Did this race for the first time this year, it won't be the last.

The level of organisation and communication provided by Graeme and the 113 team was on a different level to any race or event i've done before. We received a series of really detailed (and funny) emails providing all the info you could need in the run up to the event. 

It's also really good that you can request to racked next to and start in the same wave as friends who are doing the race with you. This isn't something i've ever known a race to offer and it must have been a really time consuming task, so it was really appreciated.

Swim - nice clear lake. Buoys are easy to see and navigate around. Just 1 lap which helps with the crowding.

Transition - 1 small negative that the racks (at least on my row) were very close together and this made it quite difficult to make your way through transition with your bike around all the people. I bashed my front wheel into someone who decided to sit down in front of me to put his socks and shoes on.

Bike - we had a changed version of the usual route this year because of some badgers digging under a section of the road. This took out the only hill on the course though, so it made it even faster. A few potholes here and there but they were clearly marked out and one particularly big one even had a marshal stationed by it to ensure no one hit it. Mostly the road surface was good i'd say though. Plenty of marshals on course and signage was really obvious. It did get quite busy on course when all the waves were going, and some people really took the p**s with drafting. Was happy to see a few drafting penalties had been issued in the results but i'm sure it could have been a lot more. Heard a few people saying at the end that the flat course made it harder because you were relentlessly turning the pedals, but if you train for this kind of riding that won't be a problem and you can set a seriously fast time.

Run - flat and fast just like the bike. Aid stations looked good, but i just stuck to the water and my own gels. Some of the trails around the lakes are quite narrow which can be frustrating if you get held up behind slower runners. Lots of marshals and other supporters out the course to provide encouragement which is always appreciated. My favourite bit was the girl spraying people with the hose as you went past the start/finish line.

Finish - really good selection of food at the end, but despite all the delicious cake on offer all I wanted was the salty pringles at that point. Wish i'd taken some cake for later now! Got a medal and goodie bag including a t shirt and what i think are leg warmers which is an odd one. Free massages were on offer but i couldn't be faffed with the queue and just went for a paddle in the lake to soak the legs a bit. 

Other - we stayed at the De Vere hotel for a couple of nights for the race, which is just up the road and a really nice place to relax. They let you keep “clean” bikes in your room and lay on a 4am breakfast on race day which is ideal. I've never really been to the Cotswolds area before but it's really lovely and if / when I do the race again we think we'll make more of a family holiday of it and enjoy the area a bit more.

All in all a fantastic race – I’ve generally given really positive reviews in the past but in future other events are going to have a real job competing with this race. Fully recommend to anyone – go get yourself a new PB!