Today Ellesmere hosted it’s annual triathlon competition. I say annual, but last year it had to be cancelled which was a great shame for both the competitors and the small North Shropshire town of Ellesmere itself. This year saw the event gain status as a qualifying event for the World Championships, which helped draw competitors from across the country.

I must admit that I toyed with the idea of entering the race this year myself. I even started training in the pool before Christmas and was quite pleased with my progress. Unfortunately, things got rather busy after Easter time, meaning that my training tailed right off and it became apparent that I wasn’t going to be ready in time for today’s event. Maybe next year!

As with all similar events, it takes a huge amount of organisation and manpower to pull everything together. With a weeks to go, it seemed like their was a desperate shortage of paddlers to act as safety boats. The implications of not having sufficient safety precautions in place on the water put the event on jeopardy and a number of emails started to do the rounds amongst the local paddlers. I was a one of a large number that responded to the call and, in the end, there were more boaters than necessary. Well done everyone.

It was actually a perfect day for paddling – clear blue skies and hardly a breath of wind for much of the time. Unfortunately, these great paddling conditions made if extremely hard work for the competitors themselves. As a result, many of those I spoke to after the event were a bit disappointed with their times. Personally, I hold them all in the highest regard for completing such a grueling event on such a hot day.

The 1500m swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run are certainly a challenge for those that choose to take it on. Anyone fancy it next year? I’m certainly tempted.