21/07/2026
Excitement had been building ahead of the Bedford Relays for sometime. The Team Manager had done incredible work rallying the teams, organising payments and assigning team names. The 19th July finally arrived with the 4 Northants Triathlon teams ready and raring to go:
Live and Let NTri: Anand, Theo and Alex
NTri-ing their best: Jonny, Keith and Pete
NTri and stop us: Tim, Louisa and Paul
NTri a little tenderness: Richard, Rachel and Matthew
Sunday was slightly breezier than many may have hoped but we all arrived in high spirits and set up the NTri 'base camp' complete with gazebo, NTri flags and a smattering of camp chairs. Teams began fuelling up, donning wet suits and talking change over tactics. The format of the event gave plenty of time for recovery as teammates completed each segment while other rested also meant there was ample opportunity for support and encouragement.
Jonny, Tim, Anand and Richard were the first into the water for the 750m swim. Water conditions were delightful but all opted for wetsuits for the added bouyancy. Keith, Louisa, Theo and Rachel were second, sprinting out of transition and down the slightly treacherous slope into the water before finally handing over to Pete, Paul, Alex and Matthew to complete the swim sections.
Transitions were a mixed bag of smooth and speedy or panicked and frantic as the timing chip baton was passed from ankle to ankle but they did improve as teams progressed through the stages. In the later rounds many opted to be waiting on bended knee looking like they were about to propose as their flagging colleague arrived for the change over. As the day progressed the weather warmed up making fluid intake critical to stay on peak condition. Tim could be seen going through elaborate stretching routines while Pete's ploy was to attempt to force feed everyone custard creams (or as he called it 'Premium carb-based nutrition').
The bike course was a mixture of climbs and fast flats but the flatter section was definitely on the way back with the wind at our backs as well. Each returning teammate was greeted with a raw of support from the waiting NTri athletes. Anand's changeover calls as he arrive back to transition gave ample warning of his arrival. Everyone was putting in amazing performances with great enthusiasm. We entered the run stage as the sun really came out to play and the dry dusty field we ran round felt like the Sahara. For a brief while there was concern that Stav's misadventure from the 2025 edition had been repeated when Matthew didn't arrive back as expected but he did eventually turn up to sent Richard out on the run. His summary being 'that was sh*t'. His returned calmed the nerves of teammate and mum, Rachel, who for a brief window swapped her characteristic racing smile for a furrowed brow.
It was fantastic to see all teams crossing the line together as we finished - race organisers encouraged athlete 1 and 2 to join athlete 3 for that moment and we all took that opportunity. This was the final reckoning:
NTri-ing their best: 4:05:50
NTri and stop us: 4:50:19
Live and Let NTri: 4:51:04
NTri a little tenderness: 5:09:12
Anand, Theo and Alex left wondering whether one more or one less custard cream might have been the difference to overtake Tim, Louisa and Paul. A great final run from Alex wasn't enough to chase down Paul as he gamely held on to the lead. Run training on Thursdays maybe paying off?
All in all, a TERRIFIC team effort at a fantastic event from GoBeyond. Great to have so many together supporting each other. Team photographer Mel was in her element, snapping away to provide us all with some fantastic race photos and even some deliciously moist vegan muffins at the end!
Well done to everyone - next event on the calendar is Bedford Olympic on the 16th August. Certainly looking forward to another crack the relays next year where maybe we can entice a 5th or 6th team into the action!
