A little bit of warm weather won’t stop Rotary raising money for a good cause! This was more than evident as dozens in the north of Devon took on the Bideford Triathlon.
The event, originally conceived by a member of Bideford Rotary Club, was celebrating it’s tenth year and is now jointly run by Bideford Rotary Club and Bideford Tarka Rotary, with the clubs donating all the proceeds to various charities.
It had been on a two year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic but, after six months of organising, the event was finally able to take place.
The day started early for the Rotarians as members of both clubs got to the sea at 5am to help set up and make sure everything went to plan – including making sure plenty of water was provided over the duration of the course.
Any worries they might have had were quickly put aside as the event got underway, with spectators gathering to watch dozens of triathletes take part in the challenging event.
The local Rotarians were up early to make sure everything was running smoothly.
Triathletes from all over the UK took part in the event, with over 100 entrants having signed up with five relay teams.
At the end of the nearly 30 kilometre race, the trophy for the fastest male went to Fletcher Powe with a time of 01:09:18 and the fastest Female trophy was presented to Suzanna Anderson who put in an equally respectable time of 01:17:48.
Bideford Tarka Rotary member Simon Lacey was one of those who helped organise the event. Speaking to Devon Live, he commented: “Myself and my team ran the day, and it went really smoothly and everyone enjoyed it.
“Massive thanks to all the competitors, the supporters, the Rotary Clubs and marshals. We are already planning next year’s that looks to be mid-September.
“We have lots of help from local companies supplying kit from the scaffold racking and finishing gantry from Tarka Scaffold. Goodie bags were from Holiday Cottages. Freebies from Cycle Scuderia. Barriers from Jewsons all of which are a great help. 2023 looks to be bigger and better.”
