Another great @OSBEvents race weekend at the scenic Holkham hall in beautiful North Norfolk. The sun shone all weekend which was fantastic for everyone present, the atmosphere was nice with everyone in good spirits.

I competed last year and would really have liked to do so fully again but hip arthritis means I had to transfer my place to become a relay competitor, doing the swim and bike legs. Whilst it cost me more including an admin fee the OSB staff were really helpful in assisting me in doing so.

Registration and racking on the Saturday was easy, well staffed, no long queues and reducing the stress and faff for race day!

The relay start was early, 06.25, my mates all off at 7.01...The lake was a warm, muddy start with a big starting wave but a simple narrow loop which I like. After forgetting to put suncream on last year and getting a bit red I put plenty on this time which prevented my googles sealing well and swim was interrupted by emptying goggles countless times (schoolboy error) and although I thought I swam OK (for me) I was 2 minutes slower than last year. Great help and support from the marshalls on exiting the water.

The bike leg is mostly scenic on roads I'm fairly familiar with, some surfaces are a bit patchy and leg sappingly dressed in places. This time around I found it really tough and the stiff breeze played a part, especially for the long stretch of A148 which seemed into a head wind. Having started early in the relay wave I was overtaken by so many super cyclists it was a bit soul destroying and didn't help my struggle! However I was surprised to find I was only 2 minutes slower than last years time. Again, suberbly marshalled and supported by volunteers and a fair few locals too.

My team mate ran a great leg, whilst an undulating and challenging he loved it - the course, the weather, the support, the organisation, everything! He was really glad I roped him in. We'll be teaming up again for future events all being well.

Given the amount of people camping, competing and spectating over the course of the weekend there is probably scope to have more there to spend your money on! A few more food stalls and things to look at would be good.

Overall a briliiant event in a beautiful location and despite no longer running I'm so glad I was able to experience it once again. I would highly recommend.