21/05/2026
Norry Passway competed in the WTCS Sprint Triathlon qualifier in Nottingham on Saturday 16 May.
Kathy Kirkwood and Roger McGill competed in the Outlaw 70.3 the next day.
Here is Norry's report...
I picked this race as it was the most convenient of the three qualification races for the WTCS Sprint Triathlon Finals in Hamburg 2027. Nottingham is not really very convenient at all to be honest, but we made a wee holiday of it and enjoyed the change.
I was able to register the evening before and get all the stickers, swim cap, timing chip etc, and to have a recce of the bike course, which was really handy as I had wondered what it would be like.
I was lucky to be placed in Wave 3, which would start at 12:30. This meant a fairly leisurely start to the day, with the only real concern being whether to have “lunch” before the start (a banana and honey roll). The weather was fair, with a bit of a breeze and forecast for showers after the race would be over, so pretty good really.
The swim was Open Water with a deep water start, treading water. Entry to the water was from a pier and so you had to jump, dive or lower yourself in - not much chance for the recommended gradual temperature acclimatisation! And the water was “chilly”! A straightforward swim: out, turn left, short swim along, and swim back again to a ramped mat exit. I tried to stick on the hips or feet of faster swimmers but eventually found myself swimming solo as they got away from me. On the return leg I noticed that there were lots of people in front of me and, forgetting that there were younger age categories in my wave too, worried that my qualification chances were shot. This played with my head a lot, however I ploughed on the best I could and managed to start looking ahead to the bike and run, where I expected to make up a few places.
While racking for T1 I had carefully spotted that my bike was opposite the inflatable swim entry archway and so in T1 I ran towards that place, but “the best laid schemes o’ mice and men gang aft agley” and my careful planning came to nought as the organisers had deflated the archway and removed it whilst we were swimming! I was only confused for a few seconds, and found my bike quite quickly. I started to remove my bike from the rack before putting my helmet on, but realised my mistake quickly and re-racked the bike, donned my helmet, grabbed the bike and ran out to the bike start. There was an official nearby, but he either didn’t see my mistake, or let it slide as I had corrected my mistake very quickly. Phew!
I did my usual “scoot mount” onto the bike, which went well, and off I went. The bike course was four laps round the rowing lake - fast and flat with two long straights and two short sections. The outward long section was with the wind and the return was against it. My power meter pedals failed to reconnect to my bike computer and so I had to judge my effort on the bike leg on RPE and HR (if I recall correctly). It was the fastest bike leg I have done for a Sprint Triathlon, so all was good. The new race tyres worked well and I had a cushioned ride over some slightly uneven surfaces. During the bike recce the previous night I had to dodge a pair of deer as they scampered across the track, but I was confident that wouldn’t happen in the race (no sign of them on race day, thankfully). I did have to take care as a pair of Canada Geese ran across the track shepherding their young gosling, but I passed them without incident!
T2 went smoothly and then onto the run, which was one lap round the boating lake in the opposite direction to the bike leg. I managed to pass a few runners, which was good for my morale, and I pushed hard to try to maintain my pace against the wind on the homeward straight. Onto the finishing carpet, I could hear the commentator announce to the spectators that I was “an amazing human being” (that was nice), and Tracey shouting “keep running, keep running” (which I did!).
Looking around the finishers who had congregated at the finish line ahead of me I started counting how many there were and trying to work out where I might be placed, thinking perhaps I might manage a “roll down” place rather than a qualification place. “Imagine my surprise” when I looked up the results online and found that I was 2nd in my category. I was astounded and really delighted, as I had still been harbouring a misconception about the ages within my wave.
The winner in my age category is not interested in qualification for Hamburg, so I thought initially that would make me first place to qualify (“Q1”), but I later realised there are a couple of people in the younger age group (55-59) who will be in my age category (60-64) in 2027 (they must be 59 just now) who were faster than me and so I anticipate qualifying in third place (“Q3”).
There was no podium ceremony for the Sprint event and instead awards were sent in the post after the event, which was a slight disappointment on the day, but on the plus side it meant we could get back to our accommodation in time to watch Tracey’s beloved Man City in the FA Cup Final on the TV whilst I recovered.
The “Outlaw” team did a great job of setting up the course, registration was very smooth and all the marshalls were very friendly and helpful. Overall, I would recommend the event, but it is a fair trek from home, so perhaps only if it has meaning for you - such as qualification for WTCS.
