TRI Preston athletes
On Saturday 17 June, three Preston Triathlete’s from TRI Preston club took part in the toughest Ironman distance triathlon in the UK, the Full X Triathlon.
Tony Byrne, Chris Perry and Chris Davies took part in the race under hot weather conditions as 111 competitors from across Europe battled it out in the competition.
The race began at 4.30am in Ambleside, Cumbria, with a 3.8km swim around the head of Windermere, England’s longest lake.
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This was followed by a 181km (112 mile) bike ride around the 6 mountain passes of the Lake District, tackling the route of the famous Fred Whitton bike ride.
At over 1,000 ft, the summit of the Fred Whitton bike ride is the hardest bike section of any ‘Ironman’ type event in the world.
TRI Preston athletes
This was then followed by a brutal run of 42.2km from Ambleside to the peak of Scafell Pike and back again.
Due to the hot conditions on the day, only 75 out of 111 competitors managed to finish the course within the safety cut off times.
The winning time was 14 hours and 26 minutes.
Tony Byrne and Chris Perry finished in a creditable 20 hours and 2 minutes.
Chris Davies suffered issues and bravely completed the cycle leg but unfortunately had to give the run leg a miss.
David Large, spokesperson for TRI Preston, said: “TRI Preston was proudly represented by hard core Tony Byrne, Chris Perry and Chris Davies.
“In summation, it was an awe inspiring bunch of individuals that took on the Full X Triathlon, it was amazing what they achieved and they deserve huge respect regardless of whether they completed the course or not since they had the mettle to take on this extreme and mighty challenge.”
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