Pendle goes mad for triathlon (From Burnley and Pendle Citizen)

Pendle goes mad for triathlon

7:00pm Friday 22nd February 2013 in Pendle By Chris Gee , Reporter

THE heroics of the Olympic medal-winning Brownlee brothers are inspiring more athletes to enter the upcoming Pendle Triathlon.

Based in and around West Craven Sports Centre, Barnoldswick, the event is a sprint triathlon involving a 750m swim, 22.4km cycle and 5.4km run, passing through Earby, Salterforth and Thornton-in-Craven.

To respond to the burgeoning interest in the event, for which almost 100 competitors have already signed up, a weekly training camp has been set up for 21 local athletes who will be competing on Sunday, April 21.

The group, many of them members at West Craven Sports Centre, and Pendle Leisure Centre in Colne, are taking part in the specially designed camp which includes early-morning swims and gruelling training rides and runs.

Most of them are taking up the challenge for the first time and are progressing under the watchful eye of Pendle Leisure Trust personal trainer John Bannister and the first Pendle athlete to finish last year’s race, Steven Gregory.

John said: “Watching this group develop gives me a huge amount of job satisfaction.

“We originally came up with the idea to give our members a real challenge to help them achieve their fitness goals.

“Everyone is doing really well and although it will be hard work, I am confident everyone is going to make it.”

The London 2012 feats of Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, who took gold and bronze respectively, are being credited with creating the buzz around the event.

West Craven Sports Centre manager Paul Whittaker said: “The success of the Brownlee brothers in the London Olympics has inspired a lot of people to take up the sport.

“The training camp gives these triathletes all the tools they need to ensure they are fully prepared.”

Triathlon Training Camp takes place every Thursday at West Craven Sports Centre from 6pm.