Hot, Humid And Lightning In Celtman! 2023 As Ross Creber Wins Again

The Celtman! The Extreme Scottish Triathlon was true to its name on Saturday night when the extreme weather struck. The race included a 3.4km swim in a sea loch, a 202km cycle ride, and a 42km running course. While it was mostly sunny and calm, the weather conditions were also hot and humid.

As some athletes ran the high-level route in the Beinn Eighe range of mountains, Torridon, a major storm and lightning arrived. Safety teams were forced to make quick decisions, which changed the dynamics of the race. The athletes completed one of five different variations of the course.

Four athletes finished the course including the high-level mountain route. The course consisted of 18km of off-road running through the Coulin estate and the foothills Beinn Eighe, followed by 15km of off-road climbing the summits Beinn Eighe, before a 9km run on the road to the finish.

Four more athletes competed in a course called “hill 1+ low course”. The first summit was Beinn Eighe, but lightning forced them to leave the mountain. The low-level course was completed by these runners.

On the day, two new categories were created: “Hill 1 + scree slope” and “Hill 1 + road”. There were two categories: “Hill 1 plus scree slope”, and “Hill 1 with road”. The runners who did not meet the required cut-off time for the high level course completed the low-level running route.

Paul McGreal, a race director, said: “Celtman!” The year 2023 was a tough one for many reasons, but none of them were the usual ones.

The heat made the first stages of the race very difficult. It was unfortunate that the electrical storm which passed over Beinn Eighe at the end of the run stage occurred during this time.

We tried to get as many people as possible up the hill using the blue route, but the conditions were too dangerous. The weather was spectacular for the most part, except for that one hour. The race results will be complicated because of the storm.

Celtman! 2023 1st male: Ross Creber

Ross Creber had won a second time, having returned to the Celtman! To defend his title. The 35-year old Aviemore athlete, supported by RAB finished in 11:29.38, almost an hour ahead of Robin Downie, the runner-up. He also set a new record of 5 minutes 26 seconds for the bike segment.

Ross: “I am very happy with my win. It was my first year at Celtman! It was a big unknown. I was confident going into this year’s race because I knew what I could expect.

The conditions were excellent. The water was calm and there weren’t too many jellyfish. I had a similar swim time as last year, and finished in the 30th position.

The bike was my best part of the race. It went well. The roads were dry, and there was little wind. The weather was wet and wild last year, but I could now go faster. The bike ride was great.

“I did not go out to break a record, because in this type of event you need to have some left over for the race. But I was very happy with my time.”

Ross was accompanied by Ian Stewartof Trail Running Scotland throughout the entire run. It was great to have Ian at the beginning. He was under pressure from the running support, because I had come off the bike first. But he did an excellent job.

I fell early in the race and my knee was badly cut. The only place I could have it repaired was at the aid station. “It was painful but I ran on adrenaline to keep going.”

Ross had already passed the mountainous section when the lightning struck. He says, “We heard the storm above us, but we were lucky to make it through before lightning struck. We were glad we weren’t up there at that time.

“I was pleased with my time overall and was only about a half-hour short of the course record.” “I think that without the knee injury, and the high temperatures which affected my ability to consume food and water, I would have been closer to setting the record. I am eager to return to try again.”

Ross was equally happy for Robin, the runner-up. Robin is also a close friend. Ross says, “Robin and myself have raced as a team together in the Scottish Islands Peaks Race. It was also great to see him do well in the Celtman!

“Celtman! It was a great race, and the good weather this year meant that there were many supporters on the course. It was a fantastic atmosphere created by the locals and race crews. It helped me psychologically to have people cheering on.”

Celtman! 2023 1st female: Claire Weller

Claire Weller (33), Kaja Bergwitz Larsen, and Estera Zaka were among the top women who completed the “Hill 1+ Scree Slope”. Claire Weller, 33, from Edinburgh, raced hard to finish with a time 13:08:56. She was only four minutes faster than Kaja.

The group reached the cut-off point for the high-level running course. However, they were turned down a scree hill, half a mile from the second peak. Claire says, “We heard a lot of thunder as we crossed the ridge. We were glad to be off.”

Claire fought Kaja for most of the race, both on the bike and during the run. She pushed herself on the bike. She said: “I overtook a few females in the first 10 mile, but I didn’t catch the lead female until about 30 miles. I overtook the woman, but she stayed with me.

“Knowing that it was too soon to race, I focused on my own performance and did not worry about it.

“We rode with each other until about 85 miles. At that point, I decided to make some space and try to gain some time from her to start the run.

“I put my mind down and just went for it. “Thankfully, she wasn’t with me and I felt good on my legs so I kept pushing back to T2.

Claire wasn’t sure that she would win until the last stages. “There was a steep technical descent and then I got back on the road. I created a small gap between me and Kaja.” It wasn’t until I ran the final 1km on the road that I realized I was the winner.

Claire’s first Celtman! It was her first XTRI and also her first race. The Celtman! Is a part of the World Tour. She has been successful in other long distance triathlons, including the Outlaw Full Nottingham and Spanish Long Distance Championship.

Claire describes her Celtman! Race. She said: “The swimming went mostly well, but I took the island on the second side a bit wide which I think costed me time. The conditions were great, with calm water and temperatures that weren’t as bad as they expected.

I loved the entire bike ride. The course was awesome with a few nice climbs and then some fast descents. The wind was also very good. I could not have asked for more.

“Then I ran and went through some highs and lows. In the first half, I had trouble settling into a rhythm. Then in the second half, I felt dizzy and nauseous as we climbed the hill. Fortunately, I was able to find my second, third, and fourth wind in order to finish strong.

It was a good lesson to learn to review my nutritional strategy and to determine what may have caused the problem.

Claire is also grateful to her support runner, who helped out when her first support runner was injured and had to withdraw. “I lost my support-runner a few week before the Celtman!” She explains. due to injury. The Celtman saved the day! The community rallied and someone offered to run with me. He did an excellent job, and I am grateful to him.”

Claire says: “I’m overjoyed to have won Celtman!” The entire thing was amazing, but the descent into Kinlochewe by bike was another. The overall feeling of accomplishment I felt when I crossed the finish line was amazing.

I would recommend The Celtman to any voter who is considering voting.