ATHLETES from the North East and around the country descended on Kielder over the weekend to take part in the first staging of a new ultra triathlon.
Hundreds of competitors had signed up for The Northumbrian on Sunday (June 19), which was hosted by Kielder Waterside.
The ultra triathlon was organised by Events of the North, the company run by athletics great Steve Cram, with support from Northumbrian Water.
Starting at 6.15am, individuals and teams tackled races at both the full ultra triathlon distance of 140.6 miles, and the half distance of 70.3 miles.
Kielder Water was the venue for the swim section, while the roads of the Kielder Valley and the Borders hosted the bike route, and the run followed the trails of Kielder Marathon in the forests around the reservoir.
The full distance ultra triathlon at The Northumbrian was won by Jamie Allen of Humber Triathletes, who completed the race in a total time of nine hours, 26 minutes and 21 seconds.
Jamie’s split times were 38 minutes for the 2.4 miles swim, 5:18:19 for 112 miles on his bike, and 3:35:15 for the final marathon run leg of 26.2 miles.
John Parr claimed second place in 10:04:50 and James Anderson of North Shields Poly was third in 10:10:35.
The women’s race was won by Shona Beveridge of Border Triathletes (15:31:13).
Winner of the half ironman distance at The Northumbrian was Matthew Chipping of Valley Striders Triathlon in 4:33:47, with Matthew Braybrooke of Dursley Running Club second in 4:40:36 and Lewis Timmins third in 4:43:13.
Helena Sherwood of Harrogate Triathlon won the women’s race in 5:26:45, followed by Jennifer Carter of Oxford University (5:29:30) and Alex Hemsley (5:38:57).
The team event - in the half ironman distance - was won by local outfit Dixon and Sons in 4:29:30, with Team Cod second in 5:10:28 and Team Indie third in 5:25:15.
Race founder Steve Cram said: "It was an epic day for all involved and I’m delighted that we’ve demonstrated that an ultra triathlon like this can be successfully hosted at Kielder Waterside.
"Working closely with Northumbrian Water, we were able to stage the ultimate triathlon in a truly stunning setting and it was fantastic to witness the competitors take on the challenge. The weather gods were kind and our triathletes witnessed Northumberland in all its glory as they covered the course."
The Northumbrian will return next year on Sunday, July 2 2023.
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