November has been a pretty quiet month in terms of racing, but a busy month of training, but worthwhile as I've seen some huge improvements in my splits which has given me a huge boost of confidence and definitely upped my morale.
However, this last week I had two races, one of was the British Modern Biathlon Championships, which I will get on next, but first a Cross Country race at Harrow School. A really tough course in their huge school grounds which made me think this was not going to be easy. And it wasn't. With boys potentially almost two years older and from schools such as Harrow, Eton, Westminster, St Edwards and St Albans the field was looking strong. The course was two laps of about 3.5 km each on various terrain. However, most of it was in ankle deep wet grass with a layer of water at the bottom just to keep your toes nicely refreshed. The little grip given in the muddy fields added to the toughness of this course and the obstacle of the stream made for an interesting leap of faith. Nevertheless I set off hard to get space and found myself in third place. About halfway through the lap I knew the pace was too high and dropped back to the group behind. I managed to stick with this group for the rest of the way round finding myself continuously shifting around the top 10. Nearing the finish I upped the pace through a final woodland bit and up the last hill, knowing it was then downhill to the finish. Crossing the line in 9th place out of 55 U19's I was extremely pleased and being the first home from my school added to my joy! Think I'm getting the hang of this off-road cross country racing now!
Now to a slightly more important race; the British Modern Biathlon Championships which I mentioned in my last blog. The race was in Solihull, Birmingham, and consisted of a 200m swim with about an hours break before a 1600m track run. On arrival the conditions were very wet and windy so I knew the run was going to be a challenge. But first the swim. This being me weaker of the two disciplines I had to give it all. Hoping that my bright trunks would distract the other competitors, the gun went and I went for it. Finishing with a time of 2:24 I was pretty pretty pleased as it was faster than my last time by 4 seconds and therefore gained some extra points, 1052 to be exact. After the swim I was in 7th place and knew I had to make up quite a bit of ground to improve my position. I knew I was probably the strongest runner in the field and so I warmed up well bracing myself for the cold and wet conditions. Luckily for us the rain started just as we got going and it got harder and harder throughout the race! To my surprise, despite the atrocious conditions, I finished with a PB of 4:42! How I did that I am not quite sure. This gave me the fastest run of the day by quite some distance and gave me the confidence I would move up the rankings. Sure enough when the final results were published I had 1262 points with a total of 2314 points securing me 4th in Britain for the U19's! A result I was not expecting being ranked 9th going in to the competition! I'm absolutely over the moon!
A huge congratulations to my schoolmates who were up in Birmingham competing as well, Lois Wyatt and Ollie Coles, who both finished 5th in the U19's! The next Biathlon will be sometime in early 2016 which will be the British Schools Biathlon Championships where hopefully I can make more improvements.
December is a quiet month with no races just another good month of solid training and a short holiday in Belgium before Christmas. Oh! and how could I forget the intense pressure of A levels too, its just great! What's even better is the amazing support I have from Pedal Potential! A huge thank you to them for sponsoring me this year and in the future! Thank you to everyone else who supports me to help me achieve my goals! I couldn't do it on my own!
Until the next time...
​Sam

Since my last blog, I have had a really nice rest enjoying the off-season, settling into my new school and meeting new people. It's been great and I've made some amazing new friends, but now training must begin again and I must start working towards my 2016 goals.
Despite the rest, I have had some competitions, including something I've never done before, a Modern Biathlon. The race I had been entered for was through my new school and was the Eastern region Modern Biathlon Championships. A Modern Biathlon for U19 year olds consists of a 1600m run followed by a 200m swim, but with around 2 hours break in between. The run was my strong point for sure and having this first was a real benefit as I could be as fresh as possible and gain maximum points. A time of 4:49 put me in the lead with 1229 points.​ This gave me a 182 point lead, but second place was a student also from my school and I knew he was a much better swimmer than me. Being used to a violent swim with hardly any space between each other and buoys to turn around, racing in a pool with maximum space and walls to turn seemed very weird to me, but nevertheless I finished with a time of 2:28 and gained a further 1014 points to finish overall with 2243 points, 28 points ahead of second place. My first Modern Biathlon ending in a win and qualifying me for the National Modern Biathlon Championships! The overall rankings placing me 9th in Britain for U19's! Not bad at all. 
Another new experience for me was completing a 40km TTT. This team time trial was held near Bishops Stortford and was a two man team time trial. Me and my partner Brett Savidge, along with other members from RGActive Essex, went along to give our first time trial a go. It was an undulating course with nothing too steep. We worked hard together and finished with a time of 1:06. It was a great event and experience, something I would do again for sure! 
Sunday the 18th October was RGActive's Club Hill Climb Championships of which a few photos are below. Two very hard hills on the bike, along with two reps up a very steep off road hill made for a challenging morning of racing. With a gradient of up to 18% Mott Street definitely is a killer on the bike and makes for a tough ascent. A great hill to train on if you're around Epping. 
Finally on Thursday 22nd October I competed in the my first cross country race of the season, the Havering championships. Competing in the Senior Boys I was delighted to finish 2nd in Havering. The race was 5.5km off road on rough terrain and was a tough run with a fast and hectic start which narrowed quickly. After settling into a good tempo I found my self pulling away from those behind me, but just couldn't close the gap on first. Nevertheless it was great fun with a great result and I can't wait for the next cross country run! 
Time now to look at next years race calendar, which is looking to be very busy. I have set a main target to qualify for the World Championships in Cozumel in September, so qualifying for that will be the priority, with the British Super Series making up most of the of the main races.
Finally a huge thank you to Pedal Potential for their continued support throughout the year helping me to achieve my goals! Your support is invaluable! 
In the next few weeks I don't have much racing planned, just a lot of winter training and studying, but I'm sure there will be some events that pop-up through school that I will let you know about in my next blog. See you guys soon!

Name: British Super Series Finale, U20's Festival
Date: Sunday 6th September 2015
Venue: Mallory Park Racing Circuit, Leicester, England
Distances: Swim: 750m, Bike: 20km, Run: 5km 

The final race of the year was the also the final race of the British Super Series. It was the last test to see how I faired against the best in Britain again. On the bike there were 7 laps of 2.9km each which was draft legal. Draft legal rules mean that if you were to get lapped you would be pulled off the course and this, for me, was a real possibility. The swim was also two laps in a rather shallow lake and the run was 4 laps. In the familiarisation the day before the water was cold and we found that the bike had added technical features including some extra chicanes and a dead turn or two, which slowed the course down. This was a relief to me for sure.  
Entering the water, it was definitely warmer than the day before. I placed myself in the mix with everyone else and took the inside line on every buoy. This meant the shortest route, however it did mean I took a few kicks to the stomach and a few tugs to the feet. I came out of the water and was told I was 1:30min behind the leaders. I was very happy with the swim and set off on the bike to get into a group. 
Unfortunately I discovered that there weren't very many groups on the road. I was picking off people either on their own or with one other person but they were not racing at my pace. I finally reached a group of three on my third lap and started working with them, however one them shouted to us 'we are going to get lapped'. I was not going to let this happen so I accelerated away from them and set off to catch more people. I felt very strong, the strongest on the bike all season, dropping people on the small climb and on the descent. I finally found someone who was willing to work with me and we were together for about two laps. I came to the bell and found out that most of the people I had overtaken behind me had been lapped, including the guy who said he would. My effort had paid off and I was still in the race dismounting with three others who we had caught.
I set off on the run feeling a bit tired after such a hard effort on the bike. The three others I had entered T2 with got ahead of me straight away, but after a lap, I felt my legs get into running mode and upped the pace to try to catch them again. In the final lap I saw two people within my range and I was determined to catch them. I caught one half way round and had a sprint finish with the second person and got them to take 31st place. Leaving absolutely everything on the circuit I was incredibly happy to have finished and in a position where I can add some more points to my ranking in the British Super Series. 
Looking back at the race I think I pulled it out of the bag for sure. Beating people that are normally further ahead I was so happy. The hill climbing training in Spain earlier in the summer definitely had an impact and helped me on the bike course.  I must thank Pedal Potential for supporting me. They are a great company giving financial support to young athletes in their chosen sport and have been a great help. Thank you so much!
As I said, this was the final race of the season. I will now have a few weeks off to rest, relax and recover and look back at my season and evaluate it. I shall sit down and see what options are best for me and then get stuck into a long winters training ahead. I'm definitely looking forward to it and seeing what I will be able to do next year. 

Race Times
Swim: 9:30mins
T1: 00:55mins
Bike: 36.21mins
T2: 00:27mins
Run: 18:51mins
Total: 1:06:04hrs

Name: Thorpe Triathlon
Date: Sunday 16th August 2015
Venue: Thorpe Park Water Ski Centre, Thorpe, England
Distances: Swim: 750m, Bike: 20km, Run: 5km 

My first race after returning from holiday a week ago. We did a lot of cycling and running, but not much swimming so I was keen to see where my swimming was at. I had never done the Thorpe Triathlon, but team mates from RG Active said it was a good race having done it last year. It was also well placed in the calendar, three weeks before my final race of the season.
The course was fast. A straight forward swim, short transition and flat bike and run. The swim was in a nice warm 21C lake and a deep water start. The bike was on quiet roads being early in the morning, however a few unplanned roadworks meant we had to dismount and run past them. A set of traffic lights could also play a big part, however if you were stopped at them, you would get that time taken off your overall time. The run course was on a mixture of concrete and a trail path but due to the recent rain, it was a bit muddy and slippery in places. 
I placed myself well at the swim start aiming for the straightest possible line to the first buoy. Three men immediately set off creating a large lead on the rest of the field, finishing almost a minute ahead of everyone else. I managed to get myself clear water in fourth and kept this position all the way round. As this was the discipline I had not done much of, I was very pleased to come out in a time of 11:34, considering I had to struggle through a large amount of weeds in the last 100metres. My transition was brilliant, one of my fastest ever and recorded the fastest T1 on the day. 
I mounted the bike smoothly and set off on the 20km bike. Fifth place out of the water overtook me in the first couple of kilometres, but I managed to keep with him for quite a while. I was overtaken and dropped to 6th place around 13km into the bike and then got stopped at the traffic lights loosing sight of 4th and 5th. Knowing my abilities on the run I was confident with these extra couple of seconds I would be able to make up a few places. 
A nice flat run into T2 and a fast dismount gave me a good transition and I set out on to the final 5km run. After the first 1.5km I caught sight of the next man and upped the pace. The final 2km included an out and back giving me a chance to see how far away my rivals were. To my surprise I saw 3rd, 4th and 5th all within 25m of each other and just ahead of me. I upped the pace again thinking about the possibility of 3rd overall. In the final 500m I managed to overtake 4th and 5th finishing six seconds behind 3rd, however I knew time had to be deducted from my finish time due to stopping at the traffic lights on the bike. 
Results published and 3rd place was confirmed, 2nd in U30 and 1st Junior. This training race couldn't have gone better as I also recorded a time of 18:33, the second fastest run split. I would definitely consider doing this race again, it was well organised and a great course. Next up is the U20's Festival on the 6th September at Mallory Park. This will be the final race in the British Junior Super Series. 

Race Times
Swim: 11:34mins
T1: 00:29mins
Bike: 34.31mins
T2: 00:26mins
Run: 18:33mins
Total: 1:05:24hrs

Name: Mallory Park, Junior Talent Event
Date: Saturday 18th July 2015
Venue: Mallory Park, Leicestershire, England
Distances: Swim: 400m, Bike: 10km, Run: 2.5km 

My first SuperSprint for a long time and it lived up to how I imagined it - fast and furious. It was an interesting course and at first I wasn't really pleased about it. A swim in a shallow lake and 5 laps on the bike of 2km each. A bit short I thought, however the run course looked good. 
Arriving on the at the Race Circuit it was pretty windy. Luckily on the main straights however it was a crosswind which I preferred. Racking was simple as I didn't have to go through the process of restricting my gears thankfully. Once racked it was back to the car to keep warm out of the winds and have one of the most delicious energy bars by Zipvit. 
After 15 minutes or so it was time to do my final warm up and get my wetsuit on ready for the race. Many of the field decided to swim without a wetsuit seeing as the temperature was 20C, but if its optional I will always wear a wetsuit even if it is only 400m. However, even though the water was 'clean' it was shallow. You could stand all the way around and much of the time was about 1.5m deep all the way round, making it impossible to see anything, not the bottom or even a pair of feet just in front of you. But I had a good swim, with a time of 5:12, coming out only about 30secs behind the leader. 
Transition was as smooth as usual, getting the wetsuit off quickly and mounting the bike with ease. I had trouble putting my left shoe in, making me think I missed the second group on the road. I managed to get into a group of 3 and we worked well together, catching people and lapping a few. We dropped one at one point, but quickly caught another and worked all the way round keeping a good speed up around the whole course. There was a small hill in the lap which made us work harder with the downhill into the wind making that part surprisingly hard. We lost a bit more time on the group ahead and the leaders as they had a larger group than us and probably some stronger riders. I came in with a bike split of 16:43, my fastest ever 10km bike split for sure.  But I knew in my group I had to at least beat them on the run. Being my strongest discipline I was confident I would.
Coming off the bike, my legs felt good. Probably the best they ever had done and I set off to try to at least catch one from the group ahead. Unfortunately they were just a bit too far ahead, but I did put a 40 second into one person in my group and over 2 minutes into the other on the 2.5km run course. Finishing in 32:16 it was a PB in the SuperSprint distance for by well over 2 minutes and definitely the fastest splits I have ever had. 
Overall it was a good race and I personally had a very good race too. I was very happy to finish 12th and see the splits I had produced. The U20's Festival will be held at this venue in early September, so it was a good race to see the venue in preparation to this race. 
Now it's time for a few days recovery and holiday before getting back into the next block of training. 

Race Times
Swim: 5:12mins
T1: 0:36mins
Bike: 16:43mins
T2: 0:26mins
Run: 9:20mins
Total: 32:16mins

Name: 2015 European Triathlon Age-Group Championships
Date: Friday 10th July 2015
Venue: Geneva, Switzerland
Distances: Swim: 750m, Bike: 20.4KM, Run: 5KM

My first outing at a European Championships was an experience I shall never forget. As one of the youngest in my age group I was not expecting much and was really out there to gain experience and see how I do against others in Europe. The drive there was long only because of the delays at Folkestone, but after that it was a lovely drive. 
After arriving I went and rode the bike course. It was a lovely course, smooth roads, newly resurfaced with a small, steep hill in it which suited me perfectly. The downhill section afterwards was very fast and long which also I knew I would enjoy. 
On race day I felt ready, I felt like I'd had a very good nights sleep and felt like I just wanted to get in the water. It was very warm, probably near 30C even at the time of the race of 11am. Bike and helmets were racked the night before so completing transition set-up took little time. 
Wetsuits were optional, with a few people deciding to go without a wetsuit. For me when a wetsuit is optional, its really compulsory. The additional buoyancy is much needed and will be a big advantage over the time saved by not having to take it off. Lake Geneva was very clear, you could see the bottom all the way round the swim course, but it was very choppy. Even in a lake there was a very noticeable flow heading into our faces for the majority of the swim. Nevertheless I put in one of the best swims ever coming out in the top 15 in my age group. 
Transitoion was smooth as always, probably my best discipline in triathlon. The bike was tough and warm. People on time trial bikes were noticeably struggling on the hill which reached at least 10% and averaged 7% for around 1km. The bike was a 3 lap course and flew by. Suddenly I was on the final hill, giving it everything knowing afterwards it was almost all downhill to the second traction and that my best sport of the three was about to come.
Going on to the run there was a wall of noise with people cheering 'Go GB!' for the first 500m constantly. It was amazing. The first 1km was uphill slightly but then went into the park and out of the sun briefly. The last Km of the run was essentially the home straight, coming of the laps and down along the waterfront all the way past transition down to the finish. I caught a number of people on the laps of the run, but saved a bit for the final KM ready to time trial it and make sure I gave everything I had left. Onto the final stretch I increased my effort hugely and went in to time trial mode, imagining I was being chased around a 400m track. I caught 4 or 5 people in that final stretch and had everyone from the GB team cheering me on as they did for everybody. It was truly amazing! 
I crossed the line in a time of 1:11:03 in 19th place. I was more than happy, I would not have expected to finish in the top 20 for sure. I peaked at the right time and had the best race of my life at the best time possible. 
Time to get my head down and get ready for next years Europeans, but most importantly, carry this form into my next race on the 18th July at Mallory Park in Leicester. 

Race Times
Swim: 11:22mins
T1: 1:56mins
Bike: 37:36mins
T2: 1:21mins
Run: 18:46mins
Total: 1:11:03hrs