What to do on the day:
On the day you should register at least an hour before your allotted swim start time. Registration will be located within Horwich Leisure Centre and will be open from 7am. If you are able to, please consider registering on the Saturday evening between 5-7pm, again this will be at Horwich Leisure Centre. Registering on Saturday will ease your nerves on race day and allow you plenty of time to prepare. When you arrive at the Leisure Centre, follow the signs to registration or ask one of our friendly volunteers to point you in the right direction. If you are part of a team it is not neccessary for all 3 team members to be present to register, one team member can register the whole team. Registration will close at 10am. Upon registration you will be given a goody bag which will contain your race numbers, pins and your bike number sticker which must be securely fastened to your bicycle prior to taking it into transition. Your bicycle should be in a roadworthy condition and it is compulsory to wear a recognised cycle helmet.
You must show your race numbers before racking your bike in the transition area. Once you have placed your cycle and run clothing with your bicycle, all other equipment must be removed from transition area to minimise disruption for other competitors. Cyclists should ensure they securely pin one race number to the back of their t-shirt so it is visible. Runners should securely pin the other race number to the front of their t-shirt, again ensuring it is visible.
There will be a briefing for swimmers 15 minutes before your start time on the poolside. Please do not be late for this briefing as it may contain important changes to the event which may affect you.
The swim:
Swimmers will start from 8:00am and will complete 16 lengths of the 25m pool. There will be a maximum of 4 people in each lane at any given time and you will either swim clockwise or anti-clockwise. When you entered the event, the swim time you provided was used to calculate your swim start time. Relay teams will swim first, with faster swimmers starting later in the morning and slower swimmers starting earlier. Relay team start times can be found here. Individual competitors will begin immediately after the final relay swimmers have finished. Individual start times can be found here. All swimmers will be provided with a coloured swim cap and lane counters will ensure that you complete the full distance. Please be aware it is your responsibility to count your own lengths, the lane counter will notify you when you have 2 lengths remaining.
You should arrive on poolside, ready to swim, 15 minutes before your start time for a compulsory competitor briefing where any vital last minute information will be provided.
The transition:
On completion of your swim you must take off your coloured swim hat and leave it on poolside. Swimmers will climb out of the pool, exit through the fire door at the rear of the building and follow the marked route to the transition. This includes crossing a main road using a pedestrian crossing. Relay team swimmers will hand over their wristbands to their cyclist at the designated zone within the transition area; individuals will collect their bike and walk to the mount line, do not mount your bike until you have reached this point and make sure to take care on the road.
A map of the transition area can be found here.
The bike:
The 21km bike course is a single loop which follows a scenic and undulating route through the West Pennine Moors and Rivington before returning to Horwich. A map of the bike course can be found here. This event is non-drafting (you cannot ride directly behind another competitor to shelter from the wind) and you must not ride 2 abreast on the road.
The course is not closed to traffic and you MUST follow the Highway Code at all times, riding responsibly. There will be adequate signs throughout the cycle course to guide you and there will also be marshals at critical locations. The marshals cannot stop traffic and will not tell you whether it is ‘clear to go’; it is your responsibility to check for traffic. There is one junction a few hundred yards before the end of the cycle course where every cyclist must dismount their bike, walk through the junction and remount their bike.
At the end of the cycle ride, cyclists must dismount at or before the dismount line which will be clearly marked on the day and wheel your bike into transition, do not unfasten your helmet until the bike is safely racked. Relay team cyclists will hand over their wristband to their runner at the hand over point. Individual competitors will change into their run clothing and exit transition, following the marshals instructions.
The run:
The run course is 5KM and a link to the route can be found here. More details about the new run route will be available by early March 2013.
What happens following the event?
Following the race you should remove your cycle from the transition area but be careful not to impede any other competitors who may still be competing. You will need to show your race number to retrieve your bicycle, friends and family members will not be allowed to retrieve bicycles. The presentation ceremony will take place at Bolton Arena which is a short car journey from Horwich Leisure Centre and is on the way back to the motorway. More details of the running order for the presentation ceremony will be provided in due course.
Full results will be available shortly after the last finisher.
More detailed information about each section of the triathlon can be found by clicking on the relevant tabs on the website.
Keep checking back to the website for more updates!
