IF you are aiming to get on the points table for the National Series, you will need to take part in four races from the NS calendar (including one sprint and one standard distance event). Taking part in five races is even better – points will be taken from your best four.
WHY take part? 🤔
Members that are not aiming for a podium finish can still get a lot from participation in the NS. You will be a key part of CTC’s club placing in the competition with points awarded to the top club male and female finishers and you never know – you might take away an age group prize!
HOW to take part? 🤓
The best races for picking up points are those with the widest spread of finishing times. Points are allocated based on the finishing time of the triathlete at the 30th percentile in any given category: e.g. 60th out of 200 finishers – that 60th finisher gets 100 points and every other finisher’s points are in reference to their time.
Note: Only TI members get points, no points are allocated for one day licence holders (ODL).
WHAT does this all mean? 🤯
There are a number of races within Cork and close to Cork that are great for scoring some points and being involved in racing for the club.
NS competitor and CTC triathlete Amy O’Keeffe suggested the following races on 2023’s TI calendar of NS events with a mix of local and travel. As there are over 18 races on the calendar this year, there is plenty of choice to suit busy schedules:
Top races suggested for CTC members
- Triathy – June 3 – Great for first-timers as there are typically a number of distance options available during the weekend and the atmosphere is electric!
- Hook or by Crook (CTC NS suggested sprint) – June 10 – Local/travel distance
- Jailbreak (CTC NS suggested standard) – June 25 – Local with one of the coolest swims on the calendar from spike island!
- Two Provinces – July 8 – Great sprint distance race if travel is an option
- Base2Race – July 9 – Great standard distance race if travel is an option
- Loughrea – August 6 – A good away race.
- Pulse – Sept 10 – Good for some late-season points if travel is an option
- Ballyhass – Sept 24 – Local and also great for some late-season points.
Top tip!
“It’s a good idea to aim for a mix of local races – for ease as well as cost – and maybe throw an away race into the mix“
Advice from NS veteran Donncha Kiely
- Spread races out throughout the season to allow for enough time to recover and build fitness,
- For the same reason as 1 don’t race too many races close together if you want to be close to your best, maybe 5 NS races is the best number.
- . Get training intensity right, with a focus on race-specific efforts 8-6 weeks before, not too much intensity before that.
- Race locations are personal to everyone, but you should try and do local NS races as you can be better prepared for these, IE: know the course, easier travel time to and from the race, better recovery after the race etc.
- Try and get a good taper the week before the race, specific to everyone – not too much intensity but stay active.
Enjoy the training and the racing!
Donncha Kiely
Link to TI NS Race calendar: https://app.triathlonireland.com/race-calendar/
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