Cliff King, organiser of the first Berkhamsted Tri, give some background about setting up and running an event

So with only about 5 months in the planning the Berkhamsted Triathlon was held on the 26th April 2015

My intention was no make this very much a local event, and this was proved with everything from the IT team and photographer all from Berkhamsted 

We had local businesses supporting on the day, and the event was held at Berkhamsted school

Our main sponsor was Knight Frank of Berkhamsted and we worked closely with the Hospice of St Francis which is also based in the town

I made the event a longer than normal sprint triathlon, with a challenging 12 mile cycle utilising the stunning but tough chiltern hills

Then the run was a trail 5 miles again through the woods and hills

Lots of finishers commented it was a tough route, but easily the most scenic they have ever done

We had over 60 marshals working across all 3 disciplines, all of whom are local guys, who were of course amazing

60% of entrants were new to triathlons! which is what I was really aiming for and they all did fantastic

There was a massive turnout from the town of spectators who really made the day amazing and cheered in all the athletes

We have already launched for 2016, where the event will be bigger, much more facilities for both competitors and supporters and we are gaining registrations daily

http://www.berkhamstedtriathlon.com/

Photos Courtesy of Simon Gill: http://www.simongillphotography.com/