Image: Brett Hochfeld

Challenger World claim the London Triathlon to be the world’s largest and there’s no doubt it attracts thousands of competitors and spectators. This August the crowds seemed better managed than in previous years. Parking was available for all competitors at the venue compared to the gravel strewn wasteland a 20 minute walk away that was on offer last year, although still irritatingly expensive at £15. The tailbacks to approach the ExCel centre were also considerably shorter than usual. We don’t know however whether this was due to improved planning or simply luck.

The most notable change though was the reconfigured layout of the transition and expo areas and the new four-lap run route. The fresh combination seemed to work a lot better than the old setup, enabled faster transitions and reduced congestion approaching the swim start. The swim route was also reversed in direction making it easier for spectators to watch competitors battling out the mass start. We liked that the market buoys were bright yellow this year instead of dark blue as they have been on other occasions.

The swim course was an easy to navigate single lap of a long narrow rectangle. The only issue being seeing the whole 1500m stretched out in that way might have been a little daunting for some swimmers.

Exiting the ExCel building on the bike required some caution as you had to descend on a ramp before navigating a couple of tricky bends. After that it was fast and straight although perhaps more undulating than you might imagine for London. The course also features an interesting, and slightly spooky, dash through the Limehouse Link Tunnel.

The new run route took competitors out along the edge of the Royal Albert Dock with disconcertingly close views of planes taking off and landing from London City Airport on the other side of the water. The Olympic distance required four laps giving spectators plenty of opportunities to cheer competitors on.

The elite races featured some of the fastest and best known triathletes in the world. Helen Jenkins won the women’s event thanks to both the quickest swim and run splits. Jodie Stimpson came in second, 46 seconds behind and Liz Blatchford third, a further 52 seconds back.

The men’s race was closer. Australia’s Courtney Atkinson broke the tape 5 seconds ahead of Tim Don with Jarrod Shoemaker just 7 seconds further back.

Good as it was to see the elites in action, the London Triathlon is truly a mass participation event with many people competing for the first time and some taking over four hours to complete the distance. Apparently it’s also good for celebrity spotting. The crowd support is fantastic, the venue is well-equipped with plenty of food on offer and the expo provides plenty of opportunity to lighten your wallet or purse. Closed roads help keep it safe.

Negative points include the need to wrack bikes on Saturday for a Sunday afternoon race, the repeated use of the same letter for marking rows in transition and the unavoidable cold shower on the run route. We also think the organisers should negotiate with the operators of the Docklands Light Railway to allow triathletes to bring their bicycles to the event by public transport.

Do this race next year if:

• You want to do the world’s biggest triathlon and enjoy all the buzz that goes with it
• You like to rub shoulders and compare your performance with celebrities such as Jenson Button and Vernon Kay

Don’t do this race if:

• You hate crowds
• You don’t like to be showered twice on every run lap
• You race to enjoy the scenery

Image: Brett Hochfeld

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