Agreed.
Only just getting in to the sport, so first target is to complete my first race at Castle Howard in July.
Training wise, Iām from a running (and cycling to a lesser extent) background, so improvement in the water is the big one in the agenda!
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Given I think next year will be a bust too, my main goal is to get into the Army Reserves. Fark me, with Capita running the recruiting show itās a rolling goat fuck, even though they have all my Regular service records. I originally started the process in the summer š
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Itās a nice course but the swim wasnāt great.
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Thanks for the heads up, itās the only discipline Iām worried about - but thatās probably normal for newbies. Itās very local for me so know the roads etc. Excited to get started!
This is a common mistake newbies make, but the swim is actually normally in the water not on the roads, make sure you recce the right place!
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Oh s**t Iām in over my head!
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Iām not military but I enquired on the cyber reserves when they were announced. I gave up because they refused to say anything about it until I applied!
I used to work at the same establishment; bunch of (valuable) but completely unmilitary nerds in uniform 
I didnāt even want a uniform, I just wanted to know if theyād ever send me to the frontline before I signed up! 
Urm nope; they are treated with kid gloves I think.
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Probably, but what made me laugh is that they would not say. Nor would they describe the work I might do.
A bit like when the FCO wanted to interview me but refused to tell me even the salary bracket beforehand.
Madness. Well, to me anyway.
The year I did it, the swim course looked incredible with mist rising up from the water. Then I got in ā¦ sludge!!!
I literally could have run the swim course it was so shallow, and sludgy.
But otherwise a brilliant race with really nice bike course.
Haha, yes, I was trying not to let him know how horrible that swim was, to put him off 
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The best goal! Good luck, welcome to the forum.
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It sounds like all the Castle events are the same. The water was so thick with crap at Hever you could walk on it. It does have a nice river section if doing the middle and long distance events, shame it is only 2 people wide and ends up in a massive fight
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The IMOZ course at Forster used to be like that, you could walk it in parts if you really wanted to.
When the artist formerly known as āSpikeā and I did OtillO, there was one sea crossing where I swam and Spike walked.
It felt quite odd because we were both going at the same pace
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Belvoir / Beaver was the same.
The water was so murky you couldnāt see the end of your arm.
So many people getting shouted at by the marshals and refs from the banks telling them to swim and not walk
And Ironman Frankfurt swimming in that sand quarry with people running the knee deep water at the far end the cheating forks.