First time at AIM High event, I took the option of registering on the Friday night before the Saturday 07:40 start time, the event village was in full swing as the light was fading, very friendly and had a good vibe. Collecting my bib number and essentials was straight forward, managed by a team of experienced volunteerers. 

it was a pleasure to park in spitting distance of transition, as you are too aware, it makes things run smoothly when setting up, there were plenty of toilets, both portacabins and a toilet block, an update and commentary were informative as the sun rose over the stunning pine forest.

500 metre or so to the swim start across the sand, the wave was sufficient in numbers, as we entered the water, it was evident that it was not quite the high tide we aimed for, shallow in parts it made swimming impossible, wading in knee high surf, this disappointment was soon behind as a beautiful rainbow appeared as we exited through the sand dunes into T1

The bike like began climbing out of Newborough Forest and onto the local "open roads" friendly locals cheered us on, whilst drivers gave us plenty of room and respect, after a undulating 25km we entered the forest decent back to T2

The run Left had routed us in a clockwise circuit of the forest, so uphill for the first half through a combination of paths and muddy trails, passing across the descending bike leg, you ran through the sand dunes onto the stunning beach with the Snowdonia National Park as the back drop, if ever there was a more scenic location, let me know and I am there!

The final push was across the sandy bracket, up through the same steep sand dune as Swim exit and fown into the finish area in front of the event village.

isotonic Water, bananas, ginger biscuits and chocolate awaited those weary triathletes.

overall a well organised event in a truly stunning arena, one to tick off the bucket list and yes I will return!