Tri and mighty

Jun 28 2007 by Simon Hughes, Crosby Herald

ORGANISERS have been putting the finishing touches to preparation work for the Formby Cycles Sefton Triathlon, which takes place at Crosby Leisure Centre this Saturday.

It is hoped that it will be a record breaking year for the event with more than 1200 competitors taking part and £27,000 raised, with proceeds going to Macmillan Cancer Support and the British Heart Foundation.

The event, held in association with St Mary’s College, is also now recognised as the world’s biggest community triathlon.

But organiser John Moran said that preparations for such an important event have gone remarkably smoothly.

He said: “Eveything has been excellent. We have actually had to close entry applications such is the high interest in the event from people across the whole of Britain.

“Each competitor will be monitored by an electronic tag imported from Belgium, which will reveal finishing times and final placings. Demand for such equipment is high, so we simply had to halt the application process.”

The event hosts are hoping that the recent bad weather will clear for the race, which features a 150m swim at Crosby Leisure Centre followed by a 5km bike ride and 2.5km run along the Crosby coastline.

John added: “I believe the weather is due to be overcast, but it should not be a problem as the drainage around the beach area is fantastic.”

Formby schoolgirl Maggie McCulloch is the face of this year’s event. At just 11-years-old, she has already had three major heart operations.

She will be appearing alongside Olympic medal winners Stephen Parry and Steve Smith, who are returning for the second year running, while Liverpool FC legend Alan Kennedy and ex-Everton skipper Dave Watson will be renewing their footballing rivalries over the gruelling course. Other celebrities turning up include comedian Stan Boardman.

Formby Cycles has signed up as the main sponsor for the next three years, pledging to give £30,000 for the race and the charities it supports. More than £20,000 was raised from last years event alone.

For more details go to www.seftontriathlon.co.uk or call the college on 924-3700.