Following the introduction of swim only races and off-road half marathons to the Festival of Endurance at Hever Castle in July, the Castle Triathlon Series has announced that there will be a new addition to all 2018 Castle Triathlon Series events. Alongside the triathlons, which attract thousands of competitors every year, the series will introduce new half-marathon and swim-only races at triathlon festivals at each of the series’ five iconic castles.
Swim only races
As part of the offering at Hever Castle Triathlon this September, Castle Triathlon Series has partnered with Outdoor Swimmer Magazine to bring swim-only races with three distances available: 2.5km, 5km or 1-mile. The organising team note that the swims are proving popular not only with swimmers, but also triathletes with injuries, and leisure and family swimmers keen to swim in the Hever Castle lake.
Off road half marathons
With 320 runners contesting the marathon and half-marathon at the Hever Castle Festival of Endurance this year, it was seen as a natural progression for the Castle Triathlon Series to incorporate half-marathon distances at all events, providing runners of all abilities with an opportunity to enjoy the full range of venues and off road courses that have previously only been open to triathletes. The half marathon course is 4 laps providing an opportunity for spectators and supporters to cheer on the runners taking part.
| Event date | New races |
| Lough Cutra Castle Triathlon
26–27 May 2018 |
– 1mile, 2.5km, 5km swims (Saturday 26 May)
– Half-Marathon (Sunday 27 May) |
| Cholmondeley Castle Triathlon
23-24 June 2018 |
– 1mile, 2.5km, 5km swims (Saturday 23 June)
– Half-Marathon (Sunday 24 June) |
| Castle Howard Triathlon
21-22 July 2018 |
– 1mile, 2.5km, 5km swims (Saturday 21 July)
– Half-Marathon (Sunday 22 July) |
| Château de Chantilly Triathlon
25-26 August 2018 |
– 1mile, 2.5km, 5km swims (Saturday 25 August)
– Half-Marathon (Sunday 26 August) |
| Hever Castle Triathlon
22-23 September 2018 |
– 1mile, 2.5km, 5km swims (Saturday 22 September)
– Half-Marathon (Sunday 23 September) |
Castle Triathlon Series Race Director, Brian Adcock, said “We’re delighted to announce the addition of half-marathon and swim-only race distances to next season’s events. The beautiful scenery and courses through castle grounds at each of our venues is a big attraction to our triathletes, so it’s great to open the wonderful venues to other athletes, who have shown such enthusiasm at the Festival of Endurance.
“We take pride in the festival atmosphere at our events too, and have had great feedback from the runners and swimmers at Hever in July, who have expressed their excitement at the idea of running and swimming at our other castles next year.”
To celebrate the launch of the half-marathon and swim-only races, the Castle Triathlon Series team is offering a 25% early-bird discount on sign-ups for the 2018 events.
www.castletriathlonseries.co.uk
