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5 North Head Triathlons
3 North Head Duathlons
2 West Head Time Trials
1 Club Champs
5300 photos shot (~150 GB of RAW files)
1 Photographer who should have done a better job of cataloguing 5300 photos before embarking on this project.

January 2020 Triathlon - Bushfire Appeal

As Sydney emerged from the Black Summer of bushfires, Warringah Triathlon Club did their bit for the recovery effort by holding a special Bushfire Relief Triathlon. A portion of every entry fee, plus generous donations from sponsors and donations from competitors on the day saw WTC raise over $5k towards the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal.

There are no photos from me for this race, as this event saw me “compete” for the first time in many years. WTC kindly welcomed my colleagues from Beacon Hill Rural Fire Brigade to do the triathlon as a team event, which was a perfect opportunity for these men and women to unwind after constantly deploying since November 2019.

WTC President David Wiles along with the contingent of Beacon Hill Rural Fire Brigade firefighters.

February 2020 Tria…..Run

From bushfires, to flooding rains. Words cannot do justice to the morning we had up at North Head, this was truly one of the more absurd races that I have photographed. With torrential rain flooding the course and making it too dangerous to put bikes out on the road, the race was altered from a triathlon to a run. Volunteers and competitors alike were soaked to the bone, but thankfully the weather sealing on my camera gear held up and I was able to capture what have now become some of my favourite images. Nothing dampens the enthusiasm at a WTC event!

March 2020 Triathlon - The calm before the COVID storm

Little did we know that this was going to be the last racing that we would see for many months. Just two weeks after this race, Australia was sent into lockdown and all mass-participation events were cancelled or postponed. It was another wet race, albeit not nearly as bad as February, and as usual, the WTC enthusiasm shone through.

August 2020 Duathlon 1 - A COVID-safe return to racing

Racing returns! A huge effort from the WTC race committee enabled the return of some COVID-safe racing. This was one of the first “mass participation” events to return in NSW, and the appetite for racing was insatiable. We were blessed with a cold, but beautiful morning up at North Head, and the photos proved that the previous months of lockdown had not dampened the WTC club spirit.

I challenge anyone to find a more picturesque (COVID-safe, socially-distanced) podium setting!

August 2020 West Head Time Trial - A new adventure

COVID forced many organisations to re-think how they do things. With racing opportunities still limited, a partnership between Warringah Triathlon Club and Manly Warringah Cycling Club saw the creation of a new event, a Time Trial out on the rolling hills of West Head. Over 130 cyclists and triathletes went head-to-head against the clock in the 20km or 40km event. I set myself up on top of the affectionately named “Wall”, an imposing hill towards the turn-around point. The photos do not do justice to the steepness or length of this hill, but it is always guaranteed to produce a good shot.

August 2020 Duathlon 2

Rounding out a busy August, with 3 events in 4 weekends, was another COVID-safe duathlon at North Head. It was a picture-perfect morning on the Harbour to say farewell to Winter

September 2020 West Head Time Trial

Another return to West Head. This time, the Time Trial drew over 200 competitors! This was an incredible achievement for both WTC and MWCC, and proved how much of an appetite there was for a regular TT in the Sydney metro area. This will now be a permanent fixture on the racing calendar.

October 2020 - The WTC International Duathlon

The October WTC race was the annual “International Duathlon”, a celebration of the international diversity of the members in the club. Competitors are encouraged to wear kit that celebrates their country of origin. The Manly area certainly tends to be dominated by UK exports, although the French contingent has been growing over the past few years and there were plenty of other countries represented. It was also very cool to see Ben, a para-triathlete, tearing around the course with his guide Michael Crawford. What an amazing experience!

Over the past few years the club has been re-recognising the Life Members by presenting them with a keyring displaying an iconic image of club legend Geoff Thorsen, crafted by Nic Marshall. This month it was WTC stalwart Life Member Pete Walker being recognised.

Para-triathlete Ben with his guide Michael Crawford….pretty inspiring.

L - R Nic Marshall, WTC President David Wiles, WTC Life Member Pete Walker, TriNSW CEO Adam Wicks

November 2020 Triathlon

The 2020 year of challenges continues. This time, a bushfire damaged parts of North Head, which resulted in parts of the usual race course being closed off. Like always, the WTC Race Committee did what they do best, and adapted to the challenges and put on a great modified race. This race featured a Womens-only wave, which encouraged a bunch of newbies to give their first ever triathlon a crack. This is often the part of triathlon that I love the most, the people on clapped-out Kmart bikes just having a go and racing with their friends.

You can do a triathlon on any bike, it doesn’t need to be a $5k+ TT rig

This was also the first race of the year where it was calm enough to put the drone up.

December 2020 - Christmas Triathlon

My favourite race of the year. With prizes on offer for “best dressed”, competitors come out in force in their Christmas best. The race course was still in it's modified form due to the fire damage, but that didn’t stop a capacity field of 120 from competing. The race format this month featured a rolling start to try to spread out the competitors a bit on the modified course. It presented some interesting photography challenges, but it seemed to be overall well-received by the competitors.