2022
Julie im Tagblatt
22.01.2020: Im letzten Dezember wurde ich mit dem Sportpreis der Stadt Zürich ausgezeichnet. Ich wurde von einer Jury für die Kategorie ''Einzelsport/ Teamsport'' nominiert und meine Wahl wurde schlussendlich vom Stadtrat bestätigt. Ich freue mich riesig über diese Auszeichnung!
Anschliessend schrieb das Tagblatt der Stadt Zürich einen kleinen Artikel über mich. Den vollen Text findet ihr hier oder unter folgendem Link:
Julie im Stadtzürcher Tagblatt (Ausgabe Nr. 3; Seite 17)
Nina: Mein "I believe in you"-Projekt
19.08.2019:
Liebe Freunde, liebe Bekannte und liebe Fans
Wie ihr vielleicht schon gesehen habt, habe ich über die Crowdfunding-Platform "I believe in you" ein Projekt online gestellt, um einen Teil der Kosten für die Vorbereitungen für die Ironman WM und die Reise nach Hawaii zu finanzieren.
Hier der Hintergrund des Projektes:
2018 wagte ich mich zum ersten Mal auf die Langdistanz, nämlich am Ironman Zürich. Von nun an hatte ich den Traum und das Ziel mich für die Ironman World Championships in Hawaii zu qualifizieren. Ich wusste, dass noch viel Arbeit vor mir liegt und vielleicht noch ein paar Jahre dauern könnte bis ich dieses Ziel erreiche. Dann die Überraschung!!! Am Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spanien, meinem dritten Ironman, wurde ich Zweite und konnte mich bereits dieses Jahr für die WM in Hawaii im Oktober 2019 qualifizieren. Ich konnte es kaum fassen und bin überglücklich. Ich werde also wirklich im Oktober in Hawaii gegen die besten 40 Frauen in diesem Sport antreten.
Um mich optimal für die WM vorzubereiten, werde ich zusammen mit anderen Athleten des Trisutto Pro Squad circa drei Wochen vor dem Rennen für ein sogenanntes «Heat Camp» nach Maui reisen. Diese Vorbereitungen und die Reise nach Hawaii werden mich nicht nur körperlich und mental enorm herausfordern, sondern auch finanziell. Deshalb brauche ich nun Eure Unterstützung. Die Kosten setzen sich wie folgt zusammen:
Vorbereitung im «Heat Camp» in Maui:
- Flug nach Maui (inkl. Radtransport): 1800.- CHF
- Unterkunft in Maui (2 Wochen): 1000.- CHF
- Automiete auf Maui: 400.- CHF
Ironman WM Hawaii:
- Flug von Maui nach Big Island (inkl. Radtransport): 200.- CHF
- Unterkunft auf Big Island (1 Woche): 1200.- CHF
- Automiete auf Big Island: 400.- CHF
Total: 5000.- CHF
Hier geht’s auf direktem Weg zu meinem Projekt:
Ich würde mich sehr freuen, wenn Ihr einen Teil meines Projektes werden und mich auf meinem Weg nach Hawaii unterstützen würdet. Ausserdem möchte ich Euch bitten, mein Projekt weiterzuempfehlen - ganz egal ob persönlich, auf Facebook, Instagram oder allen anderen Kanälen.
Besten Dank und viele Grüsse
Eure Nina
Artikel Zytturm Triathlon
11.06.2019: So richtig mit dem Triathlon haben wir begonnen, als wir 2009 dem Checkpoint Zugerland beigetreten sind. Im Checkpoint haben wir alle nötigen Fähigkeiten und Tricks rund um den Traithlon gelernt. Deshalb ist der Zytturm Triathlon Zug auch eine Herzensangelegenheit für uns. Am 15./26. Juni findet derdiesjährige Event statt. Von unserer Seite stehen Nina und Michelle am Samstag Nachmittag beim Doppelsprint der Profis im Einsatz. Wir freuen uns zudem sehr, dieses Jahr ein Interview über uns in der Beilage der Zuger Zeitung zu finden.
Viel Spass beim lesen und wir hoffen auch Ihr seid am Zytturm mit dabei!
Michelle: International Triathlon de Portocolom // First Race of the Spirit Tri Series
19.04.2019:
On Sunday I got to race my first Long(ish) Distance Triathlon in a very long time and was super happy and even more exhausted to cross the finish line after 4+ hours. But from the start..
The trip started on Thursday afternoon when Nina and I boarded our flight after a hectic morning with training and work. While taking off we prayed for our bikes to arrive in one piece and were happy to just sleep for the next 90min in the air. Once in Mallorca, we did the rookie mistake of waiting for our bikes by the bulky items belt for at least 30min before realising that as Switzerland is not in the EU (neutral remark here, let’s not get into the political debate..) our bikes were to arrive in a separate hall. Once figured out we got the bikes and were kindly driven to Portocolom by the Team Manager of Team Tripep, another of the Spirit Series Teams.
Once arrived, we were able to get to dinner just before it closed, then built the bikes and went to sleep.
On Friday, we rode a little part of the course including the scenic 5klm climb up Sant Salvador before heading for the press conference and photo shoot for the Spirit Tri Series where we got our Home of Triathlon Team race suits from Scatta and got to catch up with members of the other teams. Leaving all Uni stuff at home it was time for a little walk or swim and a trip to a coffee shop (the coffee was rather bad, so no recommendation here) afterwards. Dinner time rolled around and there was one long table of athletes from different teams having a nice time together, another special thing about the Spirit Tri Series.
Saturday started out with the standard (just had a chuckle at the word ‘standard’ cause for me there is nothing standard about being able to race and I was just trying to bluff it) pre-race run and ride. Afterwards, Nina, Robert (our male team mate) and I headed to the race venue to hand out medals at the Kids Duathlon. Arriving there we were all amazed by how well these kids were kitted out, most of them were in Tri suits with there names on, some wore the newest sunglasses and we even saw compression socks and aero helmets with visors (for a 5klm bike ride). But in the end, they were all just kids enjoying their day being active and the friendly competition and that was great to see! Nina and I partly failed the winner of one race when we weren’t able to open the confetti spray in time for his arrival.. oh well.
After the event we went to the swimming pool for the – wait for it – standard pre-race swim. Having read the race preview for our team on the way to the pool I was fired up and slightly stressed about the sentence that I was there to start the race off with winning the swim section. Trying to reassure myself I blasted out the pre-race swim and was actually going quite alright but still wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.. good rehearsal, bad show and all that..
Anyways, back at the hotel it was packing the race gear and unwinding a little before checking in the bikes and heading for dinner. Then calling it an early night soon.
Race morning started with a (for race day) humane wake up at 5:45am. After brekkie, Nina and I walked the 1.5klm to the race start. On the walk the nerves really kicked in and I was glad to have a big sister there to tell me “keep calm and focus on the task at hand”. The next hour and a bit passed in a blur and suddenly it was time to enter the water for our start.
Jumping into 14° C cold water was a shock that I didn’t really register focusing on getting to the start line and finding a good position. The gun went off and I started swimming, feeling rather well. There was a lot of pushing and shoving in the beginning until Céline (Schärer) put a little surge in before the first buoy. I knew this was the moment so I sprinted across and from there on it was the two of us trying to navigate our way back to the exit between buoys, ships and age group men. We got completely lost at some point but were still able to exit with about 30sec on the other girls. Into transition and a surprisingly smooth change saw me exit first. I hopped on the bike and started pedalling, trying to settle into a rhythm.
After about 4klm Emma (Bilham, the eventual race winner) flew past and I tried my hardest to hang with her, looking back I saw that Nina was also there just behind me. After a couple of klms I realized that I was in danger of dropping off in a climb so I waved Nina past and slotted into 3rdstill focusing on keeping up as long as possible. Turns out that wasn’t for much longer: After about 12klm and a short downhill and rather steep and short uphill saw me unable to respond when the other two danced up the hill. I had lost them and hated myself for it in the first moment, I tried to regain my composure and told myself to “hang with the next girl coming past”. Ironically, Chantal (Cummings, of ETE Racing, finishing 3rdin the end) passed me mere seconds later and I was still too deep in the hurt box to hang onto her. Becoming angry at myself, I told myself: “Stop the pity party, have a piece of chocolate and go as hard as you can!” The chocolate tasted awful but the talking to helped and I was riding hard in fourth place till I got passed again just before the top of Sant Salvador on lap 1. Being very cold and foggy on the hill, I had lost feeling in my fingers and wasn’t sure if I was actually braking or not when going downhill. Sending a little prayer to the church handily placed mid-way up the hill I made it back down in one piece.
Arriving at the turn to go for lap 2 I was cooked and not sure how to ride another 50klm of hills and head wind. Lap 2 was very lonely and I felt like the only person on the island but I made it back to T2 and was actually riding better than I had expected when I started off lap 2 (still very far off from the top girls though, so there is much work still to be done!). Heading out onto the run I simultaneously almost threw up at the smell of the already cooking post-race seafood paella and almost cramped because I hadn’t drank nearly enough on the bike.
Passing Coach yelling at me to not go slower, I had to stop 50m later for a pee break (who does that on a 10klm run ?!?). Anyways, it helped and I was actually starting to feel like I was running. The run course took me by surprise though having assumed that it would be flat based on the fact that it was along the coast. Thought wrong, there was quite some up and down. Running scared of all the girls I had down as stronger runners than I, I actually put in a solid run (despite it feeling very slow) and coach yelled at me on lap 2 that it was the first time in 4 years he saw me move along on the run. So I guess on that day the saying “you don’t have to feel good to go fast(ish)” was true for me. Passing one girl 100m before the finish without realizing it I was happy to finish 7thfeeling like I had given it all before collapsing at the finish line and lying there like a stranded fish gulping for air.
Unfortunately the day’s work wasn’t over then.. After the podium presentation where Nina flew the colours high in 2ndplace for both the Derron Sisters and the Home of Triathlon Team it was back to the hotel to pack our bikes, swim off a little bit in the freezing cold hotel pool and then head to the airport. A thank you is due here to Flora and Sarah for kindly storing our things on race day and to Federica for the much needed shower post race. Thank you, girls!
Sunday night by midnight we were back home and straight to bed after an exhausting but amazing race weekend and experience being part of the first Spirit Tri Series Race.
Now I am already looking forward to the next race of the Spirit Tri Series on 30 June in Chiemsee, Germany.
But first, happy Easter everyone!
Michelle
Quarter of a year gone already: an update from the Derron Sisters
01.04.2019: How time flies. We are already into April of this year and we feel like the last three months have gone by in a couple of weeks.
So here is a little update of what the Derron Sisters have been up to.
We all spent a good number of weeks in Gran Canaria in January and February. The training there has been great, both with the Trisutto squad and Brett himself on deck but also just chipping away in training by ourselves.
Helping each other out where we could and giving space where needed. We have learned to use our mini squad to the fullest by pushing each other in the sessions and supporting each other rather than being overly competitive like you could imagine for siblings.
Michelle and Julie passed all their exams of the last semester.
Nina earned her Masters Degree in Biomedical Engineering with flying colours and we are all very proud of our smart ass sister! She is
February meant that Michelle and Julie were back to university and a busier schedule but managing fine this semester.
By the end of February Nina and Julie entered the first race of the year in running the 11km Bremgartner run. The spring temperatures and sunshine made for a beautiful day and both were very happy with their respective runs.
To say goodbye to winter we spent a long weekend in St. Moritz swimming, running and cross country skiing. We love this place any time of the year! Nina participated in the Engadin Ski Marathon, skiing faster than ever, so the fitness is definitely there.
As the weather improved in Zürich we were able to start riding our bikes outside and we are loving it, but still using the turbo frequently for specific sessions.
In March Nina and Julie entered another run race. This time it was the Swiss Championships over the 10km distance on the road. They did this as the final run of a double respective a triple run day. Nina found the going tough on the day after a big week of Ironman training while Julie had a good day finishing 5th.
A few weeks ago we recorded a Podcast with fellow Trisutto family member and successful coach Perry Agass. Find the Podcast on iTunes by searching for ‘’Ask Tripezza’’.
Now it’s already April and Nina and Michelle are gearing up for their first triathlon of the season. They are travelling to Mallorca and will take part in the Portocolom International Triathlon which will be the first race of the Spirit Triathlon Series. Both are part of the Home of Triathlon Team and are racing over 1km swimming, 100km cycling and 10km running. They are very excited to see where their fitness levels are and are eager to get back on the start line.
Find out more about the Spirit Triathlon Series by following this link.
Julie will start her season on the 5thof May at the ITU World Cup in Madrid.
That’s the latest from the Derron Sisters.
Happy Training and enjoy the sunshine :)