'It was really good, this is our best venue' - Organiser praises Ellesmere park as hundreds successfully compete in Shropshire Triathlon

Hundreds of athletes and spectators had an early awakening on Sunday morning and gathered at the start line at The Mere in Ellesmere from 7am this morning (August 31). 

Organised by UK Triathlon, the major Shropshire sporting event saw competitors take on a swim in The Mere before they cycled on local roads through the Shropshire countryside and ran along lanes and The Mere's Cremorne Gardens.

Athletes of all levels, from novices to professionals, took part in the event that featured multiple race formats and distances. Races formats included a sprint (750 metre swim, 20km bike ride and a 5km run), Olympic (1.5km swim, 40km bike ride, and a 10km run), and middle, also known as half-Ironman, (1.9km swim, 90km bike ride, and a 21.1km run).

Organiser Keith Hancock was delighted with the turnout for this year's event and with how it unfolded. 

He said: "It went really well, we are really happy with it. It has been very windy, but apart from that we had hardly any rain, so that was quite nice.

"There were a couple of sprinkles of showers, but we got away without the rain. It does make a big difference when it doesn't.

"I think this was the biggest event we have done since we took it over around seven or eight years ago. It is really starting to show now.

"We had some really good triathletes here, but also people doing it for the first time, so it is becoming a big event on the calendar for us as well now."

Kevin Locke won the Middle Open race with a time of three hours, 54 minutes and 26 seconds. Meanwhile, team 'Tri Hard' won the Middle Relay race, finishing in four hours, 31 minutes and 29 seconds.

Lydia Hughes was first to cross the finishing line in the women's Olympic race with an impressive time of two hours, 27 minutes and 11 seconds, while Stephen Greene won the Olympic Open race, and 'Last Gasp Platoon' were victorious in the Olympic Relay.

Jordan Sheldon beat Ben Gethin by ten seconds to win the Sprint Open race in one hour, 13 minutes and 45 seconds. Meanwhile, Eleanor Perkins won the Female Sprint and the 'Union Jacks' won the Sprint Relay.

The popular event has been held at The Mere for more than three decades, having first taken place in 1992, and the venue is a favourite in the calendar.

"I think this is our best venue," added organiser Keith. "We do 18 triathlons across the UK, but this is a 'proper' triathlon course, if you can say that.

"It's challenging. The lake is amazing for swimming because it is big, there are lots of viewing areas. The bike course is undulating and a bit of a challenge. And the running course goes up and down hill a couple of times with multiple laps makes it a nice challenge rather than doing a triathlon where it is quite flat and easy, this is a really good course.

"For me, it is my favourite venue."

The event marked UK Triathlon's final open water triathlon of the summer, and competitors - whether seasoned triathletes or newcomers - were well-supported throughout.

Several humorous banners read: "Smile if you peed in your wetsuit". 

 Keith continued: "We get seasoned triathletes taking part, and you look at their bikes and they are probably worth around £7,000 or £8,000. But, then you get people doing it on a mountain bike for the first time.

"There are also lots of people doing it for charity which is great and I can hear the commentator saying several times as people cross the line which charity they are supporting.

"There is a such a diverse degree of ability. I think that comes because there are three different distances, the sprint, then Olympic and middle.

"There is such an array of choice to take part and do whatever you feel."