first timer at the middle distance. I chose this event due to the date mainly - but I have also done super sprint and sprint distance by the organisers so had an inkling about the vibe of the event and knew the lake. Oh and I was attracted to the lack of hills on the route.

Pre race I was impressed by the regularity of emails with information. Graham is a down to earth, sensible organiser who clearly wants to make sure we know everything and also wants us all to do well. 

registration and briefings the day before were great. warned of queues re parking on race day morning but it wasnt bad. straightforward. 

racking is tight and numbered. toilets in transition and on the run course. aid stations were good with 750ml high5 & water bottles on the bike course. Three on the day on the run course as it was warm, two with just water and one frankly a buffet selection of varying sweet and savoury snacks, drinks and gels. 

6 waves I was in the 5th wave. Its great that you can ask for waves. this means the first few waves had avg 200 pax in and the later waves had less people in. apart from that the put people in waves by age (youngest first) So I was with the a little bit older than average crew and it did feel a lot more relaxed than the earlier waves. I was quite happy at the time as I have got anxious about my swim. The lake/route  is easy to swim with only one part you have to swim into the middle and cant rely on the side of the lake to keep you straight! and I had loads of space. felt super safe with loads of kayakers out on course. loads of help to get up out of the lake with carpeted steps. 

bike route is fun and fast. pretty route through a few villages. the elite racers are an awesome sight and didnt put me off at all. two laps first lap was busy with bikes. Not closed roads but hardly any cars for me on the first lap. the second lap was quieter as the earlier waves had finished and were onto the run. and noticed more cars on route. one little hill but nothing killer.

run is a 7km lap. lots of people were finishing as I was on my first lap. there are parts of the route which is narrow in places. I think hindsight I would choose an earlier wave as I think I would have liked more people around running to try and feed off them when it got hard! Also many supporters who were there when I first started on my run had left by the time I was on my last lap. Marshalls were amazing and so encouraging. Still loads of cheering when I finished. Absolutely great event and organisers are fab I would definitely recommend it.