Try-a-tri

The club try-a-tri will take place in and around the Regional Sports Complex on Sunday 15th April.

The organizing team is made up of Damien McSharry, John Hanly, Mary Quill Eglington, Eamonn McAndrew, Catriona Fallon and Brian Reilly.

Sligo Triathlon Club - Try a Tri

The Race
Sligo Triathlon Club are proud to announce the launch of their annual Try a Tri super sprint. As most of you know the race is designed to encourage people who are new to the world of Triathlon to get out there and give it a go. To give them that added incentive to get involved, the club organises a pool based triathlon allowing the triathletes to get used to swimming longer distances with other people in the safe warm environment of a swimming pool. The overall distances are shorter than a usual sprint distance race. The swim will be 250m or 10 lengths of the pool, followed by a short but tough 10km cycle and finishes with a refreshing 4km run on the race course tarmac path (2 laps). The race is open to anyone over 16 years of age. (parental consent will be required for 16-18yrs)

The Where:
Below we have shown a course maps of the event which will take place at the Regional Sports and Leisure Centre where the 25m pool will be used. Followed by the cycle route which will take you out of the leisure centre, past the Grave Yard, toward the Carraroe Roundabout, onto Aughamore, then the Holy Well Rd and back to the Leisure Centre where you begin the 4km run around the race course and finish back at the leisure centre. Phew! Transition area is located in the carpark of the leisure centre.

The When:
The Race will be held on Sunday the 15th April, registration will commence at 8:30 on the day, followed by the race briefing at 9:30 and the race will commence at 10:00am sharp. The swim will be run in waves of 25 people, 5 to a lane, so donʼt worry it will be a very civilized affair. Triathletes will be allocated a lane based on their swim ability.

The How:
The race can be entered by logging onto the Triathlon Ireland web site,  click on the Race entry Tab and follow the instructions. The following is very important: if you are not a full Triathlon member you will have to take out a one day license in order to enter the event, the entry system will walk you through this. This costs €15 per race or you can become a full member and enter as many races in 2012 as you like for €50. These costs are outside our control and Sligo Triathlon club have no say in this matter. If you donʼt have a one day license or full membership you canʼt enter the race. For this reason we cannot accept entries on the day so please donʼt ask. Entry will open for the race on Monday the 16th January and will close on Monday the 2nd April. The places are limited so please donʼt be disappointed and book your place as soon as possible.

The How Much:
We make every effort to keep the cost low given the current economic situation, entry will therefore be a flat €25 (plus your one day license fee to Triathlon Ireland). In return you will receive your entry to the race, your time splits, a small goody bag, a t-shirt, a cuppa tea
and a sticky bun after the race! Hope youʼll join us on the day and come along to cheer on the competitors! Thank you!

Below is the finish line footage from the 2011 race:

Report from the October 2010 race:

From 8.30am on last Sunday, when the registration for the Try a Tri opened in the Sligo Sports Complex the buzz amongst competitors, marshals and supporters was electric. The Sligo Triathlon Club Members had been busy from 7am that morning ensuring that everything was put in place for the 3rd running of this annual event. Out of a field of 93 starters, Colin Harte was victorious in the mens section, with Sheila Ryan taking first place in the ladies race. Colin had been pushed all the way by the teenage sensation Ethan Melvin, with only 20 seconds separating them at the end. Second place in the ladies race went to Leona Moran, who was less than 2 minutes behind Sheila. As all the competitors were wearing timing chips, it was possible to run 4 separate swim waves, with the slower swimmers going in the earlier waves and the fastest swimmers going in the final wave. On completion of the 10 lanes in Sports Complex Pool, it was out to the Transition Area in the car park to put on the cycling helmets and pick up the bikes. The 10km bike route brought the competitors out past the Cemetery, The Sligo Park Hotel and on to Cararoe. The assistance of the Gardai was essential at the busy junctions and the co-operation of the Sligo County Council was also appreciated. The good surface on the road towards Dromahair allowed the cyclists to build up the speed, and the decline to the Holy Well also was a great help, bearing in mind the 2 tough ascents that awated towards Tonaphubble. With the final kilometre practically downhill, the cyclists had the opportunity to prepare themselves for the 4km run that follow their arrival back again to the Transition Area in the Sports Complex Car park. Many competitors commented that one of the toughest aspects of the race was the steady hill up to the Sligo Race Course, where they completed their 2 laps, but then at least they had the benefit of the nice downhill back to the finish line at the Sports Complex. On crossing the line the successful athletes received their commemorative medal from Sligos International Triathlete Neil Walton, the winner of the Sligo Sprint Distance Triathlon in Rosses Point this year. With Michael OConnell on commentary, all the athletes received a great welcome from the large group of supporters. There was constant activity in the Transition area, with people entering from the swim, people heading out for the cycle section, people returning with their bikes and others heading out for their run. The Club were very lucky with the fantastic weather, and thankfully the Civil Defence and Dr Bernie OConnor who were there to support the Event, were not called into action. With over 50 Club members and friends involved as marshals, the organising Committee were very grateful to everybody who worked so hard to ensure the safety and success of the event. With out the Sponsors it would have been very difficult to run the event, and the 2 mains sponsors were Chain Driven Cycles, and the Sligo Sports and Recreation Partnership. Other valued Sponsors included Key to Health, John Kent Sports, Legginit.com, Tipperary Water, The Running School Castlebar, The Sligo Golf Academy and Voya Seaweed Products. Special mention must go to the Team at the Sligo Sports Complex for their help on the day, and also to the Sligo Race Course for making the course available on the day.