Irish Champion of Champions 2009

Saturday June 20st-
The race began at 9:30 am at the Speckle Door 5k down the coast. We started are swim up the coast to Sandycove and then 2 laps around the Island to make the first leg of the race a little over 5 miles. We were swimming straight into the wind and chop which made it so I had to work harder to cover the same distance. From the start I took a very strong lead and was in front of everyone but I took a line that was around 600-700 meters off the coast while most people were 200 meters away. By the time I got to the back of the Island to start my first lap I was lost and not sure where I was supposed to turn so I had to stop and waive down a boat to ask them, by that point Ned Denison the race organizer had passed me. On are first lap around the Island I caught back up to him and passed him taking my lead again. I finished with over a 50m lead in a time of 2:04.59 for 5 miles. Followed by Ned Denison (2) and Julieann Galloway (3).

At 2pm we started the 3mile leg of the race. My arms were sore from the first part of the race which made it difficult to keep up a high tempo. Julieann and I were swimming stroke for stroke until she took off the last 800 meters and I fell off. I decided not to push myself because I already had over a 1 minute lead on her from the first race and we still had one more race to go. Julieann finished 22 seconds in front of me and we were almost 6 minutes in front of 3rd place for that race.

At 5pm after a long day of racing and waiting we finally started the last part of the race, a 1 mile sprint. Julieann and I new it would be a close race and that I had a slight lead on her from the 5 mile race. It turns out I had a 42 second lead on her but we did not know that at the time. We all took off and again I took the lead from the very start because in a 1 mile race it can be very close and I wanted to have clean water to swim in and be able to change my line with out anyone in my way. I finished the 1 mile race in 21 minutes 32 seconds followed by Julieann with a time of 22 minutes 21 seconds.

Top 5 finishers
First place over-all and First place men's- Nicholas Caine, Time- 3:30.30
2nd place over-all and First place female- Julieann Galloway, Time- 3:32.01
3rd place- Ned Denison, Time- 3:38.51
4th place- Owen O'Keefe, Time- 3:48.49
5th place- Sylvain Estadieu, Time- 3:49.50

Due to currents and other factors the 9 mile race was probably 10 miles instead