So when did the Sri Chinmoy Triathlon Club come into being? Some say it began with the Joyathlon events in Cambridge and Cheddar, others trace the birth of the club to a windy day in Winchester when a  Sri Chinmoy team completed the Wessex Try-a-Tri. Whatever date you take, we're a unique club, and as far as we know we're the only multi-sport team to have grown out of a Yoga Meditation group.   Here's the story.....

The Word - from our club's inspirational founder, Sri Chinmoy

Sometime, somewhere, back in the 2000s, Sri Chinmoy asked if our events and activities in the UK  included Triathlon. Back then we were known as the Sri Chinmoy Centre (a yoga meditation group) and the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team (a running club focussed on road racing and ultra-distance).  Triathlon was going to be something new! We started to take our first steps towards being an active Triathlon Club in 2005.

Cambridge 2005 - the first "Joyathlon"

We have always held regular gatherings for group meditation and group running too, but we made our June 2005 get-together a kind of mini triathlon. As we had a big age range from teenagers to over-70s and wanted an event that everyone could take part in, we split up the day by holding a swim early in the morning at Jesus Green Lido followed by a very casual cycling time-trial out in the Cambridgeshire countryside then a run around one of Cambridge's public parks in the early afternoon. Our inexperience showed - it was obvious that only a handful of us could really swim and our cycling had a long way to go! The event became famous around the international Sri Chinmoy Centres as that "triathlon" that the British put on with long tea-breaks between the 3 sports. Undeterred by the many humorous jibes at our expense, a few of us persevered and began to train at all 3 sports instead of just running. One fond memory from the 2005 "race" is of Ongkar Tony Smith handing out the prizes in the park. Ongkar remains a legend of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team and we remember him every October when a special prize named in his memory is given out at our 24 Hour Race. I'm glad he got to see and encourage our first steps in Triathlon. A photo gallery from that day is online at Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries. In 2009 we held another Joyathlon.

Cheddar 2009 - the second "Joyathlon"

Another summer gathering of the Sri Chinmoy Centre turned into a triathlon of sorts, with a swim at Kings of Wessex Leisure Centre, a bike ride on hired touring bikes on the lanes around Cheddar and finally a road race on the Strawberry Line (a traffic free cycleway). Since our last attempt at multisport we had made some progress! Some people who had been swimming an unrecognisable stroke back in 2005 were now fluent in front crawl. Instead of the random assortment of road, mountain and even shopping bikes we were at least all riding identical hired hybrids this time.  Sri Chinmoy had passed away in 2007 and we decided to form a Tri Club based on his philosophy and host a public Sri Chinmoy Triathlon.  For photos of the 2009 Joyathlon take a look at the Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries.

Winchester Novice Tri 2010 - our first Team Race!

Sadly that's the only photo I can find remaining from May 9th, 2010. A few of us had gone off and completed a triathlon solo prior to this, but the Winchester Novice Tri 2010 was the first time we arrived as a team and competed as a team. Among those taking part who are still in the club today (I am writing this in 2021) are Garga, Shankara, Suswara, Vilas, Mahasatya and Amaravati. 

Portishead 2012 - our first public race, the Somerset Try-a-Tri

By 2012 we had successfully added the triathlon string to our running club's bow and club members had competed at events from Super-Sprint up to Iron Distance. It was time to put on our first public event - after all, one of the founding principles of our running club is "to serve the running community" so it was obvious we should extend that to the triathlon community too. As relative beginners ourselves we were inspired to make our race a Try-a-Tri, aimed at others taking their first steps into the wonderful sport of Triathlon. The weather was awful but the race survived and there were lots of smiles beaming through the rain on Portishead seafront. There is photo gallery online at Sri Chinmoy Races Galleries.

Garga Chamberlain, Club Secretary, January 2021