Glenridding and Lake Ullswater, from Helvellyn. On Saturday 10th September, Glenridding at the southern end of Lake Ullswater hosted the second annual Helvellyn Triathlon. The name itself conjures up images of a severe test and you would not be disappointed. The event starts off gently enough with a mass start 1 mile swim, not as difficult as it sounds – the starting line is huge – and then it starts to get interesting. A 38 mile bike leg starts by going north up the side of the lake, then through Matterdale to Troutbeck. A gentle stretch along the A.66 to Threlkeld is followed by a very scenic ride past Thirlmere to Grasmere and then the fun starts.

At Ambleside you turn left along an innocuous-looking side road that soon has you singing “Stairway to Heaven”. But you don’t sing for long. It’s uphill all the way towards the infamous Kirkstone Pass that for some reason is known locally as “The Struggle”. Once over the pass you could be forgiven for thinking that you have conquered this race as the rest of the bike is downhill back to Glenridding. However the leg-breaking part is yet to come.

Richard Hunt

The 8 mile run section up to the top of Helvellyn via Hole-in-the-Wall, Red Tarn and Swirral Edge is just what it implies – a near impossible fell run – but the downhill section via Whiteside Bank and Glenridding Common is just as difficult with only experienced fell runners able to do it justice. If all this sounds too much for you then you’re mistaken. Yes, if you are after a good position and maybe an age-group prize then you are going to hurt, but if you’re intention is simply to finish, conquer the course and enjoy the experience then you won’t be alone. Last year 178 competitors took part and the race was held in very wet conditions. You’d think that would have affected this year’s race but entries had to be closed early at 400. In the end 331 started the race, those who didn’t were probably put off by the incessant rain in the days leading up to the event. However on raceday the weather was as near perfect as you could get although it was cloudy on the tops.

Out of the swim first was Andrew Campbell in 18.55 followed by Andrew Duggan in 19.13 and the first of the favourites, Mark Livesey third in 19.37. Of the other race favourites Richard Hunt was 2.20 down at this point in 10th place with Marc Laithwaite a further 1.18 back in 20th. The first lady to exit was Alison Smeaton in 15th overall with a time of 22.26. It was nearly three minutes before Ruth Isaacs emerged in 2nd place with Susan Day a further 56 seconds down in third. At this point last year’s winner Jen Milsom was nearly 7 minutes down after a difficult swim.

Out onto the bike and the early swim leaders were soon caught and passed by Livesey whose bike split of 1.48.22 would hold onto the lead throughout the bike leg. He was being chased hard all the way by Hunt who had the fastest bike split of 1.46.46 and there were only two seconds between them at the start of the run. Third fastest bike split was by Matthew Powell in 1.49.59. In the ladies race Smeaton lost 6.16 to Kirsty Hewitson who returned the fastest bike split of 2.06.59 but Smeaton still retained the lead with a 1.16 gap to Jenny Grindley with Hewitson in third. Heather Dawe made up a lot of ground with the second-best split of 2.09.12 and was in fourth place after the bike.

Right - Kirsty Hewitson

Once out onto the run the specialist fell runners came into their own. Laithwaite put in the fastest split of 1.18.53, beating last year’s record run time by nearly four minutes. In fact the first four, Laithwaite, Morgan Donnelly, Phil Davies and Hunt all broke the record. Hunt lost 3.01 to Laithwaite but still did enough to win in a new overall record time of 3.29.56, over 7 minutes inside the old time. Laithwaite’s record run moved him up to second with Livesey holding on to third, both of these also inside the old record.

Meanwhile Smeaton and Grindley were being pegged back by a real battle between Hewitson and Dawe in the ladies race. Hewitson won this battle by a mere 8 seconds with a run time of 1 40.05 but the fastest run was by Christine Howard in a magnificent 1.30.50, over 8 minutes inside the old run record and 12th fastest overall on the day. Howard, however had too much time to make up and Hewitson held on for the win in 4.18.30 to break Milsom’s course record by 3.01. Dawe was second only 46 seconds back with Howard third in 4.25.43.

Split and overall times were provided by Raceahead.net who used the Championchip timing system. This is surely the way to go for all larger events. The legwork saved and instant results are a boon for race organisers and competitors alike. Long-gone are the days when you would go home after a race and wait 2 weeks for the results to arrive. Nowadays by the time you get home the results are already on the internet!

Marc Laithwaite

For a race of this size and difficulty to pass without any controversy or serious incident is a credit to Rob Wilkins and his support team of helpers mainly from Cleveland Biketraks Tri Club. With generous sponsorship from local businesses, Montane Clothing and Up and Running and enthusiastic support from the local parish and district council’s this race is here to stay. This race will be held again next year at about the same time. Don’t miss it – but get onto those hills first!


Photos of many competitors will be placed in the usual place as soon as possible. It's not possible to include everyone - sorry if you're missed out -

Swim Start Leading Results Overall Men – Richard Hunt – 3.29.56 Ladies – Kirsty Hewitson – 4.18.30 20-29 Men ………….Swim / Bike / Run / Total 1. Matthew Powell … 20.35 / 1.49.59 / 1.28.32 / 3.39.07 2. Matt Bridge … …..29.12 / 1.50.53 / 1.44.52 / 4.04.58 3. Andrew Duggan …19.13 / 2.01.17 / 1.44.43 / 4.05.13 Ladies 1. Heather Dawe … ..29.49 / 2.09.12 / 1.40.13 / 4.19.16 2. Jenny Grindley …..27.03 / 2.09.53 / 1.52.15 / 4.29.12 3. Louise Kelly ……...28.29 / 2.18.40 / 2.00.58 / 4.48.08 30-39 Men 1. Richard Hunt ……..21.15 / 1.46.46 / 1.21.54 / 3.29.56 2. Marc Laithwaite ….22.33 / 1.52.01 / 1.18.53 / 3.33.28 3. Mark Livesey ……..19.37 / 1.48.22 / 1.27.10 / 3.35.09 Ladies 1. Kirsty Hewitson …..31.25 / 2.06.59 / 1.40.05 / 4.18.30 2. Christine Howard ...37.02 / 2.17.50 / 1.30.50 / 4.25.43 3. Alison Smeaton …..22.26 / 2.13.14 / 1.50.07 / 4.25.48 40-49 Men 1. John Wilkinson ……24.55 / 1.52.35 / 1.32.37 / 3.50.08 2. John Hey …………..31.47 / 1.57.58 / 1.26.17 / 3.56.03 3. Michael Hall ……….21.49 / 1.58.10 / 1.41.40 / 4.01.40 Ladies 1. Ruth Isaacs ……….25.15 / 2.21.19 / 1.39.47 / 4.26.23 2. Jaci Fergusson …...26.26 / 2.13.28 / 1.58.06 / 4.38.01 3. Jenny Holland …….32.37 / 2.25.24 / 2.08.28 / 5.06.30 50+ Men 1. Eric Blakey ………..27.00 / 2.06.23 / 1.53.20 / 4.26.44 2. Iorwerth Jones ……30.51 / 2.15.48 / 1.46.53 / 4.33.34 3. Richard Beard ……30.59 / 2.13.18 / 1.50.28 / 4.34.47 Ladies 1. Anne Faulder ……..35.46 / 2.40.55 / 2.47.45 / 6.04.27 Full results are available on the Helvellyn Tri website:- Helvellyn Triathlon 2005 Results