Vital Piece Of The Jigsaw In The Race Calendar Of Our Island.
Anadi and I were in Kassiopi meeting with Nikos and Thanasis to record a podcast with Nikos; Anadi was parking the car and Nikos was making us all a coffee.Thanasis and Nikos started talking about the CorfuTriathlon that was taking place that coming Sunday.
'Why don't you and Anadi take part' suggested Thanasis
'We haven't got bikes' I said....
'We can find you bikes I'm sure' said Nikos 'Leave it with us'....
By the time Anadi appeared ten minutes later having parked the car, I had agreed to to possibility of us competing in the triathlon....
I had not been on a bike for 8 years; and Anadi not since he was a child...
Our swimming has been 'improving' - but we probably weren't 'competitive'...
But hey... When in Rome... ahhh - we are in Greece!
There was still some doubt over whether bikes would be found; but on Friday evening with the triathlon in mind, we guestimated a 1500m distance in the sea - and swum it - to ensure that 750m in the race wouldn't daunt us...
On Saturday Nikos was still on a bike mission for us; the 'bike man' was going to be at the top of Pantokrator and we needed a bike at the bottom...
The race was to start in Ipsos with the swim in the sea - then we were to jump on a bikes and cycle up the winding road 18k to the highest point in Corfu - Mount Pantokrator - and then we would run 10k back down the mountain path to Ipsos again...
'Perhaps you could call him yourself' Nikos suggested and gave me the phone number of S-Bikes which is situated in Acharavi.
I called and spoke to George, who was really helpful and suggested I write an email specifying what we needed...
I did this - and emphasised flat pedals as we had no bike shoes!
Very soon I received a call from Stamatis - the main man in S-Bikes who would be at the top of Pantokrator... he said to give him 2 hours and he would see what he could do about getting us two bikes to the start for us to cycle up on....
In one hour he called back 'My brother Kostas will meet you in Isos at 8am - he will bring you two bikes - look out for a white van with Crystal ice on the side of it' Thank you Stamatis - our triathlon was on....
We set an alarm for 6.50am - we haven't seen any early mornings since we have been in Corfu; but the morning was glorious; the sun rising over the calm lake outside our balcony which is the Ionian Sea....
I made us a pot of coffee and we dressed and collected what kit we thought we would need and made our way to Ipsos where race preparations were evident; the registration table was being erected and athletes and bikes were all along the promenade...
We wandered along the seafront and suddenly spotted 'The Crystal ice van'! Kostas was there with our bikes; a small group gathered as our bikes were unloaded and assembled; a flat tyre was discovered but Kostas mended it in a trice seemingly effortlessly...
I became aware that were I to get a puncture during the ride it would be game over as it is a skill I have yet to master!
Anadi and I felt very included and supported by our group of new friends as we set off up the road for a test ride! I had totally forgotten how to change gear, but this was shown us and all soon came back to me ....
At registration we met Thanasis and Nikos and they introduced us to Greg - I remembered him from the Kassios Dias race in Kassiopi the previous May, where I had seen him with a group of English runners before the start...
He remembered me I later discovered because he had come past me in the race and he had said as he ran by 'it gets a bit easier after this bit' ( he lied !! :)
' How did you know I was English' I had said ...
"I heard you talking back there' he'd replied;
He now tells me that what he actually heard was me expressing my 'shock' in one word of very base English at the severity of what looked like a sheer drop to navigate ... !
Greg has lived in Corfu for 6 years with his partner Jo; he is an important part of the running community and has brought his years of valuable running experience to runners in Kassiopi and to the Kassios Dias race.
He helped Anadi and I with the registration process for the Triathlon which was much appreciated - and that was it! We were in...!
I had a number 16 written on my arm - Anadi 17 - we propped our bikes up on the rack - and with twenty minutes to spare went in search of a loo, a coffee and a croissant to help us around the next - what was to be nearly four hours....!
Back to the start and I jumped into the sea for a warm up swim...'No goggles' Thanasis commented ... 'We're used to it - it's okay' I assured him.
We stood at the waters edge and the man with the start gun was standing nearby....
πέντε τέσσερα τρία δύο ένα - the gun fired - and we were off ....I set off with enthusiasm and realised very soon I had 'gone off too fast'! I couldn't breathe and there were swimmers all around me... I breast stroked to re group, settled down.... and I eventually found a rhythm...
Out of the sea and although at the back of the field, not last out of the water; up the beach - feeling exhausted! Shoes and socks on - running shorts; slipped my wet bikini bottoms off as discretely as possible and a rather wobbly legged start up to Mount Pantokrator ... tired legs already; 18 kilometres of winding uphill ahead!
Anadi had come out of the water about 75 yards down on me; but my transition was not speedy ..... So we set off on our bikes at the same time and then played cat and mouse up the hill; overtaking quite a few cyclist on the way. I felt stronger as I rode; and the views became more and more spectacular; higher and higher we climbed; to the highest point on the island ....
Anadi sped a head of me at the finish; but stopped too soon before 'the line' - I whizzed past on the inside ... ! :)
We had been on the move by now for about an hour and 43 minutes in total.... feeling rather 'spaced out' we set off to run back down the mountain to Ipsos...
But we went up instead of down, following the wrong arrows! And so we ended up at the very very top of Pantokrator... we made our way down via the road back to the beginning of the run again... The lost English couple... along the way we felt very looked after and supported by the people on the course; the volunteers who were creating and making this event the success it was.
It is very much an event of the community; the main man organising it Telis Porfiris hurt his eye while marking the course and his friends rallied together to make sure the event went ahead; The event was a witness to the friendship and community and spirit of this island and our own experience was a reflection of this...
We were in the clouds, with them swirling around us so high up, for a long time it seemed; and then we started to emerge into the sunshine again...
Round the corner we ran at one point to find Marina; she is an excellent photographer, and there she was on the path; waiting for us.
'Julia ' she called 'I saw you at Ipsos and I waited for you'
She took some great photos as we ran past... and on we went....
Below us we could see the church at Spartilas and we knew that once we reached there we were nearly home'...
As we later emerged onto the road by the church; Yiannis appeared....
'I have been sent to find you - I will run with you to the finish...'
'We got lost' I said
'i know' he replied 'everything has been put away - they are all in the bar - I run with you'
Then the rain started and down it came; torrential in its downpour; we ran like three friends out for a run, together for the last three miles, and the rain was incessant; the road started to change to a river.... faster and faster we ran; with Yiannis
Down and down, round each switchback and then the very welcome final left hand bend in the road that turned us in to Ipsos once again...
Down the Main Street we ran and past the bar where our friends
were drinking beer.....
They cheered and clapped
We were home
3hours and 53 minutes had passed since we splashed in the Ionian Sea that morning...
George's story
About me... I'm feeling proud of my first 'sloppy' attempt; my transitions reminded me of a girlfriend I had back in my youth, she made me get drunk in her Mum's living room each time we were going out, because it took her ages to dress up...!!!
This was how slow my transitions were!
They took me at least 4 minutes more than they should have and cost me one spot on the table (10th instead of the 11th that was my score for the day)
This is a lesson for next time, and there will be one since Triathlon attracts me with the multitask character, that in my opinion resembles life...
For sure I will stand on the pebbles of Ipsos next year.
This crazy dreamer Telis Porfiris gathered all the running community to support an event that looked impossible to get organised on time, considering how long he had to plan it from the time he thought of it; especially with the time of year, so busy with the season and the challenge of a multi event ....
I promise to help more for the event that is a vital piece in the jigsaw for the race calendar of our Island.
The results of the Triathlon can be found at
Thank you to Marina Doukaki for the fabulous photos
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