PACTRAC man raced with an all-time GB triathlon great

Steve Hope (left) with Alistair Brownlee.

Double Olympic triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee was in the field and finished a creditable third following recent ankle surgery.

Amd Hope also performed well to finish sixth in his age group to qualify for the Challenge World Championships in Samorin, Slovakia in May next year.

The last PACTRACer to compete in Samorin was Roger Canham who became an age group World Champion in 2019.

Hope completed a 1,900m sea swim. a 56-mile bike and a 13.1 mile run in temperatures over 30 degrees in a time of 5:50:06.

The bike ride included a climb into the mountains as well as some faster sections later on.

The run involved four laps of an undulating course through the town centre and along the beach front in the sweltering conditions.

Another PACTRAC athlete Becs Burge raced in the World Ironman Championships in Hawaii and performed well to finish 187th in her age group against the world’s best.

It is tough to qualify for the Ironman World Championships and even tougher once there, with the wind and heat sapping your energy throughout.

Burge swam the 2.4 mile non-wetsuit ocean swim in 1:27:46 and after a quick transition, had a solid bike section averaging 18.38 mph for the 112 miles.

She then had to run a full 26.2 mile marathon in the heat, and finished in a superb time of 12:39:38 coming just over half way in the 2,000+ field.