This Sunday heralds the return of one of the UK's most prestigious endurance triathlons; Ironman UK. This is the only officially branded Iron distance event in England. More than 1,500 triathletes will be speeding through Lancashire's countryside
whilst others were heading wearily onto the run course to complete their own personal longest day.As in the rest of the world, triathlon is booming in Asia and a significant proportion of those racing were from the region. The crowds of school children
Rosindale had a more comfortable race in the women's event, pulling away on the final run to secure a win in 2:06:37, more than a minute ahead of Ireland's Aileen Morrison. Overall, great performances in miserable conditions.
in Pembrokeshire, there was a sense of apprehension among the triathletes who had gathered to take part in the inaugural Ironman Wales long-distance triathlon. Many had already tested parts of the course during The Long Course Weekend, which took place in June
and decided to create a triathlon to showcase the spectacular scenery and famous local climbs. The long-distance race I'm about to do features a 2.2K swim, 115K bike and 22K run. There's also a shorter race the following day of 1.K/30K/7K as well as a children
, with the main challenge coming from a headwind rather than hills. The run was reminiscent of a school event - three laps around the sports fields. First-timers agreed that the event was a perfect first triathlon experience - not intimidating or too challenging
, with some lazy boating included, rather than one of the toughest middle-distance triathlons in the country.The 1.9K swim in the beautiful but bitterly cold Ullswater Lake was shortened owing to strong winds, bringing swimmers into the safety of a sheltered
, old satan was in a very bad mood that day.This incredibly tough triathlon - which was moved from its September date to make way for the 2012 Olympics sailing test events - is one that earns you brownie points for life if you make it to the finish
- Saturday was given over to various promotional events - and was impressed by the atmosphere generated by supporters, and relieved by the range of abilities on show. Far from being the preserve of the elites, the Valencia Triathlon appeared to be all about
particularly notable performance in his first race of the season. "I was prepared to give 100 percent of what I had but I didn't know what that was," he said afterwards. Plenty, as it turns out. Fourth last year (with a 2:41:59 run), he's in formidable form
