As severe weather hit parts of the UK this past weekend, the Cholmondeley Castle Triathlon in Cheshire, England, was the second of the five Markel Castle Triathlon Series 2012 weekend events to go ahead.
Each race in the Markel sponsored tri series offers ‘a high quality, competitive and safe race set in beautiful grounds and truly spectacular surroundings.’ Few races in the UK offer such a stunning and inspirational race setting, testament to the 5,000 who took part in the 2011 series.
Brian Adcock, Race Director, commented “The competitors taking part today did themselves proud. The castle grounds really lend themselves to a triathlon even in these tricky conditions. We are really pleased how the event keeps growing in popularity and look forward to welcoming even more at the event next year.”
Title sponsor Markel insurance has launched three charity challenges, at three castles, with a £5.000 prize on offer at each castle. For those who missed the challenge at Cholmondeley Castle Triathlon, there is still time to enter the Castle Howard Triathlon on Sunday 22 July.
Hugh Maltby, a director at Markel, said “We are proud to have sponsored the ‘Markel Insurance Challenge’ and to have helped raise money for charity. It was clear that no quarter was given as each team was determined to win the £5,000 prize. Today’s event shows the ever growing popularity of triathlon and it was great to see professional athletes racing alongside first timers.”
If participants do not already have a chosen charity, triathletes were encouraged to raise money for the Markel Castle Triathlon Series national charity ‘Help for Heroes’, and local charity The Wingate Centre.
All races at the Cholmondeley Castle Triathlon started with an open water swim in the Deer Park Mere Lake, transitioning into the cycle ride circumnavigating Bickerton Hill, which is the most southern tip of the Peckforton hills. There was one cycle lap for the Sprint and two laps for both the Mid and Olympic distances. Similarly, the run passed through the beautiful estate grounds and had one lap for the Sprint and two laps for the Mid-Distance and Olympic races. Triathletes finished by sprinting down the main lawn to the finish with Cholmondeley Castle as a fitting backdrop.
www.castletriathlonseries.co.uk
