An Event-full Month

The last few weeks have been a blur of events! …Starting with the Swashbucker on the first weekend of June (always makes me think of pirates!)…  Apparently those taking part are the “less serious” triathlete, or so I was told by one of them on the day.  This comment was made after I’d noticed several particularly hairy legs, not usually associated with your average triathlon.  But anyway, hairy legs aside, we were pleasantly busy throughout the morning from approx 9:30 am, totting up eight post-event massage treatments each in about three hours.  It was a great, sunny day; we were shielded within the safety of the marquee/cake tent, offering tired competitors a cool, calm place to relax and eat!

Last weekend saw the mammoth double competition of the Boskman and the Forestman.  The Forestman is the big ironman event, dubbed the hardest ironman in the UK, with its off-roading and troublesome hills; the Boskman is the shorter version of the Forestman and this year competitors had to push through some tough winds throughout both events.  The Forestman kicked off at an extremely early 5:30 am, and the shorter event started an hour later.  Treatments started at 11:30 am for the first finishers.  A quick and busy morning of Boskman participants was followed by a welcomed break where I was able to have a hand, wrist and arm treatment from fellow SMT, Phil from Interactive Massage (much appreciated!), in preparation for the next lot of athletes.  The afternoon continued with a plethora of Forestman finishers until the close of play at 8:30 pm.  The Forestman winner bounded in at a whopping 22 minutes before his opponents, but on the day everyone did incredibly well – and no hairy legs here!

Across the day, we met a fantastic range of people – including a few familiar faces – from all over the country; many with plans to compete in more triathlon/ironman events in the upcoming weeks and throughout the year – best of luck to all of you!

If you are interested in taking part in triathlons in the New Forest, check out www.racenewforest.co.uk for information about short, middle and long distance events in the area.  If you would like more information about post-event massage for any sport, please feel free to contact me at lstherapyinfo@gmail.com where I’ll be happy to answer your questions.

Race information

Swashbuckler

Swim 1.9km, Cycle 80km, Run 22 km

Boskman

Swim 2.6km, Cycle 120km, Run 20km

Forestman

Swim 3.8km, Cycle 180 km, Run 42.2km