Personally coached Team Blizard athletes were to the fore in races of all distances and disciplines this weekend, with triathlon victories and podium finishes behind Olympians the highlight.

The performance of the day on Saturday came from Team Blizard elite triathlete Tom Morris, who won the English Triathlon champs in his 25-29 category! Tom clinched victory emphatically by well over two minutes, covering the sprint distance event disciplines in impressive split times of 12:02 for the 750m swim, 41:42 for the 20km bike and 18:09 for the 5k run to clock the fourth quickest run overall on the day.



Coached by GB age group triathlete and fellow Team Blizard elite athlete, Jono Frary, for his swimming and cycling, and former GB runner Dave Tune for the third triathlon discipline, Tom was quick to credit their expertise for his considerable success so far, adding “I don’t think it's any coincidence that this is the best season I've ever had, a massive thank you to Blizard Physio’s coaches!”

Jono also led by example when he excelled to finish in the bronze medal position in his 35-39 category, clocking a phenomenal 75:51 with splits of 12:01, 42:44 and 19:04 to beat his nearest rival for the podium by a massive five minutes!



Another of Jono’s growing number of outstanding coached athletes, Karen Lynch, battled on through illness to finish third lady overall and first in her age group in only her second triathlon at Eaton Lakes.

The hugely talented but extremely hard working and committed athlete, who recently represented GB in the World Age Group Duathlon championships in Spain, was pleased to perform so well considering being under the weather: “I was very happy to win my age category today in the Olympic distance event, I have razor blades in my throat and can't hear out of my left ear!”



Staying on the triathlon theme, scores of Team Blizard athletes raced strongly at the Woodhall Spa sprint event, tackling a 400m pool swim followed by a 24km bike culminating in the traditional but tough 5km run to the finish.

More proof of Jono’s superb coaching skills came from James Nottingham, who brilliantly won his age group, while Jo Cudmore and Jonathan Veal also impressed, and Richard Morton did well to post an 83:10 result, clocking 9:16, 49:12 and 22:09 splits, the latter 5k time always a great indicator of endurance after already having battered the arms and legs in the water and on the bike!

Not to be outdone in the coaching stakes, Dave’s personally guided athlete Yvonne Scarrott ran superbly to finish second lady overall at the Great Donnington Park 10 mile road race. The Nene Valley Harrier fought the strong winds and coped well with the undulating course to clock 74:31, beaten only by the Olympic marathoner and Rio-bound GB athlete, Sonia Samuels!



Topping the podium at the Shifnal half marathon was Telford's consistently excellent Claire Martin, who not only finished first lady in the challenging Shropshire event, but also dipped inside the top ten overall with a steady 87:40 in hot weather.



Also performing strongly in adverse conditions was lactate threshold success story, Paula Davies, who finished top five in her age category when she ran 1:46:38 at the Humber Bridge half marathon. Although Paula found it hard going, she said she’d enjoyed it, ‘even the hills’! The Danum Harrier added: “I was three minutes off my PB but it was a tough course, especially with the cardiac hill at mile 10!”



Fighting the elements and the resulting damp terrain from weeks of endless rain at the ever-popular Round Sheffield Run were several Team Blizard stars. Rotherham’s Ian Whyman teamed up with a club mate to win the dual event overall, despite the fact that he questionably chose road shoes for the off-road event!



Ian and his team mate also finished fourth overall, and were even quicker than their time from last year’s event, clocking 73:56, while the third team overall were Rotherham’s Arron Larkin and Steve Marshall in 75:45. Doncaster’s ultra-running machine, Martin Hookway, incredibly finished 26th overall as a solo runner in a strong 87:32!



Eye’s Lee Whitton showed great feats of endurance when he completed the notoriously tough Midsummer Munro half marathon, widely regarded as the hardest half in the UK, covering more than 3000ft elevation in just 13 miles.



Lee clocked a fantastic 2:20:32 to finish 23rd overall, not long after winning his first ever ultra-marathon, showing promise over the long distances going forward, while his club mate and fellow lactate threshold-tested athlete, Ben Heron, notched up another podium finish at the Ramsey 10k, crossing the line in 33:55 to fully earn his third place medal.

Finally, proving how our Team Blizard athletes excel across a huge range of distances and disciplines, Totley’s Phillip Kelly took on the intensely gruelling Coast to Coast in a Day bike challenge, covering an astonishing 149.1 miles in just over 13 hours on Saturday!