I chose Outlaw for my first middle distance event. Overall, I had a great day and would consider returning (limited by distance from where I live). Having read last year's reviews there were a few things I was apprehensive about - road condition and parking especially. The route changed this year and it sounds like this was for the better. Ignoring the last few km, overall only a few rough bits, but overall better than the roads in my local area, and I'm also not on a TT bike which may have helped. However the last road through to Holme Pierrepont is terrible; apparently there are reasons why this cannot be resurfaced, but perhaps routing us back along the road we came out on would be better? Parking - again I hear this year was better than last, however we found the operatives (presumably a company subcontracted to do this) quite unhelpful and at times rude and angry. It took us 20 minutes to park in the morning - worth bearing this in mind and the start was delayed by 20 minutes due to this. Perhaps there is scope for a park & ride nearby with shuttle buses? Or a nearby large field to use? Aid stations - plentiful on the run, only one on the bike which was ok but I think an improvement would be having 2. Sustainability - mix of paper & plastic cups on the run, and I think lots of bottles binned on the bike - not sure the best way forward with this but I'm sure all races in future in all disciplines will need to consider this. Maybe used bottles can be cleaned and donated? However, overall lots of positives, volunteers all amazing, great venue for spectators with the run being laps (even if by the third time I ran up the grassy banks I was fed up!), water temp lovely compared to what I'd trained in, scenic quiet bike course with very few cars, and womens'-specific toilets and T shirts. Would recommend to first timers and would consider returning in future.

Let down by a couple of extremely rude marshals! A fantastic event but I feel it was let down by 2 extremely rude marshals in transition and the entrance to the swim. We arrived at Holme Pierepont at 5am for a 6:10 start as we knew it would be congested. Ample time you would think, but no, car parking was a disaster. I only managed to get in the water at 6:45 as my brother took the car to park. He was over an hour late to his start time. Shouted at for being late by 2 marshals I started the event stressed, and had to overtake a ridiculous amount of people on the 3 disciplines because of the seemingly incompetent car park marshals. Such a shame that this seems to have become a regular feature of Outlaw Nottingham events.

This was my first middle distance triathlon and I think I chose the right event for the first one. The swim (which is the bit I was most nervous about) was a simple route and the water was warm and didn't feel dirty at all. The bike course was fast and flat and potholes were clearly marked out which made it safer. The last mile wasn't great but I'd read this so knew to expect it. The food stations were spaced out brilliantly on the run, especially for a hot day and although 3 laps of the lake can be a little mind-numbing, it means you see your friends and family regularly and the atmosphere is really good with lots of spectators. I had read that car parking was an issue last year so I arrived at 4:30 (even though they said the car parks didn't open until 4:45) and we drove straight in and parked straight away so it was stress free. Having said that, when we were walking to the event 5 mins after parking there were already queues forming however I guess this is to be expected with thousands of people turning up at the same time. The only downside was that the start was pushed back 30 mins however this wasn't communicated. My family and friends thought I'd got into the lake at 6:10 and were panicking when they hadn't seen me come out after 1 hour 10 mins, whereas in reality I hadn't started until 6:45. Overall a fab event and would definitely recommend.

Parking was a disaster, long waits. Although the start was delayed by 10 mins people were queued way longer than this. Outlaw staff in transition were particularly rude to athletes who had been delayed for30 + minutes and struggled to meet their allocated start time, making it an unpleasant and stressful situation. It was unnecessary, particularly as tannoy announcements we saying don’t stress just get to the start as soon as you can. Given that, the remainder of the staff and volunteers were super. It’s seems unfair that aquabike were only given age group prizes, not overall winners. These athletes have paid and competed just like the triathlon and relay athletes. It’s seems like they were not as important, yet you are quite happy to take their money.

I think it was a very well organised event in a lovely location with great atmosphere. Lots of support from spectators and athletes taking part. One downside and area of improvement which did affect me on the day, would be the sustainability of the event in terms of waste management. We were encouraged to bin hard plastic water bottles at the bike feed station, that's 2 per athlete and over 1500 competing athletes. I know it's a competition and a race but in a long distance event what's a few minutes compared to the years it takes to degrade a bottle. Not sure if this has been given much thought or what the reasonable options would be but definitely needs to be considered. The event was delayed starting by 30mins. So was waiting in the wetsuit for 30mins in the cold. I think this was due to traffic from the event. 1500+ arriving around the same time obviously causes a bottle neck. Again sustainable travel options could be considered not sure if free shuttle buses from certain locations would help improve this.

Absolutely exceptional event, I would go so far as to so this is the best triathlon in the UK! The great things about it: 1. Beautiful, safe bike course. Exactly the right amount of people out on course (no overcrowding) and about as quiet as you could expect the roads to be considering they are not closed. 2. Clean water which wasn't too cold! 3. Nice event village and lots of options for spectating. 4. Perfect amount of aid stations, particularly on the run. 5. Great price. This was an Ironman quality event in terms of organisation but it was wayyy cheaper. Also much friendlier and welcoming. Just brilliant all round.