Coniston Triathlon

On Saturday night my son and I camped out in our car at Coniston so that we were able to be in place for volunteering at 6 AM! We went to sleep with the Old Man watching over us:

I was up at 5 and made myself a coffee before waking my son and heading down to the event organised by Epic Events. It was so peaceful and tranquil in the early morning light:

Our first job was car parking and we made a great team ensuring that everyone could park safely and get their bikes off their cars:

Then we had a short break during the swimming event and my son took a chance to paddle in the lake and do some stone skimming:

The people with the best jobs were the water safety crew who got to be out on the water in their kayaks:

There were over a 170 athletes tackling the event and a fair few spectators to cheer them on as they entered the water to head to the start:

It was a magnificent sight watching the water go white as they headed off on the 1.5 km course (I took some video but haven't yet edited it for YouTube): 

Once all the athletes had exited the water and gone to the bike ride part (40 km!!) we headed to the finish to help layout medals and water:

The lovely owners of the Little Blue Pig gave us both a free hot drink for helping out:

I was sorting tags and my son was giving out the medals as folks finished the 10 km run:

The commentator did a grand job of keeping us all entertained and giving well earned praise to the finishers:

I then moved to marshalling at a tricky junction next to the farmhouse with its Westmorland chimneys:

Some kind spectators bought us ice lollies to keep us cool as we were out in the sunshine until nearly 1 PM! It was a lovely atmosphere so well worth the heat and standing around. My son's reward was a swim in the lake with some coaching in cold water swimming by Jumpy James:

I also enjoyed watching the gondola on one of its steam cruises:

One day maybe my son will do a triathlon if he ever manages to get back on a bike! He could do a duathlon which is a run and a swim. So inspiring to be able to help at one of these events and just maybe contemplate taking part yourself....