My 3rd Grafman. Tough day in the office, wind was the major problem on all 3 sectors. Best of all were the ATW team - every single one of them. I felt more than well looked after throughout the whole day. ATW are without question the best triathlon organisers in the world. They make one feel involved from pre event to post event. I felt safe throughout a challenging swim as help was near at hand, as it was on the bike and the run was local to the start/finish. Every member of the ATW team deserves a medal for being so superb.

This is a lovely race, small, friendly and fun. The communication before was excellent and timely and all of the staff on the day (and the day before for registration) were helpful and positive, flexible too on questions. At just 200-300 participants it's not a stressed experience but there is still enough atmosphere to make the event worth it. And good support on the run around the start/finish area. We had very challenging conditions with strong winds on the day, so every element was tough, especially the swim into hard headwinds and chop! The roads are not closed but they are quiet and rural, I was held up only twice (maybe 2-3 minutes time impact) behind traffic but it was only due to cautious drivers around cyclists. It was good that there were small change tents as I did x2 full changes in transition but in the wind they were wide open, so sorry to any onlookers! On the feed / water stations, I only accessed the one I saw at around 2+ hours (by then I was out of water), I think that one could also do with some bananas/something fruity and fresh as by then you are so sick of gels and chews! It would also be helpful to access that station on the way through as it wasn't set up at that stage - and I am not a fast competitor. In summary, I would highly recommend Grafman for anyone taking on a 70.3, and it is a much calmer experience for those taking on their first middle distance. Lovely medal too, really high quality/different design (as good as an IM brand medal) and the T-shirt is well worth buying! So thank you and keep up the very good work, this is an event with very good bang for buck! Please turn the wind off next time!!

Really enjoyed overall but some specific feedback to make it better: 1) More helpers/kayakers or more buoys to help with directions back to shore at end of swim. Impossible to see final buoy or direction to travel in given rising sun. Made swim a lot more difficult than could have been and I was among a few to get a bit lost 2) Aid station - very difficult/unsafe to stop given situated road-side on T-junction. Would advise should be somewhere where can pull in safely i.e on lay-by. As a result I didn't want to/feel I should stop without impeding my race or safety,