Hi,

I’ve been trying to find some off road triathlons to have a go at next year and other than Xterra Wales which I can’t get to and Kielder which apparently has a fairly non technical bike route I haven’t been able to find any.

Any guidance or suggestions ?

Cheers

Certainly not seen many advertised other than Xterra. You get the odd end of season one but they tend to be fairly tame affairs.

Aviemore – http://www.aviemoretriathlon.com

As above, they tend to be pretty tame, your average triathlete struggles on a road bike before they even think about off road 😉

Craggy Island triathlon at Kerrera looks like fun.

http://www.durtyevents.com/durty-triathlon.html
Not sure if it still runs?

The Durty stopped last year I believe. As above, I did ok in it one year for being better than shit on an MTB.

Durty stopped? 🙁

I did the St Mary’s Loch one, the standard of riding was atrocious and there were techy bits.

Durty events run a few different ones around Scotland.

The Aviemore tri looks like a good option. The others mentioned aren’t running by the looks of it.

If there’s any more out there interested to hear about them

A few years ago there was a Scott X tri series and endurancelife also ran an off road tri series but they’ve pretty much all stopped. I think in part it was due to lack of entries as some got cancelled with some very weak excuses – certainly now decent ones now are few and far between. There is an off road duathlon series run up around the Nottingham area in October time and there are are couple of duathlons run just outside Cirencester in November and then February which are a bit of fun but you can’t plan a season of racing around off road events unless you plan on doing a lot of driving – we tried and failed.

Few and far between, but there are a few off-road/cross duathlon events which are mostly Autumn, Winter & Spring.

…is what got me into MTBing

I was so bad at the technical riding in my first one (multiple crashes and covered in mud from head to foot for the run) that I realised I need to learn how to ride.

Do All about triathlons still run them? Probably not that convenient for you though, if they do?

Duathlons are another story mind. Did the Whinlatter Duathlon earlier this year. That was a laugh…

I’d recomend the craggy island tri, run by durty events. Beutiful place. and you get to swim to the island. I’ve done it twice now.

Craggy island tri looks good. Hopefully they run it next year

Should think Craggy Island will be on next year. Pretty much sells out within a day or two of entries opening so I’d recommend following Durty Events on FB or signing up to their newsletter.

Thanet MTB duathlon in January – http://www.thanetroadrunners.org.uk/events/mountain-bike-duathlon

Done it twice, the cross country section is also one of our running clubs winter league races, includes crossing water filled dykes.

I did the Dyfrrn Conway mountain challenge last year. The water leg is a kayak up the Conway on the tide, then a harsh steep run, and a decent bike ride to finish. Great atmosphere, quite intense racing.

http://www.map17events.org.uk/

It’s on next year.

If you fancy a holiday in Madrid I know a lot of people who’ve done this one and recommend it: http://www.triaroc.com/ (I live very close, it’s not hugely challenging but still a fun circuit).

Not a massive distance, but a good excuse for a long weekend in Spain 🙂

Not a triathlon but if you want great scenery and to spend a day hanging out at the Queens gaff then the Balmoral duathlon is good, held last weekend of April I think. Its not often you get to park virtually right outside her front door and go for a pedal. There is also a 15 mile run later in the day you could tag on if feeling fit.