Cheryl Frost reports from the Keswick Triathlon which took place on Sunday 23rd May 2010. Thanks to Stuart Holmes for the images.

No shivers at the third Keswick Triathlon

It might not have been the first Keswick Triathlon but it was certainly a first for athletes as they dipped their toes into what could only be summarised as tropical Lakeland waters. Over 500 athletes showed up in the early hours of Sunday morning to take on the challenge of completing the run, bike and swim.

Athletes entered either the long course which comprised of a 750m swim, 36.7 km cycle and a 10 km run or entered the new shorter course event which was still a sizeable challenge. Local Keswick people, friends and family of the racers lined the lakeshore to witness the spaghetti of swimmers starting both events.

First out of the water on the long race was Nick McGee with a spectacular time of 12 minutes 26 seconds, followed one second later by Richard Addis. As the lake was so shallow swimmers had to grit their teeth and run to the transition along a stretch of Lake Road. Unperturbed athletes were soon out on the course on their road bikes. By this stage the sun was beating down and taking on board plenty of fluid on this section was essential for all racers.

It was hard at the finish line to clearly define who was in the lead of each race as the swim had commenced in waves with the short race setting off first, followed closely by two successive waves of the longer race swimmers. Nick McGee got the quickest time on the bike of 1.04.26 seconds. But he was pipped to the post in the final stage of the race by Rodger Wilkins who had a great run to finish in first position with a total time of 2.05.57 seconds.

The ladies were also battling it out on the fells at the finale of the race with previous winner Cheryl Frost being chased by ladies vet Judith Irving down through Great Woods. Judith's final time was faster than Frost putting her in first place overall but Frost held on to win her respective age category.

The relay was another popular category with Mark Laithwaite (The Endurance Coach) winning the male team with Paul Mason. The mixed relay was closely fought and won by Chris Bunker's team with a finishing time of 2:18:32.

The short race was a first at Keswick this year and was a hit with the racers and a great opportunity for novices and juniors to take part in their first triathlon. It involved a 400m swim, 23km cycle and a 5km run. Chris Joyce led out of the water with a quick 7 minute swim and went on to win the race in the Male Senior category. The female senior's race was won by Marie Stansmore whose run time was three minutes quicker than any of her female contemporaries. In total eight junior athletes took part with Victoria Johnson and Ross Landon winning their respective categories - though Charlie Harris-Pratt should be commended for his swim time of 7:11 (which includes the run to transition) as this swim time was second in the whole short race!

This was another spectacular and well organized event hosted by Rob and Jen from TriHard Events. For further details on Trihard's other Lakeland and North Based events check out their website: www.trihard.co.uk

FULL RESULTS

LONG / SHORT