Irish Championship event at Eskragh Lough

LOCAL triathlon club Tri Limits, has a tough act to follow when it hosts its annual Tri Tyrone 70.3 race tomorrow (Saturday), which will also be the Irish Middle Distance Championship.

For two years in a row the event, which features a 1.2 mile (1.9 kilometre) swim in Eskragh Lough, before competitors tackle a 56-mile (90K) cycle and then a 13.1 half marathon (21.1K) run, has been crowned Triathlon Ireland’s race of the year.

And while club members are confident they can replicate that experience again for the 400-strong entry, which includes the top Irish triathletes, amateur and professional, they know a lot of hard work has had to be done behind the scenes.

“With any event it takes great planning, financial commitment and reliance on volunteer support,” explained club chairman, Mark Farquhar.

The sell-out event has, as usual, attracted the best of Irish triathletes who want to be crowned national middle distance champion and with 70 per cent of the field coming from the South, Farquhar believes the race does its bit for tourism in Mid Ulster.

“It’s a middle distance triathlon, so you can’t really drive three or four hours before hand and then drive back again afterwards because the top guys will complete it in about four and a half hours and others can take upwards of eight, which is a long time to spend on any course,” he explained.

“So we try to encourage them to come and stay for the weekend, to experience what Mid Ulster has to offer, so we like to think we’re doing our wee bit for tourism in the area.”

Saturday’s racing gets underway at 9am.