← Cowman Triathlon
The swim course was very confusing, during the briefing it was mentioned we should have kept a yellow buoy on the right and then a white buoy on the left but I have never seen a white buoy. The other participants experienced exactly the same.. Moreover, the lake was really full of algae to the point that it was impossible to focus on the swim without getting distracted by the layers of algae on the face/hands.. I'm not a beginner but certainly didn't enjoy it (and don't think it suits first-time triathletes, especially the ones scared of open water). The bike course was ok, I totally understand about last-minute changes due to road works but going through tiny villages with lots of twists and dangerous turns it's not ideal for a race in my opinion. The run course was quite scenic but it should have been emphasized that racing shoes were not ideal (I have seen a few participants twisting their ankles). Honestly, the goody bag and the aid stations were quite poor, on the contrary, the medal was quite original. The marshals were very kind and prepared, and the organizers quite friendly too. Overall, the venue was family and spectator-friendly, and Olney a nice countryside destination for a weekend. However, the race is not a great value for money, definitely not a PB potential nor ideal for beginners.. and especially the swim course should be improved!
Hi Alex, thanks for your feedback! There were yellows buoys and a white buoy but I can appreciate that whilst swimming looking out for particular colour buoys may not be the easiest task, and we can only apologise for the confusion. Thanks for your understanding on the bike route changes, we had to go with the chosen route as the alternatives were either too long or too short, and we did have extra marshals in place and motos to ensure for athlete safety, but rest assured in 2023 we'll be using our original cycle routes. We encouraged athletes to wear their running trainers (just not their best ones) which went out in the athlete information pack, apologies if this wasn't made clear enough. We do believe that we give great value for money, we are a lot cheaper than many middle-distance triathlons across the country and try to give our athletes as much as we can. Once again, thanks for your feedback and we hope this isn't the last time we'll see you at the event! - BCS Events