On Sunday 29th May athletes from all over the North West took part in the Rossendale Triathlon.
Now in it's 11th year, the Rossendale Triathlon sponsored by Tricketts Insurance took place on Sunday 29th May. Entirely organized by Rossendale Triathlon club members the event was a great success once again with the glorious weather adding to the fantastic family atmosphere.
Yet again this well established sprint triathlon attracted novices and more experienced triathletes alike with quite a few who had represented Great Britain in triathlon events abroad. All however had the same goal, to test themselves against a 400 metre swim in Marl Pits pool, the undulating 21km bike route through Water, Crown Point and Loveclough and to finish a 5km run around the sports centre grounds.
Competitors travelled from far and wide including Shropshire, Yorkshire, Amsterdam and even Canada!
The Estabrook family from Halifax, Nova Scotia are members of their local triathlon club who were on a combined business trip / holiday who decided it would be fun to break their holiday for a couple of days to complete the Rossendale Triathlon, now that's dedication! There were some logistical issues to sort before they could actually confirm their entry but in true Rossendale style nothing was too much trouble. Bikes were hired from On Yer Bike in Burnley and accommodation arranged at Marmalades B&B in Stacksteads.
Jill, Gordon, Hayden and Hannah all posted fantastic times with Hannah actually winning the female junior category with a time of 1:35:22. Jill was overwhelmed by the friendliness and hospitality shown to them by everyone they met.
Some of the competitors were competing on behalf of charities but one in particular is worth mentioning. Sean Spencer suffers from Muscular Dystrophy and in order to raise funds for Muscular Dystrophy UK arranged for a relay team to take part. Sean was the swimmer in the team and was quite apprehensive before starting but soon settled and completed the 16 lengths in 18 minutes 45 seconds, Doni Clarke posted a fantastic time on the bike leg and Sean's girlfriend Katie Plant finished off with the run. At the start of the triathlon Sean had raised over £2000 for Muscular Dystrophy UK, a fantastic achievement.
Overall winner of Rossendale Triathlon 2016 was Martin Cain of Triguru with a superb time of 1:03:15. 2nd place was David Mirfield of Pendle Tri with a time of 1:03:35 and in his first senior triathlon Rossendale Tri Clubs youngest member Josh Whitehead collected 3rd place with a time of 1:04:40.
1st female was Vanessa Holland with a time of 1:17:03, 2nd place, with a time of 1:20:35 went to Claire Raho from Holcombe Harriers and 3rd place went to Emma Wood with a time of 1:23:41.
Age group wins went to Rossendale Tri club head coach Patrick Walkington, Michael Toms, Trevor McCoy and Les Firth. First junior male was James Robinson. The female age group wins went to Tracy Hampson, Joanne Graham and Linda Williams.
The annual award for fastest Rossendale swimmers went to Rossendale Tri club coach Glenda Lord with a time of 7:19. The fastest Rossendale male swimmer was Clement Jones from Weir with a time of 5:35.
An event of this size could not have gone ahead without a lot of hard work from club members and the volunteers on the day. A big thank you goes out to all those involved and to all the local businesses that sponsored the event. The British Triathlon Federation were also supporting the event and provided equipment and guidance to the event managers which was much appreciated.
Rossendale Triathlon club members Stephen and Lorraine Hopley were unable to compete in their home event as they were in Nottingham to do the Outlaw Half. This fantastic event consists of a 1.2 mile open water swim, 56 mile bike and 13 mile run. Both recorded fantastic times, Stephen finishing in 5 hours 24 minutes and Lorraine in 5 hours 32 minutes. Well done!
