It's a small programme this weekend but it's a quality one! For around 1,500 athletes in the UK this is the big one, Ironman UK. And Tri247 will be there, both with Paul Shanley doing the race and the editorial team doing stuff in the background so watch out for the polo shirts and say 'Hi!' if you spot us. Remember, because of the exclusive live reporting on IronmanLive (www.ironmanlive.com) we won't be doing much in the way of coverage on the day but we will have a full write-up in the weekend roundup on Monday. If the weather can make up its mind to be nice - every time we look at Metcheck it's different - then we could have an excellent day's racing.

The pro field at Sherborne isn't particularly strong in terms of star names: Bryan Rhodes has come back to defend his 2005 win after missing out on last year's race due to an incident with a white van in the week before, there's Frederico Girasole (ITA), Stephen Bayliss and Martin Matula (CZE) plus a host of up-and-coming guys including Scott Neyedli, Hywel Davies, Boyd Conrick (AUS) and Michael Hofmann (GER) who have all got the potential to make it into the top five should anyone have a bad day out there in the Dorset lanes. For the women the field is even smaller but actually more interesting as, with Bella Comerford recently recovered from injury and so not 100% certain of the win, there's Rita Correia (BRA), Anne-Marie Dupont (FRA), Susanne Buckenlei (GER), Yvette Grice and Anne Fallows all in the mix for the podium plus another handful with the credentials to step up for a top five place. A betting man might choose to put some money down on Bryan for the overall win but the rest is really quite open and with it being the last realistic shot for a European pro to qualify for Hawaii it could be a case of who wants it most.

Elsewhere overseas we have the Timberman 70.3 and the Ironman 70.3 Germany for those looking to head to the World Championships in Clearwater - as opposed to Hawaii - and both those races should also get coverage on IronmanLive.

On the domestic scene this weekend we have the Aberfeldy Middle Distance for those looking to get in a half-distance race before the Big Woody, and then there are standard distance races at Wolverhampton and Stockton. The latter, a new event from the guys at Trafeco, also features a sprint distance race and the venue was last used back in 2002 as a qualifier for the Commonwealth Games.

Sprint distance enthusiasts have the Kelso round of the BSLT series, with a novice race as well, and the Jumbled Triathlon at Weymouth where the sequence is swim then run then bike. The remaining races on the calendar are the OWS Aquathlon at Liquid Leisure in Datchet and the Clash of the Tritons Aquathlon at Eltham in London.

Wherever you race this weekend and whatever the distance, enjoy! Hopefully the weather will be a bit more like August than October but the way things have been recently we wouldn't bet on it...