Karen Ayers reports on the Crystal Palace Triathlon which took place last weekend.

Over 500 adult and 150 junior competitors as well as spectators arrived along with the hottest day of the year so far for the annual Crystal Palace Triathlon, which took place on Sunday 23 May at the Crystal Palace Park and National Sports Centre.

The standards of the race and its competitors keep on rising and this year was no exception, with an increasingly competitive field adding to the excitement and entertainment for everyone who had turned up to cheer on their friends and family.

The day started with Club members and marshals arriving at 6am to set up and prepare the course ready for the adult race at 9am, followed by the junior races in the Youth (15-16), TriStar 3 (13-14), TriStar 2 (11-12), TriStar (9-10) and TriStart (8) categories in the afternoon.

Tim Weston, who competed in his first triathlon, said:

...just fantastic. The race today was my first triathlon but clearly not yours, the organisation and marshalling were truly superb. My deep thanks and gratitude to everyone involved in putting this event together.

Paul Crouch, a regular competitor, said:

Many thanks for yet another superbly organised CP Tri today. The event ran really well and the marshalls and support teams were again excellent. I shall be returning next year.

Clare Ratnavira, another first timer, said:

This was my first venture into the world of triathlons and boy what a day! Just a thank you to everyone who was involved in organising, in marshalling on the day, in cheering, supporting and encouraging and even showering me in cold water after making it up that hill.... It was a truly memorable day.

CPT Chairperson John Petrides said:

“Our race gets bigger and better every year. I don't know how we are going to beat today's event. All the competitors seemed to enjoy the experience, commenting on what a friendly and supportive club we are, and all want to come back to this sell-out event next year.”

“We have seen some really competitive racing today, not just from the adults but also from the various junior age groups, right down to the TriStarts doing their first ever race” added John.

After a gruelling race in the heat, in the end it was Neil Harris from 7Oaks Tri Club who took home the first prize in the men's competition, whilst the women's race was won by Grainne O'Donnell from Serpentine. The winning Veterans (40+) were Jon Horsman from Crystal Palace Triathletes and Claire Hitchings from 7Oaks Tri Club. The winning SuperVets (50+) were Ian Birch from Hillingdon Triathletes and
Karen Grieves. Links to the full results can be found on the Club website.

The winners of the junior races were:

Junior – Rory Atkins, Optima Racing Team and Bethaney Hall, RG Active / triandrun, who was racing in her first ever triathlon
TriStar 3 – Lewis Hawkins, Jetstream Tri Club and Greta Sharp, Crystal Palace Triathletes
TriStar 2 – Alex Yee, Crystal Palace Triathletes and Orla Fawcett, Amersham TriStars
TriStar 1 – Sindead Clark, East Essex Tri and Dominic King
TriStart – Jacob Patterson and Zahra Chilsholm from Thames Turbo

Prizes were generously donated by triandrun, with spot prizes on the from Foska, Zone3 wetsuits, TriSport Coaching, TriTowel, Pool-Mate, Cherry Active and SwimShop. Competitors were also given a bottle of For Goodness Shakes to help them recover after the race.

Details of the 2011 race will be announced later this year on the Club website. Anyone wishing to be put on our race mailing list should email us.