Stage one

As we waited on the Whitehaven quay the wind was blowing a gale and it was clear there was no way the kayaking would be going ahead and sure enough the organisers announced that we would start with a run around the headland in place of the paddle. We therefore had a nice 12km or so run along the sea cliffs down to St Bees.

At 10am the countdown ended and 100 or so racers dashed off across the quay heading for the eest coast. Fortunately someone had had the foresight to work out how we actually got on to the coast trail and led us up a set of sets and out to the path.

The trail to St Bees runs right along the cliff edge so had great views out to the crashing sea whcih confirmed that we really did want to be out there.

The field soon spread out with everyone setting their own pace on the first of the many legs, with me toddling along somewhere around the middle.

I was slightly concerned that my Heart Rate (166 average) was way above what I was aiming for but short of slowing right down there wasn't much to be done so I plugged on.

Soon enough St Bees loomed into view and we dropped down off the cliffs for a dash to the car park for our first change on to the bike.

I was greeted by a fully prepared bike and was on my way in short order to head out on to stage 2.