The Outlaw, the original full distance event of the Outlaw Triathlon Series in the UK, will revert to a mass start and a one-lap swim on July 3, 2022.
The organising team for the popular long distance triathlon in Nottingham, Central England, gave some background to its decision to revert to an open mass swim start for its event this July…
‘We have been operating time trial starts since 2020 out of necessity when social distancing was the law. This format was used at last month’s Outlaw Half Nottingham, but the flagship full distance event with take place with its original mass start format.
‘Time trial starts have been really popular – the Outlaw Half Nottingham post event survey had almost 85% of competitors saying they preferred them, but we feel that the original Outlaw should be different.
‘Outlaw events use partially open roads, and it’s safer if athletes are more spread out. Using the time trial format, we noted that there were fewer drafting penalties. For the full distance event, people naturally spread out along the route because the swim is so much longer.
‘The spectacle of a mass start at Outlaw Nottingham is something that’s very special and we want to bring it back for the first time since 2019. With the amount of space that we have, you will be able to spread out at the start, so those wanting a head-to-head race can have it, and those that want their own space will be able to find it.
‘We plan to keep the time trial format for the Half distance events; there are a lot of benefits operationally and the dive starts are really cool to watch, but we’re excited to return to a mass start for the full distance event this year.
‘The forthcoming Outlaw Half Holkham event on 3 July will operate with a time trial start format, with the fastest swimmers going off first. Currently, the plan is to run Outlaw Half Bowood (4 September) and Outlaw X (25 September) in time trial start format.’
