Lough Cutra Castle to host triathlon

SOUTH Galway could become the location for the biggest triathlon in the country if a British firm’s plans come to fruition.
The Castle Triathlon Series will hold one of its signature events in the picturesque surroundings of Lough Cutra Castle next summer, its first venture into the Irish adventure sports market.
The 2011 series comprised four weekend events and a midweek evening sprint series over the course of the summer, “offering high quality, competitive, safe and fun races set in truly stunning locations”.
“This will be the first Castle Triathlon we will hold in Ireland. We chose June 3, 2012 for a number of reasons. It is a bank holiday in the UK and is the start of school half-term. We also get an extra day off that weekend due to the Queen’s Jubilee,” Brian Adcock, race director, Castle Triathlon Series told The Clare Champion.
Organisers, Mr Adcock explained, have an impressive goal.
“I would expect half the participants to come from the UK and half from Ireland and we want to build the event to the biggest triathlon in Ireland within three years. We hope to have 500 participants in 2012, 1,000 in year two and 2,000 by year three,” he outlined.
This year’s series has seen competitors take part in triathlons at Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire and the Castle Howard in Yorkshire, with a triathlon taking place in Chateau De Chantilly close to Paris this Sunday, as well as a sprint triathlon series taking place throughout the summer in Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn.
Britain and France are both rich in castles so what prompted organisers to expand the series to Ireland and specifically to Lough Cutra Castle?
“We have been looking for additional castles. Then the owner of the castle contacted us independently because they were looking to bring an additional event to the castle. This was in keeping with what they were doing at Lough Cutra and it is also something that should raise some money for the castle. From a personal point of view, my mother is Irish and I came over to Bray, County Wicklow to play Gaelic football when I was younger and loved it so I was eager to see us bring this to Ireland,” Mr Adcock commented.
The race organiser believes Lough Cutra and South Galway will appeal strongly to the British market.
“It is as stunning place for starters. It is taking place at half-term. Lough Cutra is a lovely part of the world and we have a mostly middle-class audience with money to spend. We are also blazing a trail in the family triathlon market and a lot of people will come and do it with their kids,” he predicted.
Each castle event offers nine different races for different levels aimed at those taking part for the first time, children, families, elite triathletes and relay teams.
Triathletes start with an open water swim in an open water lake, transition into the cycle circuit through countryside and finally make a dash to the finishing line on a run that circumnavigates the estate and castle grounds. Children cycle a route that is exclusively on the estate and not on public roads.
More information on the triathlon at Lough Cutra will be available from www.castletriathlonseries.co.uk from October 1. More details on the castle itself are available from www.loughcutra.com.