Athletes Eye Perranporth Triathlon
Over 250 athletes will run, swim and cycle nearly 44km to battle through the toughest triathlon in the South West: the 21st Perranporth Annual Surf Challenge on Sunday 21 September.
The 250 entrants start with a tough 800m surf swim, followed by a gruelling 35km hill cycle around Perranporth and finish with a 7.5km beach and cliff run. Competitors will be at the mercy of the elements as they enter the water for the swim– in recent years the surf has varied from a calm sea to choppy waves.
The triathlon, hosted by the Perranporth Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) has Thule, the world’s largest manufacturer of car roof racks, roof boxes and accessories as its corporate sponsor. Thule will be at the event giving away ten top cycle carriers at the event, in giveaways lasting all day long.
Peter Barker, UK General Manager at Thule comments: “Thule are proud to be sponsoring this hugely popular South West event – the competitors’ strength and dynamism is synonymous with Thule’s values and the event promises to be both challenging for competitors and exciting for spectators.”
he men’s race is expected to be a hard and fast battle with British team member and last year’s winner Harry Wiltshire starting as race favourite. He is not expected to have it all his own way however; Charles Pennington, the winner from 2006, could put in a very fast cycle leg to challenge Wiltshire.
Helen Parkinson, a member of Thule’s Partner in Sport sponsorship program is a previous female winner and world Quadrathlon champion. Helen will start as the favourite, but the organisers say it is an open race and the large female entry numbers could provide a challenge to Helen from several possibilities.
Chris Strickland, original founder of the Perranporth Surf Challenge Triathlon said: “We are grateful for all the support from the athletes and the sponsors who have allowed us to keep the race growing steadily. There are a lot of well known local triathletes taking part, in addition to a large number from all over the country and the race promises to be very exciting and competitive.”
Triathlon is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK, with a ten percent competitor number increase in 2007 on the previous year. Triathlon first made its appearance in the Olympics in Sydney 2000. The London Triathlon last year saw record numbers take part.
