Helen Russell

World Champion Quadrathlete and Duathlete

 

 
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Helen Russell - News 2013

2013
December
Team ERDINGER Alkoholfrei
Helen is delighted to announce that the prestigious Team ERDINGER Alkoholfrei has agreed to support her by providing her with kit whilst living and training in Germany. Team ERDINGER Alkoholfrei is Germany’s largest triathlon team and includes professionals such as the Raelert brothers, Sonja Tajsich and fellow Brit Lucy Gossage. In Europe, ERDINGER Alkoholfrei has been sponsoring sports endurance events for the last 10 years, and now ERDINGER Alkoholfrei have launched in the UK too.

ERDINGER Alkoholfrei is a refreshing isotonic recovery drink used by many sports people. It provides the body with essential vitamins such as folic acid and vitamin B12 which help reduce fatigue, promote energy-yielding metabolism and support the immune system which is why it is a favourite sports drink for many athletes.
Local recognition
Helen was proud to have been one of only three women shortlisted for the Hereford and Worcestershire Sports Partnership ‘Senior Female Sports Personality of the Year‘ award. Unfortunately she had to settle for a runner up position as the title was taken by Great Britain rowing cox Morgan Baynham Williams in recognition of her Youth Olympics bronze medal.
October
Training in Germany
October was a busy month for Helen as she moved to Germany for a year to study a Masters in Labour Policies and Globalisation. The first semester will be at the University of Kassel and the second at the Institute of Economics in Berlin. Helen has already started training with the Kassel Triathlon Club at the local newly built 50m pool and has been exploring the local countryside on her bike. Helen will also be able to train through the cold German winter as Wattbike Germany has kindly provided her with a Wattbike for the year.
Awards season
The autumn and winter always marks the start of the awards season and yet again Helen features due to her successful 2013 season, the highlight of which was her European Triathlon Championships win. Helen is one of three women who have been shortlisted for the Sports Partnership Herefordshire and Worcestershire Sports Partnership ‘Senior Female Sports Personality of the Year‘ award, which she previously won in 2010. She was also part of the Bromsgrove and Redditch Athletics Club women's cross country team which has won the ‘Bill Wilkinson Trophy for Team Performance‘ for their victory at the Worcestershire Cross Country Championships.
August
English Triathlon Champion!
Helen has added the National Sprint Triathlon title to the European title she won in Turkey in June.

The England Triathlon Championships took place at Blithfield Reservoir, in Staffordshire and attracted England's top age-group triathletes all hoping to take the national age group title.

The race saw athletes compete over a 750m open water swim, a rolling 20k bike course through rural Staffordshire and a 5km run along the edge of the reservoir.

Helen dominated her race from start to finish. She exited the slightly long swim leg in 14.44, just 11 seconds ahead of Nicola Rudd Hearn from GI-Tri team but created a huge gap on the bike leg covering the undulating 20k in 37.51. The second placed athlete after the bike leg was Clare Cunningham, from Cambridge Triathlon Club, who had overtaken Nicola and entered transition 5mins15secs behind Helen. Helen extended her lead even further on the final run posting a time of 19.30 to win the gold in the 35-39 age category in a final time of 1.14.27. Clare maintained her second position to win the silver in 1.21.15, whilst Nicola took the bronze in 1.23.05. This was Helen‘s final triathlon of the season as she will now turn her attention to the world aquathlon in September.

Helen's team mate Andrew Cunnell (pictured with Helen) also had success on the day winning silver in the 65-69 age category.
Silver in National Aquathlon
Helen couldn‘t repeat her England Triathlon win and had to settle for silver at the England Aquathlon Championships.

England‘s top age group triathletes gathered at the West Midlands Water Ski Centre near Tamworth to take on the 750m lake swim and 5k off-road run in the hope of taking the coveted title of National Aquathlon Champion.

Helen, who was the 2012 and 2010 British Aquathlon Champion in the 35-39 age category was hoping to take the win ahead of the World Aquathlon Championships in September.

She had a decent swim exiting the lake in 11.54 but this put her 1mins13secs behind race leader and former World Triathlon Champion, Caroline Jones from Monmouth Triathlon Club. Second out of the water was local athlete Yvonne Caswell from Stratford-upon-Avon Triathlon Club but Helen overtook her on the run into transition and entered the run in second place. Hot in pursuit however was Stephanie Maclean Dann from North Shields Polytechnic team. There followed a head-to-head battle between Helen and Stephanie with both athletes changing places a number of times. However Helen was determined not to loose a place and at the 2.5k mark increased her pace and shook off Stephanie. She was however unable to close the gap with Caroline Jones, who finished the 5k in 19.01 to take the gold in a time of 30.58. Helen had the fastest run time in her age category finishing the 5k in 18.47 to take the silver in 32.14, whilst Stephanie Maclean Dann held on for the bronze in a time of 32.44.
June
Helen is European Champion
Helen is celebrating after winning gold in the European Sprint Triathlon Championships in Turkey.

Europe‘s best amateur triathletes assembled in the Turkish resort of Alanya to battle over the 750 sea swim, 20k bike and 5k run.

Helen‘s weakest discipline is the swim and she struggled to stay with the top athletes exiting the sea down in 7th place, 59 seconds behind former World Triathlon Champion Liz Bullivant and 13 seconds behind the former Greek elite triathlete Zarina Kopina. With this deficit she would have to push hard over the 20k flat bike section to stay in medal contention.

Helen used her cycling strength to post the second fastest bike leg of the day and move into 4th place. Trish Deykin, the current British Champion, was the fastest on the bike and led the race going into the run but was only 13 seconds ahead of Helen. Megan Davies was lying in second place 8 seconds ahead of Helen and Bullivant was only 4 seconds ahead. This meant that the result would come down to whoever had the fastest run legs.

Helen quickly overtook both Davies and Bullivant and now only had Deykin to reign in. After the first lap Deykin still had the lead and it was unclear whether Helen would be able to summon up the strength to catch her. However, Helen was determined to take the win and with about 2k to go finally caught and overtook Deykin on the final climb. This gave her the mental edge and she was able to increase her lead coming into the final stages of the race. Helen was determined not to loose her advantage and continued to push, only relaxing in the final few meters to celebrate as she crossed the line 13 seconds ahead of Deykin, who held onto second place. Helen covered the 5k in 19.25 which was the fastest run leg of the day and her final time of 1.03.36 saw her crowned European Champion in the 35-39 age category. Bullivant was unable to repeat her World Triathlon success and had to settle for 3rd place finishing 48 seconds behind Helen.

This result means that Russell has now won international gold in both triathlon and duathlon (run/bike/run). Her next goal is to improve on her 2010 World Aquathlon (swim/run) bronze and take gold in this year's World Aquathlon Championship in London in September.
Helen now triathlon and duathlon champion of Bosworth
Helen totally dominated at the Bosworth Sprint Triathlon on 2nd June. The race covered a 750 meter open water swim, 21km bike leg and 5k run. Helen had a solid swim exiting the water in 12.48, which put her in second place, 42 seconds behind Chloe Scotchbrook from Leicester Tri Club. A clumsy transition unfortunately cost her some more time but she used her bike strength to quickly catch and overtake Scotchbrook. She covered the 21k bike leg in 37.14, which meant she entered the second transition with a dominant lead. Despite this Helen continued to push and covered the off-road, flat 5k in 18.07 which gave her a final time of 1.09.42. This was over 8 minutes in front of second placed Lydia Adelin from TFN Team who overtook Scotchbrook to finish in 1.18.01. Scotchbrook held onto third in 1.18.24. This means that Helen is the triathlon and duathlon champion of Market Bosworth after winning the ‘No Frills’ duathlon earlier this year.
May
Perfect start to season
Helen won her first triathlon of the season at the Highley Sprint Triathlon, at the Severn Leisure Centre in the former colliery village. Helen led from the off after swimming the 400 meters in 6.20. She then consolidated her lead on the hilly 21k bike leg, coming into the second transition in 34.16. The final 4.7km run was especially challenging with a sharp off road descent down to the River Severn followed by a steep climb back to the finish line. Again Russell posted the fastest women’s leg in 17.49 to take the victory in 1.00.26. Second placed woman was Emma Hornby from TriKS team, who finished in 1.02.02 and third was Lyndesy Dillon in 1.11.20. Picture kindly supplied by www.uksportpictures.com.
Team Tri UK
Helen is proud to have been selected for the fourth year running to compete for Team TRI-UK. This year there are a number of new team sponsors including Powerbar who have supplied the team with energy gels and Buff who have provided headwear.

Helen has also been supplied with a Cervelo S2 bike with SRAM/Shimano components, bike shoes, helmet and wheels from Mavic, sunglasses from Dirty Dog, cycling kit and a tri suit from TRI-UK and a season‘s supply of Gatorade. The team is also sponsored by FOOR wetsuits, and internet partner www.tri247.com.

TRI UK was established over 20 years ago and is the largest Triathlon retailer in the world offering a full store, internet and mail order service from their retail outlet in Yeovil. TRI UK continues to be a staunch supporter of the UK triathlon scene sponsoring races and the TRI-UK Team.

For more information log onto www.triuk.com or call the store on 01935 414142.
Home victory
Helen took part in her local Bromsgrove 5k in aid of the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research charity. Helen joined members of Bromsgrove and Reddtich Athletics Club as well as other club and fun runners to battle for the local victory. Helen soon took th overall lead in the 5.8k race and came home in 23.12 a full 1.45 seconds ahead of the second placed runner, young athlete Elliott Davis. Not only was Helen the first female home but also beat all the male athletes.
April
April saw Helen return to multi-sport racing and take her first win of the season at the 1485 No Frills Duathlon in Market Bosworth.

The race, which started at Bosworth Water Park, was a sprint distance race consisting of a 5k run, a 21k bike and finishing with a second 5k run.

Helen had a solid first run finishing in 20.09 which saw her enter transition in 2nd place, 15 seconds behind race leader Megan McDonald from the Bike Yard Team. Helen was able to catch and overtake Megan about 6 minutes into the bike route.

She then pulled away from Megan to get a lead of just over one minute going into the run. With only this slight lead Helen had to push all the way and in doing so actually extended her lead to finish in 1.19.45 with Megan coming in 2 minutes and 35 seconds behind. Third placed woman was Laura Davison from Leicester Triathlon Club who finished in 1.27.30.

This result is even more rewarding as Helen was unsure when she would be able to start multi-sport racing this season following a minor car collision in February, which resulted in a back injury and forced her to significantly reduce her training. However with the help of her support team, including Bromsgrove Chiropractic Clinic and Cool Pilates in Barnt Green, she has been able to follow a treatment and rehabilitation programme, which has helped her back to fitness.
March
Helen third in 220 Triathlon award
Helen is delighted to have finished third in the 220 Triathlon magazine 2013 award for Female Duathlete of the Year. Three women were shortlisted for the award following a nationwide vote run by 220 Triathlon magazine, the UK‘s leading triathlon magazine.

This was the second time that Helen made the shortlist, taking second place last year.

Helen‘s achievements were recognised at the awards night at Sandown Park, which was compared by Olympic swimmer and BBC sport commentator Stephen Parry and attended by some of Britain‘s top triathletes, including Tim Don, former World Triathlon Champion. The award was won, for a second year running, by professional triathlete Katie Hewison. Helen was the only age-group athlete to be shortlisted.

The result recognises Helen‘s successful 2012 season, which saw her crowned over-all Age Group European Sprint Duathlon Champion.
Off-road successes
March was a difficult month for Helen as she suffered from a back injury following a car crash. She was able to take part in two running races, taking 3rd place in the Wolverhampton and Bilston AC ‘March Hair Raiser‘ multi-terrain race and also finishing as third point scorer for Worcestershire in the Inter-counties Cross Country Championships. Helen is hoping to return to multi-sport racing in April.
January
Helen shortlisted for top triathlon award
Helen is celebrating after being nominated for a top triathlon industry award for a second consecutive year. Helen has been shortlisted in the ‘Female Duathlete of the Year‘ category in the 2013 national triathlon awards organised by 220 Triathlon magazine. Last year she was runner up in the category and is hoping to go one better this year.

Helen has been shortlisted along with two other duathletes following a nationwide vote run by the magazine at the end of 2012. The UK‘s best triathletes, including Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee, will gather to hear the results at an awards ceremony at Sandown Park in March.

The nomination recognises Helen's continued success in international duathlon competitions. Last season she won gold in the European Sprint Duathlon Championships, which she added to her World Championship title.
County Cross Country Champions
Helen was part of the winning women‘s team at the Worcestershire County Cross Country Championships on Malvern Common in January. Helen was the third point scorer for Bromsgrove and Redditch Athletics Club who retook the county title that they previously won in 2011.
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