Short takes the long road to success in Triathlon swansong

Having battled with injury last season, Borders triathlete Michelle Short came back with a vengeance in 2018.

And, on Sunday, the mother of two from Hawick not only won the Peebles Triathlon but took the overall 2018 Live Borders Triathlon Series title as well.

Over 400 athletes converged in Peebles last weekend to take part in the Series finale, which featured Come & Tri and Junior events on Saturday and a Sprint Triathlon on Sunday.

Short had put herself into contention for the title, having competed in four out of the five sprint triathlons in the series, notching third place finishes at both Hawick and Eyemouth, with one final push at Peebles seeing her cross the finish line in pole position in a time of one hour 12 minutes 55 seconds.

After picking up her trophy, Short, a domestic abuse advocate with Scottish Borders Council, said: “It has been a really good series for me and I’m delighted to have won the overall title.

“It was really hard last year because it was my first shot at the series but I picked up an injury early on, so that put me out of contention, really.

“To win today was amazing and it allowed me to finish on a high.

“This whole series is fantastic. Everyone is so friendly and the facilities are great. It’s well organised and the routes are amazing, so I will definitely be back next year.”

Hartree JETS Tri-Club member Craig Dale took the Overall Male title, having notched up an outstanding four series wins at Galashiels, Hawick, Selkirk and Kelso.

Almost perfect conditions met the 200 or so competitors who turned out for the 2018 Peebles Sprint Triathlon, which made the most of the scenic paths along the side of the River Tweed.

The unexpected dry weather made for some fast times throughout the categories but it was Edinburgh-based Iain Veitch who made the biggest impact on the day, completing his 750m swim, 19.14km cycle and 4.66km run in one hour and 24 seconds to take the event title.

Having been one of the main organisers of the series, which features five sprint triathlons and one standard triathlon, held in Galashiels, Selkirk, Hawick, Eyemouth, Kelso and Peebles, Live Borders sports development officer Neil Renton was quick to praise all those who turned out to lend their support throughout the summer.

“The Live Borders Triathlon Series has got bigger and bigger every year and I can’t thank those that turn out to help enough,” he said.

“Many of the events incorporate Come & Try and Junior Triathlons over two days and it takes a huge effort from everyone to make sure they run smoothly and are managed correctly, so the success of them is very much down to all those who give up their time to get involved.”

“This event has really put the Borders on the map as far as Triathlon is concerned, with competitors, their families and supporters travelling from all over Britain, and sometimes even from abroad, to take part.

“We at Live Borders hope to build on that success in future years.”

Robbie McMorran from the Live Borders Sports Development Team presented the trophies. Results:

Peebles Triathlon – 1st Junior Female, Katherine Allen; 1st Junior Male, Jason Cumming (1.20.00); 1st Senior Female, Michelle Short (1.12.55); 1st Senior Male, Iain Veitch (1.00.24); 1st Female Vet, Wanda-Jane Field (1.15.40); 1st Male Vet, Tim Griffin (1.06.03; 1st Female Super Vet, Shona Bathgate (1.18.08); 1st Male Super Vet, John Christy (1.14.28); 1st Female Vintage, Jackie Clinch (1.49.31); 1st Male Vintage, Eddie Turnbull (1.12.14); 3rd Female Overall, Wanda-Jane Field (1.15.40); 2nd Female Overall, Sarah Scott (1.12.58); 1st Female Overall, Michelle Short (1.12.55); 3rd Male Overall, James Addie (1.05.05); 2nd Male Overall, Nicholas Allen (1.03.00); 1st Iain Veitch, Deri Stewart (1.00.24).

Come & Tri

1 st Female, Debbie Stevenson; 1 st Male, Sam Dowie.

2018 Borders Triathlon Series

1 st Female Vet 60, Joyce Mark (227.44 points); 1 st Male Vet 60, Eddie Turnbull (477.18); 1 st

Female Vet 50, Shona Bathgate (451.87); 1 st Male Vet 50, William Morrison (449.59); 1 st

Female Vet 40, Liz Ferguson (334.52); 1 st Male Vet 40, Craig Goldie (501.82); 1 st Female

Junior, Jessica Clark (98.06); 1 st Male Junior, Sam McGrath (361.48); 3 rd Female Overall,

Lesley Dunn (445.70); 2 nd Female Overall, Sarah Scott (468.49); 1 st Female Overall, Michelle

Short (474.00); 3 rd Male Overall, Bruce Short (420.32); 2 nd Male Overall, John Lenehan

(545.08); 1 st Male Overall, Craig Dale (554.94).