By David Sillifant

THE annual Bude Triathlon took place on Sunday, July 3 in front of a large crowd on the North Cornwall coast.

Organised and ran by Simon and Nicola Hammond of Bude-based Shoreline Extreme Sports, 255 people entered — either racing solo or as part of a relay team.

The format was the same as usual with a 500 metre swim in Summerleaze Bay, an 11-mile cycle around Bude and the coastline towards Widemouth and then a three-mile run around the town before finishing back at Summerleaze Beach car park.

As ever with a triathlon, the importance of a lovely day cannot be underestimated, and the people of Bude were blessed with a wonderful sunny day, which brought a large number of the general public out to watch the triathletes from far and wide compete around the town and its surrounding areas.

Co-organiser, Nicola Hammond, was extremely pleased with the day. She said: “The event went extremely well, the conditions were absolutely brilliant, especially the sea conditions which led to people being able to swim extremely quickly, meaning it was a good watch for everyone.

“Also the atmosphere was really good. We were slightly concerned because of BAAMFest that the turnout wouldn’t be as good as normal but the place was buzzing.”

The fact that it was buzzing was in no small part to the performances of the triathletes. Local man James Marshall won the men’s over 40s category and a sixth-place overall in a time of 1:03:11, one minute and 56 seconds ahead of Alex Woodmason, who finished 12th. The highest place woman in the over 40s and overall was Elizabeth Vernon in a time of 1:11:57, her time was the 39th fastest on the day.

The overall men’s winner was Henry Irvine who in turn set an event record, winning in under an hour with a time of 57:08, one minute and 42 seconds ahead of Nathan Newton. Lee Turner was third taking 1:00:14 to complete the course.

In the 50+ category, Rob Moore was a clear winner, finishing seventh overall in a time of 1:03:37, over three minutes faster than namesake Paul. Mirella Fox won the women’s over 50 event in 1:17:42.

Sheila Fox was the only woman to enter in the over 60s but performed excellently to complete the course in 1:18:12 and in the process beat all the men in her age group. She finished just five seconds ahead of Robert Thornton who was the fastest male.

In the youth section, Zerran Hammond won the boys title by just over two minutes from Tom Matthew in a time of 1:12:27 while of the three girls in the girls’ race, Emma Shaw dismantled the rest of the field to win in 1:24:59.

The relay events are often popular for those just starting out in the world of triathlon. The winners of the Relay Open were The Three Amigos in 1:12:28, 57 seconds ahead of Team Crunch.

Only two took part in the over 40s Relay Open and it was Kellogs Cornflakes who won out over Kings of Kestle by three minutes and 18 seconds. They did it in just 1:07:29, the 19th fastest time for any of the competitors. Three for All were the only female entries in the Relay Open and finished with the 100th fastest time of 1:22:48.

The Bude Triathlon continues to be a massive draw for the public, with the idyllic scenery and warm welcome from locals meaning triathletes from as far as the Midlands, London and Dorset come down to sample the North Cornwall coast.

Nicola said: “I believe the event continues to be successful because we cater for everyone from first-timers to experienced triathletes.

“We think there’s something for everyone, especially the relay which gives people the chance to have a taste of the event and then often they come back the next year and decide they want to take part in the full event.”

One of the advantages of the triathlon is that the hub of the day is based in Summerleaze Beach car park, giving spectators a place to watch knowing that there’ll be regular comings and goings from the area. That combined with the fact that the race is all finished in around two hours keeps people entertained.

Nicola added: “With the car park being the main area of the triathlon, the crowds are never waiting to long to see something new, so there’s a continuous flow to the day. Also there are three different starts for the various categories allowing people to be kept in the know of what’s going on in each particular race.”

Keeping the spectators ajar of what’s going on is left to Bill Kneebone who commentates on the race, letting the crowd know exactly who is who while often having a joke with the runners.

Things like are that especially important to the Hammond’s, as it’s all about getting people to keep coming back year after year.

“People like Bill and the marshals who do such great jobs help make the event. Someone said to me on Sunday, This is a really nice, friendly welcoming event where people are made to feel wanted. That makes what we do all worthwhile,” Nicola added.