£60 for a Middle Distance Triathlon. WHAT?

It was tough, very tough. The bike course isn't for the faint hearted, but what a really good event on a course of extreme natural beauty. 

The swim was canclled on the Sunday morning, but this was 100% the right decision due to the current and started off as a time trial bike/run event. 

The bike course was "undulating" (understatement of the year) without much if any support, but you have the hills and sheep for company. It's erm, character building. 

Run was nice and flat (except the steps!) alongside the River Lune. There was great support on the run, no barriers to hold crowd back, so was nice and persoanl, and got to see and get a kiss off my dog a few times. Such a boost. 

All in all, great event, with superb feed stations and marshals. At £60, I feel like they've paid us to do it. 

Great event. Great value. Even though I was more of a brokenman than an EpicMan at the end. 

A great day. Sadly no swim, but that was well beyond Epic's fault and out of the ordinary. 

The bike route was beautiful and demanding. Some outrageous climbs and pant tightening decents. 

Lovely run route, flat and semi rural. 

Great Marshals, always smiling, the feed station crews were excellent 

Well done 

So this was supposed to be my 2nd middle distance triathlon in prep for IMUK. What attracted  me was the price (bargain!) and location. Plus, having done lots of epic events' races I knew it would be well organised. 

Unfortunately the Swim was called off due to heavy rainfall which made the river too dangerous. Disappointing but completely the right decision. 

The bike route is awesome! Would def recommend a recce if you can and if, like me, you are a bit rubbish at hills. There's loads of them- and they mostly come in the first 30 miles. However, they are all climbable AND the scenery and views are stunning. Plus there are some amazing downhill sections where you can put your foot down. 

The run is less inspiring- two loops along the side of the river. A bit dull, but flat and what was nice was being able to see friends coming the other way- lots of high five opportunities! 

Will def be back next year to hopefully take on the Swim as well- is perfect training for IMUK as the bike is so challenging. Great value for money- got a chunky medal, tech tee and event buff for £70. 

Lots of marshals, good aid stations and great communications in the weeks/days leading up to the event. My only gripe would be not enough portaloos! 

£60 for a middle distance race - that’s value for money right there.  Too many events are pushing up the price, so £60 is a bargain.  I entered this race only because it was a great entry price. 

Registration - piece of piss registering on the website and additional race briefs on Youtube if you needed more information.  EASY!

Transition area - the venue you is on a hard standing right next to the river, very short transition from swim to bike and bike to run.  My only recommendation would be to sweep this before race day, or put some carpet down in transition.  It was like running on hot coals at times - not great in bare foot.  Lots of space for your bike and kit. 

Swim - cancelled due to it pissing down all week.  The right decision to cancel.  The river is a great location for the swim and would normally be an easy swim to navigate.  Very wide and normally very little flow to it. 

Staggered start which meant it was no longer a race and now a TT.  Maybe some thought could go into creating a real Duathlon if this occurs again?  

Bike - tough hilly and honest course, rural roads so extra caution is needed at some points.  Go slow areas in x 2 small villages, seemed to work well.  A few sections of road were of very poor standard (shite), lots of things falling off bikes and I saw a few punctures.  Also livestock is a real hazard - lots of stupid sheep and cattle on some sections of the roads with agricultural vehicles (tractors) which you need to be aware of.  A number of right turns across traffic and a junction across another road within this route which is not great when racing.  Other than that, a belter of a route with some great flat sections to work hard on, technical descents with some long fast descents to enjoy.  Oh and some brutal climbing to be had – always good for reducing any drafting that goes on!    

Run – really easy along the river bank on tarmac 2 x out and back.  This is popular with Sunday walkers and dog owners so be ready for this.  The majority of the general public where ok but you do get dicks who feel the need to get in your way!  I would recommend 2 x cones to run around at the dead turns and maybe have water available for athletes here also.  A set of stairs to negotiate which is the highlight of the run section at 12 miles.   Good to see a porta loo on the run route – nice touch.

Marshals and signs – I didn’t recce any of the bike and had no issues at all with sign and marshals.  A good job done here, that said it might be an idea to give some marshals a brush to sweep some right turns that were heavily graveled – just a thought. 

Refreshments – aid stations had all the right stuff.   One small coffee van at registration (good coffee) but limited food for post race refreshments.  Small sandwich I had was stale!

More seating for punters and spectators.

Atmosphere – acoustics not great to be honest.  The quality of the announcer was compromised by the backing music and irritating at times.  

General thoughts – A proper grass route event at a great price, a little rough and ready around the edges but SAFE and organized by a passionate team whose aim was to provide a great experience.   Which they did – great job.  I’ll be back next year if it’s still £60… 

Images provided by Sports Sunday 

Really enjoyed the epicman, it's a shame the swim was cancelled but safety first and definitely the correct decision.

The race was changed to bike, run with 2 people setting off in numerical order every 15 seconds which worked really well and gave the added bonus of having your name shouted over the PA system as you started.

was a tough bike course but extremely scenic most roads were really quiet with no traffic for miles, feed stop on the bike was great, really well organised you didn't have to stop at all there were people handing out gels and energy drinks in new bottles just had to throw your empty bottle by the roadside at the station.

transition was nice and easy to get in and out of, run started at river level up a little hill to the road down to aqueduct and across to the steps of hell,  these took you down to the riverside cycle path, from here it was 2 laps of 5 Ish miles with a feed stop in the middle, well stocked again cola, water, high 5 gels, jelly babies and flapjacks again really helpful marshalls.

being 2 loops along the same path was tough to see people edging away but also good to see you were catching people or how far in front you were, really enjoyed the run some really nice views of the river, you had to collect  2 wristbands off epicman himself, when both were collected you then had to navigate up the steps of hell to the aqueduct and back down to the finish.

support along the run route was great in places special mention to the COLT crew very good at keeping everyone going.

it really was a relief to finish but really enjoyed the whole experience, and even as a duathlon think was great value for those distances and the quality of the stations and the medal.

yet another great epic event and yet again another for next years calender.

1st runnjng of the race, and given that the start is 6 miles from home, I couldn't not enter, especially at the bargain price of £60!

in the run up, discussion was dominated by the swim....is it on or off? The river lune had been v heavy for much of the week due to heavy rain. The organizers left it till the last moment (7am on the day of the race) before canceling. Shame but absolutely the right decision,not safe. Bike / run only.

the bike was great, v scenic but really hilly, and the decents are not for the faint hearted. Feed station at 26 miles. Worth having a reccie of the route beforehand!

Well marshaled and signposted, you couldn't get lost!

the run is flat (with some horrible stairs thrown in). I died badly on the run (the bike took it out of me!) but would be a fast course for the fit people out there! Well stocked feed station and route was really well supported.

would happily do again,had a good local feel, was cheap and local. Shame about the lack of swim, but out of the organizers control.