Thanks go to Dermot Cunningham for this report from last Sundays race; Dermot managed to bag both his first triathlon and a top twenty finish on the day -
"From 8.30am on last Sunday, when the registration for the Try a Tri opened in the Sligo Sports Complex the buzz amongst competitors, marshals and supporters was electric.
The Sligo Triathlon Club Members had been busy from 7am that morning ensuring that everything was put in place for the 3rd running of this annual event.
Out of a field of 93 starters, Colin Harte was victorious in the men’s section, with Sheila Ryan taking first place in the ladies race.
Colin had been pushed all the way by the teenage sensation Ethan Melvin, with only 20 seconds separating them at the end. Second place in the ladies race went to Leona Moran, who was less than 2 minutes behind Sheila.
As all the competitors were wearing timing chips, it was possible to run 4 separate swim waves, with the slower swimmers going in the earlier waves and the fastest swimmers going in the final wave. On completion of the 10 lanes in Sports Complex Pool, it was out to the Transition Area in the car park to put on the cycling helmets and pick up the bikes. The 10km bike route brought the competitors out past the Cemetery, The Sligo Park Hotel and on to Cararoe. The assistance of the Gardaí was essential at the busy junctions and the co-operation of the Sligo County Council was also appreciated. The good surface on the road towards Dromahair allowed the cyclists to build up the speed, and the decline to the Holy Well also was a great help, bearing in mind the 2 tough ascents that awated towards Tonaphubble. With the final kilometre practically downhill, the cyclists had the opportunity to prepare themselves for the 4km run that follow their arrival back again to the Transition Area in the Sports Complex Car park. Many competitors commented that one of the toughest aspects of the race was the steady hill up to the Sligo Race Course, where they completed their 2 laps, but then at least they had the benefit of the nice downhill back to the finish line at the Sports Complex.
On crossing the line the successful athletes received their commemorative medal from Sligo’s International Triathlete Neil Walton, the winner of the Sligo Sprint Distance Triathlon in Rosses Point this year. With Michael O’Connell on commentary, all the athletes received a great welcome from the large group of supporters. There was constant activity in the Transition area, with people entering from the swim, people heading out for the cycle section, people returning with their bikes and others heading out for their run.
The Club were very lucky with the fantastic weather, and thankfully the Civil Defence and Dr Bernie O’Connor who were there to support the Event, were not called into action.
With over 50 Club members and friends involved as marshals, the organising Committee were very grateful to everybody who worked so hard to ensure the safety and success of the event.
With out the Sponsors it would have been very difficult to run the event, and the 2 mains sponsors were Chain Driven Cycles, and the Sligo Sports and Recreation Partnership. Other valued Sponsors included Key to Health, John Kent Sports, Legginit.com, Tipperary Water, The Running School Castlebar, The Sligo Golf Academy and Voya Seaweed Products.
Special mention must go to the Team at the Sligo Sports Complex for their help on the day, and also to the Sligo Race Course for making the course available on the day."
