Early season World Championship qualifying sprint event, with a very cold water swim.

Date: 10 May 2009

Location: Grendon Lakes, Northamptonshire, UK

Format: 750m swim / 20km bike / 5km run

Organiser: Just Racing UK Ltd.

Website: www.justracinguk.com

As both a World Championship qualifying event and one of the first open water races of the year, the Grendon Sprint Triathlon drew a large and dedicated group of competitors. Overall, this is a great little race in a fantastic location, with just a couple of minor complaints.

A water temperature of 13.5^oC meant compulsory wet-suits and a head-numbing 750m swim. And why do wetsuits get tighter every year? But the route was clearly marked with large yellow buoys and there were plenty of helpers on hand to haul jelly-legged swimmers back onto dry land.

The swim exited onto a ramp and a lengthy run to transition. The organisers thoughtfully put down matting to protect frozen feet, a big improvement on previous years.

The well-signposted and excellently-marshalled bike route took us out through scenic, rolling countryside with a couple of sharp climbs to test the unprepared and long descents to add to the fun. It was almost over too quickly. The only real problem on the bike, and then only for the top riders, were slow moving cars held up by weaker riders from earlier waves.

Back to Grendon for a fast, flat two-lap out-and-back run along the banks between the lakes. This was probably the weakest, least imaginative part of the event. Because the slower waves started first it seemed as if all 400 or so competitors arrived on the run at pretty much the same time and this caused congestion. Also, rough terrain made it difficult to maintain a steady pace.

Overall this is an excellent race at a fantastic venue. Its status as a World Championship qualifying event attracted serious competitors and this may have been off-putting to lesser experienced athletes, or maybe it was inspirational! Everyone took home a green tee-shirt and all age-group champions won a trophy as well as a place to compete in the World Championships in Australia in September.

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