Hello Oxford Tri Family
I hope that this reaches you all well and please don’t panic there will be no emojis in this newsletter. The gigantic emojis of last week was definitely not what I expected my first faux pas as club chair to be, but hopefully a memorable introduction.
It has been an exciting week for the club. Sessions continue to fill up with many new, regular or returning faces. The club published its 2023 Club Championships. Both our men and women raced on home turf (or should I say mud) in the XC league, producing some of our best results of the season. And that’s not including the scrumptious lunch afterwards. Finally, it was great to see and meet members trying on and buying Oxford Tri kit ahead of what looks to be a cracking year of sporting activities.
On Monday night we had our first committee meeting of the year, where my highlight was a brief moment at the start where we all shared a personal highlight from the past 6 months. It should come as no surprise that these were mostly triathlon related but what struck me most was the smiles and togetherness as we shared in this moment of celebration. This made me think about something I was listening to last week where they were talking about new year’s resolutions and this phrase in particular stuck in my head.
“We do the things we love not because we need to, but because we get to”.
So, as you go about your life, work or training this week may I encourage you to think about your sporting highlight of the past 6 months and if possible, why not ask someone about there’s. Considering what has happened in the world recently, I feel we are incredibly fortunate to be able to Swim, Bike, Run in all of its forms together with our fellow Oxford Tri Family.
God Bless
Craig
Oxfordshire Cross Country League
By Kelly
Round three of the XC League saw 835 athletes competing at Horspath on 8th January.
Age group races ranged from Under 9s to a combined Under 20s, Seniors and Veterans category.
21 Oxford Tri members took part on an 8km course and Craig Holmes kindly volunteered as a marshal.
The course comprised two laps; starting close to the running track, up to and across Shotover Plain and down again – with a tail piece running through Brasenose Wood.
There was mud, hills, more mud, rain, a little stream to wash your shoes in and then, even more mud. This was followed by back-slapping and brownies in the club tent and (thanks to Zara Hannoun) lunch at the Victoria Arms – what’s not to like?
Oxford Tri Ladies A Team is doing well in Division 2; finishing 3rd, 2nd and 4th in the first three races ….. Oxford Tri’s gentlemen are presently running for the fun of it!
In the more important Club Championship the ladies are in the top 4 places; with Catherine Daw setting the pace. Alex Thorley is the best placed gentleman. Kelly Lehmann brings up the rear of each race – sacrificing his shot at the title to make sure all of our runners finish safely.
With 2 rounds left, one in the Cotswolds and one at Henley, there is still time to join in – the next entry cut-off is 27th January. In order to confirm your place at the event you will need to purchase an English Athletics Membership and then pay for the remaining races, links below.
EA Membership – https://www.oxfordtri.uk/product/england-athletics-membership-2022-2023/
Entry Fee – https://www.oxfordtri.uk/product/oxford-tri-occl-2022-2023/
Club Championships
Our fantastic Club Captain Sarah has been hard at work finalising our 2023 Club Championships for the year. Although not compulsory these are races which we like to try and prioritise resulting in plenty of Oxford blue on the starting line. Oh yes!! Did I mention that there are prizes up for grabs too?? Along with some great discounts to enter these events. Check out the 2023 line-up on our website including all the information that you need to take part – https://www.oxfordtri.uk/club-championships/?fbclid=IwAR11CsdRH4mJt-hNyzjep1GHEQgGzDnAXU92043K12IX9oD1Zmte_RT44Bc
Trial Memberships
As a committee we have decided that we are going to expand on our current trial period for prospective new members by 100%. Yes, you did read that right. We believe that as a club we have so much to offer and that it’s only fair that prospective members get a chance to experience a number of our sessions whilst getting to know some of you, our awesome Oxford Tri Family. This means that anyone who does sign up for a trial membership will be able to access a maximum of 4 sessions over a 31-day period. This will not include our open water swim sessions and will there be limited to 4 trialists for our busier swims.
Perhaps you have a friend, family member or colleague who’s mentioned that they are looking to get fitter this year or would like to do one of those triathlon things. Or possibly that person that said they could do an Ironman after one too many beverages of the alcoholic kind at the Christmas party. Why not ask them if they fancy giving it a tri this year? Or forwarding on this email to them so that they can get a glimpse of all the great things going on within the club. Go on, what’s the worst that can happen?
If you do find anyone that is interested please encourage them to get in touch either via the Club Facebook page or Club Website
Training Calendar
See the official calendar for full info and sign up links.
Saturday 14th January: Oxford Tri does Horspath Parkrun @ 09:00
Monday 16th January: Turbo from Home @ 19:00
Monday 16th January: Coached Swim – Abingdon @ 20:30
Tuesday 17th January: Coached Spin Bike Session – Oxnard @ 18:30
Tuesday 17th January: Member Lead Social Run – Headington Hill @ 19:00
Tuesday 17th January: Coached Swim – Thame @ 20:00
Wednesday 18th January: Coached Swim – Radley Pool @ 19:30
Thursday 19th January: Track Horspath Athletic Grounds @ 19:00
Friday 20th January: Strength and Conditioning at Home @ 07:15
Friday 20th January: Coached Swim Lanes Kidlington Pool @ 19:00