My first event since being diagnosed with hip osteoarthritis & having to stop running. Kindly asked by a mate if I could do the bike leg of the relay for his lad who was just under the age limit for the ride & very pleased to oblige. As my young team mate's swim & run times were fantastic & my ride time was reasonable we came first! There were only 7 relay teams of varying abilities but very chuffed to have won something for the first & likely only time!

Despite much colder & breezier than ideal most participants seemed in good spirits. The organisation of a large pool sprint event (up to 500 entrants) with all the staggered starts seemed good given the complexity & comings/goings of competitors.

I'm always impressed by OSB events & today was no different. As my first time 'relay' I sought the guidance of a friendly marshal in transition to reinforce the handover process/rules & was reassured. I did my bit on a mostly flat, well signed & marshalled 14 mile cycle route, pleased with my time (as only been up to 10 miles a couple of times in preparation) but wondered afterwards if I could have pushed a little harder. I wasn't looking forward to a stretch near the end on a busy bypass but hadn't realised that a full lane was coned off for the event which was brilliant.  

The run was along a riverside tow path, mate's who did the race all ran good times & my teammate was fast along it, so I didn't hear any complaints! 

Parking a fair way (15-20 minute walk) away from the location wasn't ideal, especially as wet/muddy/cold, but had it been a lovely spring day I suspect I would not have minded at all.

Overall another really good @OSBevents race.