Borders gears up for Durty Triathlon
Published 10 Jul 2012 09:30
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THE Scottish Cross (Off-Road) Triathlon Championships will again be hosted by the Durty Triathlon, and will be held on the hills above St. Mary's Loch in the beautiful Scottish Borders on Saturday, July 21.
The race has attracted a field of nearly 300 of the leading triathletes from across the country and beyond. The event also forms part of the UK-wide Scott X-Tri Series. This series brings together four of the biggest and best off-road triathlon races in the country. The most recent race in the series was won by Tim Don, a three-time Olympian and Kerry MacPhee of Stirling.
Cat Sutherland, UK Marketing Manager of Scott Sports said: "Triathlon has really taken off in this country with more and more races moving off the roads and onto the trails, which fits perfectly with SCOTT given our heritage in mountain biking. The Durty Tri is the 2nd in the SCOTT X Tri Series and we're looking forward to some more muddy madness up north!"
The event has been generously supported by Scottish Borders Council in order to help promote the Borders as an adventurous activity destination, and to promote local economic activity.
The race is organised by Durty Events in collaboration with the local Scottish Borders Triathletes club. This will the fifth running of the race and it's become a well-established favourite on the sporting calendar. The 2011 running of the race won the coveted Triathlon Scotland 'Event of the Year' award, and was shortlisted for the British Triathlon equivalent - the first off-road triathlon to ever achieve this.
The Scottish Cross (Off-Road) Triathlon Championships, aka the 'Long Hard Durty' consists of a freshwater loch 1500m Swim, 30km challenging Mountain Bike, and 10km Hilly Trail Run with a few obstacles thrown in for good measure.
There's also a supporting race, the Short Fast Durty, which takes place over half these distances. We're welcoming both Solo and Relay Teams (three members) on both courses, although entries close on Sunday, July 15.
Juniors are well catered for with a pair of new Aquathon (Swim + Run) races to also be held as part of the event.
Spectators are welcome - the swim starts are always spectacular as up to 200 swimmers in each wave fight for space. They water is churned in a manner known within the sport as the 'washing machine'. The two triathlon races start at 2:30pm and 3:30pm from the Tibbie Shiels Inn at St. Mary's Loch. The Junior Aquathon races are away just after 1pm.
Race Organiser, Paul McGreal said: "The course is designed to be fun but challenging with epic climbs resulting in stunning panoramic views across the Southern Uplands and fantastic technical descents by bike. The run also has a significant climb of around 800' on rough forest roads, and a unique descent, initially across trackless wild moorland followed by a grassy, muddy quad track. The entire triathlon course is over some of Scotland's most spectacular wilderness, ensuring competitors get a real taste of the Borders countryside."
The race has attracted prestigious sponsors, headlined by Scott Sports UK, and Edinburgh-based retailer The Tri Centre. Other sponsors include Craft, Honey Stinger, and Peebles company Damn Good Jam.
Triathlon is generally considered to be the fastest growing sport in the UK. This is set to increase again this Summer as GBR has three realistic medal hopes in the London 2012 Olympics - Alistair Brownlee, Jonny Brownlee and Helen Jenkins.
Triathlon also forms part of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. More details on the Durty Triathlon event are available at www.durtytriathlon.com
This article appeared in Border Telegraph 10 Jul 12
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