this event is FUN. The normal aspects of marathon will be there. There will be water stations every two miles and Powerbar will provide race nutrition. However, in addition to the expected you will also find a perfect opportunity to sample some of the best wines that local vineyard Denbies have to offer. Fancy dress, although not compulsory, is strongly encouraged. we are also hoping that many of the excellent local bands will come along to play while you run. The Route The route will start and finish at the marvellous Denbies Wine Estate near Dorking in Surrey. The route is undulating and multi-terrain with a bias towards off road. Using footpaths along the North Downs Way, you will be guarenteed breathtaking views over the Mole Valley, Ranmore Common and the North Downs. It is currently being ratified by the Surrey Wildlife Trust and the National Trust and will be published shortly. Race HQ As Englands Largest Vineyard, Denbies has been producing award winning wines since 1986. It is the first wine estate in the world to give visitors of all ages a unique and fascinating insight into all aspects of the wine producing process, all year round, with indoor and outdoor tours and tasting. The vineyards of Denbies Estate are situated on the North Downs with its famous chalky soil, in a protected valley of south facing slopes. A total 265 acres have been planted which is three times the size of any other in the United Kingdom and has met the promise of producing some of the finest sparkling and table wines in Europe through repeated certification in the annual International Wine Challenge. Race Entry Entry is online only and numbers are limited. So to avoid disappointment please enter early. Entry page here Registration Race packs will be sent out approximately two weeks before the event Marshalls As always, the success of any race is often determined by the selfless volunteering of many marshalls. If you would like to help then please contact us on 0845 263 8801 or e-mail events@runtolive.co.ukThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . The CharityProceeds of the Bacchus Marathon will go to CHASE children's charity. If you would like to raise money to celebrate your event and support the charity then justgiving.com can assist with this. You can down load instructions for setting up your own justgiving page here. If you wish to find out more about the great work CHASE do then the link to their website is here. CHASE Children's Charity is a Registered Charity No. 1042495.

via Bacchus Marathon.

The Challenge: Run 180 miles, with 18672 metres of vertical climb, in 8 days…. or put another way……

180 miles: equivalent to running from London to Manchester.

18672 metres: equivalent to climbing Mt Everest twice, or Ben Nevis 13 3/4 times.

8 days: similar to a week but a day longer.

Drew and Dave take on the Transalpine Race for Help for Heroes
http://www.justgiving.com/atomic-hamster

Read about the fun here:
http://atomic-hamsters-alpine-challenge.blogspot.com/

About Us: Crash Hamster, aka Drew. ATOM, aka Dave. Two Pirates who’ve dabbled in the dark art of Ironman, run a few marathons, and have decided to broaden their athletic inabilities by undertaking a joint venture.

The Challenge: Run 180 miles, with 18672 metres of vertical climb, in 8 days…. or put another way……

180 miles: equivalent to running from London to Manchester.

18672 metres: equivalent to climbing Mt Everest twice, or Ben Nevis 13 3/4 times.

8 days: similar to a week but a day longer.

So, the Hamster and I set about finding a means to accomplish this challenge, and we were surprised to find an event that matched our parameters: Gore-Tex Transalpine Run

The Charity: Help for Heroes. Supporting Our Armed Forces.

The Blog: Got a spare couple of minutes? Finding it hard to sleep? Have a look at our Blog, you never know, we may post something interesting (unlikely, but we might).

Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

via Pirate spotting – Runners World Forum Messages.

The Pirate Ship of Fools water bottles are here!

Order at the Pirate Bottle Shop

750ml bottles (ok, they hold a little less than 750mls if that’s really important, about 720ml) made by the same people who do the SIS bottles.  Priced for the Pirates at the cheapest possible price to shift them quickly from my garage to your bike.

* TWO BOTTLES @ £4.00 per bottle
* FOUR BOTTLES @ £3.25 per bottle
* EIGHT BOTTLES @ £2.87 per bottle

Coach Barlos writes: As discussed in the Outlaw thread, I have been contacted One Step Beyond a short while ago and suggested the possibility of a group of pirates manning an Outlaw bike feed station. The organiser is very keen for us to be involved and welcomed the pirated participation and support at the Vitruvian over the years.

As an added incentive/thank you, One Step Beyond are offering one of the volunteers a free place at the Etap-Du-Tour 2010.

This is a chance for a pirate to be among 9500 cyclists riding an all time classic tour stage. This years event should be especially special as it marks the 100th anniversary of the Tour de France first going to the Pyrénées

The place will be allocated to one of the volunteers i.e. name drawn out of a hat. Given the proximity to Roth and IM Germany, it maybe necessary for the draw to be done on a roll down basis just in case 1st out of the hat is not able to use it.

The place is entry only and does not include other costs such as transport and organisation and is worth mentioning that its a 181km Tour mountain stage.

Etap Du Tour 16th-18th July 2010
via Outlaw Volunteers – Runner’s World Forum Messages.

In its infancy but take a look at the PSOF pirate bazaar – request, buy, sell, swap your pirate kit and tri gear here – the pirate bazaar