Triathletes Travel Guide

Article by Dave Burrows, September triathlon holiday:

If Carlsberg made triathlon holidays, they’d probably be the best holidays in the world. Or, so the ad would probably go. However, they’d be hard pushed to better Embrace Sports.

Set up by two sports mad pals as an escape from the “corporate training camps”, Embrace runs in the peaceful surrounds of Portugal’s Algarve to meet every need. The serious. The healthy. The adventurous. The eager. The beginner. The runner. The swimmer. The biker (even the hairy ones). Even the sun worshiper. For that is the beauty of these weeks away: you do as little or as much as you want.

“We had the space to get away from it all when we wanted,” says one enthusiast. “There was the sense of achievement, the sense of fun (and a party or two) and the chance to try something new.” Indeed. With a 50-metre pool, the novice triathlete can practice in comfort and safety, without facing the wrath of female OAPs having their daily dip (in the middle of the fast lane), spotty over-amorous teenagers petting heavily in the shallow end or some beefcake attempting to butterfly his way across the pool - widthways.

None of that. Instead, think The Swimmer, the short story by John Cheever, in which Ned Merrill ‘swims home’ via all the neighbours’ pools. “And the water up there. Remember? It felt different. God, what a beautiful feeling. We could've swum around the world in those days.”  Or at least around the Algarve coast. Admittedly, the sea swims are a more taxing than the outdoor pool, but no less rewarding. Once the choppy shoreline has been navigated and the slightly chilly Atlantic water (a wetsuit is worthwhile, though not essential) braved, it’s all good. Miles of open water and not a frilly pink swimhat in sight (unless you’re into that kind of thing).

And it’s the same on the bike too.  Even on the limited stretches of the cycle routes stray onto dual carriageways, there’s hardly a car in sight (in the early and late season): it’s a cyclist’s (and environmentalist’s) dream.

The ride into the Monchique Hills is definitely one of the abiding memories of the trip. With a support team in the van alongside it’s not quite ‘The Tour’, but it’s close enough – especially given one of the climbs. The Monchique Hills, so they’re called. But for ‘hills’, read ‘bloody-great-steep-twisty-turny-mountain’. The freshwater tap at the summit is, needless to say, welcome.

Hills certainly formed a decent part of our Embrace training programme. ‘Undulating’ is how many of the runs – from short 8ks in the forest to half marathons in the surrounds – are described by Mssrs Aitken and Buscke. They even muttered the word ‘gentle climbs’ at one stage. Don’t believe a word of it. They are HILLS. But it’s brilliant for training.

And training is what you are there for. And training is what you’ll get. Neil and Graeme are both qualified athletic coaches, and also run one of London’s most successful – and popular – running & triathlon clubs. In the past couple of years, the club has also grown a ‘triathlon arm’, and now boasts some very experienced advisors on the committee.

But the guests, much like the Embrace holidays, are about more than winning, training, carb-loading and, er, more training. They are also about lying by the pool at midday (on the biggest beanbags known to man), sleeping off the morning’s activity and five-egg omelette. They’re about lazy afternoon coffees in the local town. They’re about siestas in the shade. And they are about cold Portuguese beers while the sun goes down.

Indeed, not only would Carlsberg find it difficult to make ‘the best triathlon holiday in the world’, they wouldn’t even be the drinks sponsor. That honour, my friends, would go to Super Bock.