There were 6 Castle Tri-ers doing this event, and all for the first time. We soon spotted each other arriving and in transition, getting all our gear sorted and checking which direction to go, how many swim lengths, which wave everyone was in – it’s great doing events with other club members and sharing some of the faffy-ness! The briefing prompted some entertaining faces, with the description of steep hills and the narrow chain bridge on the cycle, and hazards including cobbles, uneven paving on the run and steep hills and sheer drops if you got too close to the town walls! We quickly got our club photo before the first swim wave started at 8.15am.

It was refreshing to do a pool swim tri after over 2 years of only doing Open Water events – none of the water temperature worries, only the challenge was counting 20 lengths! My swim went well and the lane marshal signalled my last 2 lengths before it was time to get out and head outside. It was a cloudy and cool September morning, but after the swim I was nicely warmed up and didn’t need my layer and gloves for the cycle – this made my transition 1 time pretty good! I also knew Jo was hot on my heels from the swim and she’s super speedy in transition – we said a quick well done to each other as I headed out to start the cycle.

The start of the route took us out of town and onto the A1, turning north for a mile or so (across the first bridge) and then we turned left to start the countryside loop. It was undulating like all Northumberland routes are – and after crossing another bridge the route entered Scotland for a wee while. The scenery was lovely, passing farmland, through the villages of Paxton and Fishwick, descending to the Union Chain Bridge which crosses the Tweed back into England.

A group of cyclists were stopped on the south side when I came cross, taking photos and cheering us on as we turned right and began the big climb. The route passed more campsites, a honey farm and a field of peahens and peacocks and soon Berwick’s church spires and chimneys came into view. There were marshals signposting the way back to the leisure centre and I suddenly remembered that I must unclip from the pedals before reaching the dismount line - I’d been lucky on the cycle with not having to stop at all! I passed Kate running with her bike just before the leisure centre – sadly she had a flat tire and had to run the last 2.5km of the cycle in cleats! What an effort!

After transition 2 (where I’m sure Kate was very glad to get more comfortable running shoes on!) the run route started off mainly downhill heading towards the harbour. We crossed the old bridge and followed the town walls in an anticlockwise direction – this involved an incredibly steep bank, at which point I saw Todd and we exchanged unkind words about the hill! It was a long way to the top but once up there and somewhat recovered, the run around the town wall path was lovely! It was a calm and quiet Sunday in Berwick, passing a handful of dog walkers and pedestrians along the way and thanking the marshals holding gates open. Thankfully the scary sounding hazards from the briefing were not as dramatic as I had imagined - I didn’t notice any steep drop offs and the uneven surfaces were few and far between. At the end of the town wall loop the route returned across the old bridge, where Sue and I passed each other, and then I started the half mile climb to the leisure centre finish. The tiredness really kicked in up the hills and I was glad when the path levelled out and the final roundabout cane into view. There were cheerful supporters and spectators at the finish line, and marshals were quick giving medals and water to finishers.

Cat was already at the finish and welcomed me in. After a few stretches and a glass of water we saw Kate round the corner and cheered her across the finish line. We heard about the unfortunate extra run distance she did - in cleats – and then saw Jo approaching the finish. She also had an eventful cycle with an unhelpful direction given from a spectator – down the wrong road that added 5km and some ascent to the route! Frustrating to have completed extra miles but Jo got a cup on a Strava segment from it – silver lining! Todd arrived next with a big smile – and then swiftly headed off to support at Geordieman. We cheered Sue on her return and shared some more unkind words about hills – and soon decided it was coffee time!

A good morning out and really enjoyed going it alongside club members – will happily do the event again and recommend it :)