The GREATEST UK TRI ADVENTURES IN 2021
GOODBYE 2020, HELLO 2021. A YEAR WHERE ADVENTURES CAN HOPEFULLY BE REBORN, TRIATHLON GOALS TARGETED AND ALL THAT BASE TRAINING PAYS OFF! HERE WE PICK OUR ULTIMATE UK MULTISPORT ADVENTURES FOR THE SEASON AHEAD, FROM TRAVERSING THE OUTER HEBRIDES TO NAVIGATING JERSEY’S COASTLINE WORDS MATT BAIRD PHOTO ANDY LEGRESLEY PHOTOGRAPHY
BRECA JERSEY 15.5KM RUN | 4.5KM SWIM
The Channel Islands leg of Breca’s continent-hopping series managed to take place in 2020, and it’ll return in September 2021 for another athletic swimrun showdown with Jersey’s unforgiving tidal range. Some 11 stages of swimming and running will take place, as pairs of athletes navigate 13th-century castles, World War 2 fortifications and Jersey’s northern shoreline.
See also: OtillO Isles of Scilly, Love SwimRun Llanberis
THE HEB BENBECULA, OUTER HEBRIDES 7KM KAYAK | 147KM BIKE | 46KM RUN
The Outer Hebrides. Kayaking and mountain biking. Navigating. Camping. This race greedily ticks so many of the multisport adventure boxes that it’s actually been a regular presence on BBC2’s Adventure Show. Cycling on beaches, roads and trails, off-road running and kayaking are the three disciplines (four if you count navigation, five the unique transitions) as the route takes you around the Hebridean Island chain from Benbecula to South Uist on Scotland’s far western coast over two days.
See also: Rat Race Coast to Coast, Quest Wales
CELTMAN! WESTER ROSS, SCOTLAND 3.4KM SWIM | 202KM BIKE | 42.2KM RUN
Scotland’s answer to Norseman commences with a curse-inducingly cold 3.4km swim populated by jellyfish, before the punishment continues with a 202km ride where manacles are swapped for mighty winds on the northern Highland roads. An elevation gain of 1,410m on the marathon run to the summit of Ben Eighe follows, as do some of the greatest views and biggest achievements in all of triathlon.
See also: The Brutal, TriathlonX
SLATEMAN LLANBERIS, SNOWDONIA 1.5KM SWIM | 49.6KM BIKE | 11.9KM RUN
A swim in the shadow of Snowdon. A bike taking in the mountain passes and verdant valleys. And a run through the laughably-steep inclines of the former Dinorwig slate quarry. The Slateman crams a huge amount of epic highs into its 53km-long course (a half-distance is also available), and that’s before we face the thrilling wooded descent to the raucous finish line in Llanberis.
See also: Snowman, Brutal Half
STRATFORD SUPER SPRINT STRATFORD, WARWICKSHIRE 200M SWIM | 18KM BIKE | 2.5KM RUN
Epic peaks, mountain passes and bracing leaps into icy waters... The Stratford Super Sprint has none of these, but what it does provide is an opportunity for newcomers to tri to push their limits with a debut multisport event (or racing snakes to commence their 2021 tri season). There’s a 200m pool swim in Stratford Leisure Centre, a flat 18km ride to Hampton Lucy and back, before a 2.5km riverside run. Shakespeare would be proud.
See also: Portishead Sprint Tri, the GoTri Series
TITAN BRECON BRECON BEACONS, WALES 1.9KM SWIM | 96KM BIKE | 21KM RUN
The Brecon Beacons are an underrated Welsh wonderland in close proximity to Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff, and the suitably-named Titan Brecon is a fine showcase of the area’s mighty vistas and atmospheric moors. After a swim at the race headquarters of Parc Bryn Bach, the single-loop bike on quiet roads reaches the Beacons’ northern fringe before a spectator-friendly halfmarathon run loop around the Parc Bryn Bach’s lake.
See also: Immortal Half Stourhead, Yorkshireman Half
BANANA TRI ETON, BERKSHIRE 400M SWIM | 21.2KM BIKE | 5KM RUN
Adventures don’t come much bigger than completing your first open-water triathlon. And for marking that moment when you become a bona-fide triathlete, there are no better races than the Banana Triathlon for providing a novice-friendly environment. The race we voted as the UK’s best beginner race is held at the enclosed location of Dorney Lake in Eton, offering a calm lake, completely closed roads and lack of anything that resembles a hill on the bike and run laps.
See also: London Triathlon, Brighton and Hove Tri
OUTLAW HALF HOLKHAM HOLKHAM, NORFOLK 1.9KM SWIM | 90KM BIKE | 21KM RUN
We spent our summer holiday near Holkham in 2020 and it’s a glorious spot, boasting one of the UK’s greatest beaches, salt marshes, pine forests and the huge 18th-century country pile that is Holkham Hall. It’s the latter that’s the HQ of this Outlaw Half race from the reliably-great OSB Events (see p90 for more on the Outlaw series), with a swim in the estate’s lake, an undulating single bike loop in classic English countryside and a run around the estate’s gorgeous grounds.
See also: Outlaw X, Cotswold Classic
CASTLE TO COAST TRIATHLON DORNEY LAKE, ETON 1.9KM SWIM | 107KM BIKE | 21.1KM RUN
While rare and more logistically challenging, point-to-point races always heighten the sense of adventure. It’s the feeling of a journey and reaching a final destination (even if it involves sitting on a bus in your sweaty tri-suit to return to your starting point). After a swim in Eton’s calm Dorney Lake waters, this race ventures south and navigates the country lanes of the south-east before arriving at the South Downs for a trail run to Brighton seafront.
See also: Craggy Island Tri, Jurassicman
STARMAN NIGHT TRIATHLON AVIEMORE, SCOTLAND 1.9KM SWIM | 90KM BIKE | 22.5KM RUN
“The sunshine bores the daylights out of me.” It’s one of Mick Jagger’s greatest lines and, while we’re not sure if the Stones frontman is on the start line in 2021 (although he wears Hokaesque shoes), he’s summed up the appeal of the Starman in 10 syllables. Yes, this race begins at midnight with a 1.9km swim in the black waters of Loch Morlich before the 90km bike rolls along the silent Speyside roads. The 22.5km run then takes in exposed mountain climbs as dawn breaks over the mighty Cairngorms.
See also: Midnight Man, Aviemore Triathlon
MAN VS COAST ST. MICHAEL’S MOUNT, CORNWALL 37KM RUNNING | SWIMMING | JUMPING
This 37km running event from Rat Race flirts with the boundaries of multisport, but looks such damn fun that we think it qualifies as a run-heavy swimrun race. The course map breakdown basically sees an on-foot journey across the Cornish peninsula from the towering St Michael’s Mount to Land’s End via the Penwith Heritage Coast, broken up by short swims, calf-troubling beach runs, cliff jumps and scrambling on coastal rocks.
See also: Rat Race Coast to Coast (Wales or Scotland)
CROYDE OCEAN TRIATHLON CROYDE, NORTH DEVON 1.5KM SWIM | 38KM BIKE | 12KM RUN
The Croyde Ocean Tri has proven an instant hit since 2015 and now stands as one of the UK’s essential tri experiences. The fun commences with an Atlantic Ocean swim on Putsborough Beach before a country-lane out-and-back ride. But, edging that swim, the mixed-terrain run is the showstopper, taking in the gob-smacking view over Saunton Sands at the 3km mark, a Croyde Bay beach run and the South West Coast Path’s cliff edge run to the finish.
See also: Pembrokeshire Coast Tri, Ironman 70.3 Weymouth
JURASSICMAN BUDLEIGH SALTERTON, DEVON 3.8KM SWIM | 180KM BIKE | 42.2KM RUN
From the makers of the Brutal series of hardcore triathlons in Snowdonia, the Jurassicman Extreme Triathlon is a lesser-spotted point-to-point irondistance race. The course takes athletes from Budleigh Salterton in Devon and concludes in Dorset’s Lulworth Cove, taking in the Jurassic Coast, the South West Coast Path, and some of England’s greatest scenery and history. Not that this is a geography field trip, with 3,750m of elevation gain over the 226km route. See also: The Brutal, Celtman, TriathlonX
MINEHEAD SPRINT TRIATHLON MINEHEAD, SOMERSET 750M SWIM | 20KM BIKE | 5KM RUN
This classic British beach resort may best be known for its Butlin’s, but has been hosting a triathlon since 2014 on the North Somerset coast and held the UK’s final open-water triathlon in 2020. The race commences with a swim in the Avon Channel before a bike into the fringes of Exmoor and back, with the multi-terrain run taking in Culver Cliff woods and the seafront.
See also: Eastbourne Tri, Fishguard Sprint
ABERFELDY TRIATHLON ABERFELDY, PERTHSHIRE 1.9KM SWIM | 90KM BIKE | 21KM RUN
The long-running Perthshire event will host the British MiddleDistance Championships in 2021. The Central Highlands challenge commences in the crisp waters of Loch Tay before the 90km bike leg takes place in the shadow of the Schiehallion mountain. The half marathon run, meanwhile, features a riverside run along quiet roads to the village of Grandtully and back to the finish line in Aberfeldy.
See also: The Lakesman Half, Immortal Half Exmoor
HELVELLYN TRIATHLON ULLSWATER, CUMBRIA 1.6KM SWIM | 60KM BIKE | 14.5KM RUN
Won by Alistair Brownlee in 2020, the Helvellyn Triathlon is widely (and rightly) known as one of the hardest courses in the world of multisport, a weapons grade test of technical skills, endurance reserves and mental fortitude. The Lake District-set race kicks off with a chilly swim in Ullswater before things head skyward with a climb of the aptly-named ‘The Struggle’ on the bike and an ascent of the titular Helvellyn (and back down again) on the run.
See also: HalfX, A Day in the Lakes, Brutal Half
PERRANPORTH SURF TRIATHLON PERRANPORTH, CORNWALL 1.5KM SWIM | 38KM BIKE | 7.5KM RUN
September should witness the 33rd edition of this Cornish classic, which commences with a sea swim on one of the UK’s most celebrated surfing beaches. After a three-lap bike leg in tin-mining country, the run keeps things to the Atlantic coast, with granite clifftop scenery and a leg-sapping beach run before the finish line (and mandatory post-race pasty). And, if your young ones fancy starting their tri adventure in 2021, there are also a number of children’s races held over the weekend.
See also: Sandman, Croyde Ocean Tri
AVIEMORE TRIATHLON GLENMORE FOREST, AVIEMORE 1KM SWIM | 18KM MTB | 9KM TRAIL RUN
Off-road triathlons in the UK are sadly and strangely all too rare, yet this Durty Events staple helps fill the ongoing Xterra-shaped void with a humdinger of a race. There’s a wince-inducing swim in the melted ice of Loch Morloch, a technical bike route on forest paths and root-strewn trails, before a trail run that peaks with a gob-smacking panorama of the Cairngorms National Park.
See also: Keswick Mountain Festival, Escape to Afan