Steyning AC were out in force again over the last 2 weekends proving that we can be as capable in the water as we are on land !
Queenford Relays
Last weekend 12 brave souls took part in the last open water event of the season, travelling to Queenford Lakes near Oxford to take part in a 4 x 1k relay lake swim. With teams from across the region, this was a fast and exciting event as our teams battled each other for places.
Results overall for the relay were:
- Steyning Sharks – 14th overall – 7th in category (Lydia, Simon T, Sarah, Andy)
- Steyning Sticklebacks – 17th overall – 2nd in category (no-one else needs to know there were only 2 teams in this category !) (Lawrence, Graham, Simon J, Paul)
- Steyning Stingrays – 18th overall – 10th in category (George, Lian, Hannah, Brian)
Individual times for a lap of the lake (probably slightly shorter than 1k) were as follows:
| Split | Name | Stage | Position for stage |
| 00:12:47 | Lawrence | 1st | 11th |
| 00:13:10 | George | 1st | 16th |
| 00:13:21 | Lydia | 1st | 17th |
| 00:13:33 | Simon T | 2nd | 3rd |
| 00:14:38 | Graham | 2nd | 13th |
| 00:16:10 | Lian | 2nd | 19th |
| 00:14:36 | Sarah | 3rd | 12th |
| 00:15:50 | Simon J | 3rd | 19th |
| 00:16:03 | Hannah | 3rd | 21st |
| 00:13:46 | Brian | 4th | 16th |
| 00:13:59 | Andy | 4th | 18th |
| 00:14:51 | Paul | 4th | 21st |
If that was not enough we then got to field 2 teams in the 1k 4-up swim. Swimming as a group in timetrial format over the 1k course the idea was to share the workload and use all those drafting skills. With 30 seconds between our teams starting it was touch and go as to who would end up victorious. At the end there was one second in it with “the Weeds” winning.
| Steyning Sea Weeds | 00:14:10 | Lydia, Sarah, Simon, Graham | |||
| Steyning Sea Slugs | 00:14:11 | Paul, Brian, Andy, Lawrence | |||
Despite the rain and cool temperatures this was a great event, with a fun format. Look out for next year when we will consider a local event in a similar format.
Thanks to all the team who turned up to enjoy the fun !
Cornwall Festival of Sport
A few weeks back Pauls Maggs and Lawrence Naested travelled to Marazion near Penzance to take part in the Festival of Sport. With events running all weekend including half-iron man triathlon, 150k cycle sportives, beach runs and open water swims the atmosphere and location were amazing.
Although originally entered for the 10k open water swim Paul opted for the 3k due to recent sickness, and I was up for the 10k.
If you have ever been to St.Michaels Mount you will be aware of the stunning scenery. However to be able to stand on the causeway as the tide came in and then slip in the water ready for the start was truly memorable.
Due to safety reasons they started the 3k and 10k at the same time, so Paul and myself were off together following the same route to start with, and, what a route ! Circling St Michaels Mount out into the deep water we had lots of fun playing spot the buoy, dodging the other 200 swimmers in the event.
Paul and I then parted company in the middle of the bay, as the 10k swimmers started their 5 laps of a laid out rectangle. Paul headed into the beach to finish his 3k, while I took advantage of the floating feed stations for my next 2+ hours of swimming.
The results ended up as:
- Paul – 3k swim – placed 32nd out of 115 in a time of 52m 36s
- Lawrence – 10k swim – placed 16th out of 99 in a time of 2hours 58m 38s
However, while the times show the efforts put in, the opportunity to take part in such an inspirational swim will stay with us for a long time.
