As a complete newbie to triathlons I was a little nervous but the tri max team organised a fantastic event. 

Great atmosphere, great facilities, well organised registration and clear maps showing what we needed to see.  Really nice clean pool, lovely bike course & the run was great. 

Well done trimax I had a fantastic day and you have made my first triathlon experience a great one. 

This is was my 3rd pool based triathlon this year (after taking up pool based sprint triathlons - in May) and it was a lovely one to end on.

Pre-race pack was received a week before the event and covered everything you could possibly need and race registration was smooth, the ladies were friendly and very helpful in explaining where the race numbers go to those whose first time it was at a triathlon.

Pool-side briefing took place 10 minutes before your swim time. What I would say is that the area that people wait before heading pool-side was a mix of start times and therefore you could easily miss your wave. Perhaps advise people to stay clear until 5 minutes before their start time or have a marshal there to ensure only those who are due to head off are there.

Transition area was well marked and maintained with your race number clearly marked out. There was a limit on the space you had and in all fairness, most athletes kept to a small area as possible which was much appreciated. Nobody likes a space invader! The volunteer at transition was excellent and friendly, throughly checking your bike and answering questions.

Bike route was a toughy and my other two triathlons were around the Brecon Beacons and Gadano Valley! This was harder than both of those! The significant drop after the big climb was a bone rattler and whilst the more confident triathletes flew down it and past me, I rode on my brakes. There were some potholes which, with my serious lack of confidence as yet on the bike discipline, I was not taking a risk of coming off. One other point, at one point I took a minor detour (I missed a sign and went straight on - thankfully a lovely local told me before I ended up somewhere else) perhaps a few more marshalls out on the course would be good as there were a few times that you had to hope that you were going the right way as it was a long time before you saw signs.

The run route was a 2 lap course which was tarmac, so no trail daps required, which took in the local playing field, past the pretty village church and off down towards the park and lake. There were plenty of places that you could see your supporters a number of times. The loclas were cheering everyone on too which was lovely, especially when you're on the final discipline and the finish is within sight. The water stop was well stocked and supported by volunteers.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the volunteers for their time yesterday, it was an early start for them and I hope they enjoyed as much as I enjoyed taking part.

The t-shirt and medal were lovely too and it is nice to have a cotton tee to wear with everyday clothes as opposed to tech tee's which I usually train in.

If you want a lovely, challenging course then consider this triathlon.