Chase Race are clearly moving things forward for 2009 and beyond, attracting some premier brands as performance partners.

Science in Sport will be providing the nutrition for all races which can be mixed with Chase Spring Water, Bridgtown Cycles will be operating a cycle surgery where people can have their bikes checked over free of charge. Skins compression will be on hand to service anyone's compression and recovery needs and Aqua Sphere will be dealing with all things wet! Other additions to the 2009 race calendar is a sprint distance within the standard distance event in August and a relay within the standard distance.

There's also another small addition to Chase Race's open water events at Barton Marina which will be of considerable interest to the majority of newcomers to the sport or anyone thinking of giving triathlon a go - bespoke 'Rookie Only Waves' in each open water race. Simon Smith from Chase Race explains,

'Darren Roberts (elite trainer and author of bestseller How Triathlon Ruined My Life) came to me with an idea where we could try and impact newcomers to the sport in a positive way other than simply telling them to stay at the back of the swim wave out of the way, it was all about trying to make the sport look a little less daunting. We wanted training days directly linked to our open water events that offered 'rookie' waves, this way we provide the easiest route into the sport for as many people as possible. We're also running an Ironman style transition with event staff on hand to help anyone that needs it, especially the rookies. This way we can provide an event where the sub two hour standard distance athlete can test themselves, as well as the rookies in their own wave and every ability in between without anyone tripping over each other. With our pool based Three Spires triathlons at Friary Grange this means we have a clear and logical progression for the rookies from pool based triathlons all the way through to open water Olympic distance. There are lots of regional events and clubs doing some of this already with novices and beginners, we're just trying to tie it all together.'

Chase Race events have teamed up with former British Triathlon Champion, top triathlon coach Rick Kiddle, multiple Ironman World Championship qualifier Chris Clarke, John Brame who is Jenson Button’s trainer no less and Darren Roberts to offer a series of 'Rookie Training Days', the first one being held at Friary Grange, Lichfield on Sunday 17th May.  Darren continues,

'Chase Race have some great events in an amazing triathlon friendly location, and the fact they're putting on rookie waves in their open water races is fantastic news for people wanting to get involved in triathlon but were perhaps put off by the somewhat 'busy' aspect of the deep water start in a normal age group. Having the training days focused on getting people through the next open water event and focusing on what they actually need to know rather than try and cover a little bit of everything there is to know about triathlon. Each day has a specific outcome - for example by the end of the day you absolutely will be able to get out of your wetsuit in 20 secs or faster and be able to change a tyre. That's going to be lot more useful in your first open water race than going through the intricacies of high elbow recovery.'

Rick Kiddle is looking forward to coaching the Rookie days, and loves the fact they're directly linked to events. A massively experienced coach with a series of successful DVD's Rick is in no doubt what is required to get more people into the sport,

'I've known Darren for some time and when he came to me with this idea - it made total sense. Simon at Chase Race is doing a fantastic thing with the Rookie Waves and the Rookie days by being progressive within the sport. The more people we can introduce to the sport the more people we're likely to retain in it, which can only be a good thing. It's great that we can show rookies a straight line from our training days through all the Chase Race events, so someone could quite easily go from the pool based triathlon on 3rd May to the Sprint on 7th June to the standard distance on 9th August.'

Kevin Richards from Aqua Sphere UK

‘Aqua Sphere is a growing brand with a growing commitment to triathlon in the UK. Chase Race Events display this same commitment. Their planned program of Rookie Training days and ‘user-friendly’ events offer support, advice and information to novices. This is essential to a sport which can sometimes look a bit daunting to potential newcomers. Aqua Sphere are therefore proud to be involved with Chase Events in 2009 and support them in their efforts to further grow triathlon in the UK.’

Fore more information and details on the events and Rookie Training Days go to www.chaserace.co.uk