Blenheim Palace and Slateman Triathlons 8th June

10 June 2025 - By Anita Grainger

Anita headed off to Blenheim Palace for the British National Sprint Triathlon Championships over the weekend, a little closer to home than recent races. It was a stunning setting with the course contained entirely in the palace grounds. Anita had a great swim in the lake despite a few fisty cuffs at the beginning and then has the long run uphill into transition which she actually enjoyed. Unfortunately, she lost time in T1 putting socks on which she doesn’t normally do but had a blister to protect. The bike leg was windy and undulating with technical descents which Anita loved and had great fun, not so on the uphill sections where she lost time and finished with a slower bike split than anticipated. The run was also undulating and had a great downhill section before the inevitable up. Great event and recommend it. That’s a wrap on part one of the tri season for Anita.

Splits and times below (Swim 750m/Bike 20km/Run 5.4km)

Split	Leg Time
Swim	00:13:48
T1	00:05:34
Bike	00:46:18
T2	00:02:50
Run	00:31:43
Total	01:40:10

Meanwhile the famous five headed off to Snowdonia in Wales for the Slateman Triathlon and Duathlons. And after finding out on Wednesday the bike had been changed from 30 miles to 36 miles they all knew it was a lot longer than a normal standard distance triathlon/duathlon and was going to be a long day!

Stuart Mills, Alex and Liz Stuckey took on the Standard distance race.  The water was a fresh 15, which made the swim challenging with the cold water. Both Stuart and Liz struggled with their breathing. Alex was first out of the swim closely followed by Stuart and Liz. Transition was interesting after the cold swim made putting on extra cycle layers interesting. Alex lost all his advantage from the swim and was last onto the bike course. The bike was a hilly challenging course. Then a heavy rain shower started as they were just starting the bike course. Lots of battles between various athletes made it fun. Stuart was first back to start the run followed by Alex then Liz not far behind. The run was up a slate hill then down some challenging descents so several sections were walk only. Liz set about catching Alex to catch him at 2 miles in.

Both Stuart and Liz came 2nd in their age categories.  Alex completed the series of triathlons in this part of wales – Slateman, Sandman and Snowman.

James Montgomery and Tony Wallen took on the duathlon which had a 5.8km run then took on the same course as the triathlon. Certainly not the easier option as the first run was challenging! It was James first multi-sport race for several years after his accident and he was happy to finish in one piece. Starting at the same time as the Tri meant they were on the bike and run course at the same time as the triathletes so it was nice to see each and support. James’s face said it all in T1 when the heavens opened on him!

Times

Stuart – 4:02:04

Swim 33:59

T1 4:27

Bike 2:13:21

T2 2:07

Run 1:08:10

 

Liz – 4:28:28

Swim 34:52

T1 4:00

Bike 2:24:18

T2 2:33

Run 1:22:45

 

Alex – 4:36:58

Swim 33:07

T1 6:24

Bike 2:21:59

T2 3:05

Run 1:31:23

 

Tony – 4:14:25

Run 35:09

T1 2:53

Bike 2:16:00

T2 3:15

Run 1:17:08

 

James – 5:18:32

Run 43:40

T1 8:40

Bike 2:35:05

T2 7:25

Run 1:42:42