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2018 Membership Open

Jean Ashley

Membership is open now for 2018 and is £15.00 per person. As a member you are entitled to discount at some BQA races (discretion of the race organizer). You will receive news updates via our monthly email-newsletter (subscribe to this on our website). You must be a member to race for the ‘GB TEAM’ at the World Championships or in a World Cup race, and also to qualify for all BQA prizes in the National Trophy Series. Your membership money goes towards various areas within the organization of our sport, one being our website, where we hope to keep you updated with the latest news! But our biggest annual outlay is insurance, which we use to cover the races on the British Quad Calendar. We also affiliate to the World Quadrathlon Association ‘WQF’ so our athletes can race at World Cup Races the World and European Championships. The future of British Quadrathlon is in our hands, please support the BQA and you will be helping to keep our small sport alive!

 Membership Price Structure Membership Form 2018

 Type of Membership Members Fees
Senior £15.00
Family – 2 Adults £25.00
Junior – Under 18 £7.00
Family – 1 Adult 1 Child £20.00 + £5 Additional Child
Family – 2 Adults 2 Children £30

Race Affiliation

Affiliating your race will only cost £15 for the year, the BQA will promote your race, on our website, email news bulletins, and at our other BQA events.  You are permitted to use the name and logo of the British Quadrathlon Association, and also have the opportunity to take advantage of the BQA Race Insurance and become part of the National Trophy Series. For further information contact Jean Ashley email malpasashleys@btinternet.com 

To register your race then please complete the Race Affiliation Membership Form 2018

QuadKidz

All our Juniors (under 18) that join the BQA will be automatically be members of Quadkidz and will be eligible for prizes in our QuadKidz Race Series. We set up QuadKidz in 2017 this a great step forwards for our sport, we hope to build on its success each year. We had 2 races Dearne Valley and Boxend in 2017 and Lincsquad organized a Quadkidz training day, so we to continue to support ‘Our QuadStars’ of the future.  Each Age group races over different distances, with the 16-18 year age group, building up so they are able to take on a Sprint Distance Race, which is – 750m swim, 5km kayak, 15-20 km cycle, 5km run.
QuadKidz Age Groups
• QuadKidz 9-11 years
• QuadKidz 12-15 years
• QuadKidz 16-18 years

A parent/guardian must be with the competitor at the race venue at all times (to avoid child protection issues).

 

 

 

Montgomery Canal Triathlon 2018

Jean Ashley

This is a great warm up to our Quadrathlon season if you fancy a day out down the Montgomery Canal. This Triathlon is a Superb Charity Event, in its 7th year and it takes place on Saturday, 19th May 2018. I have done this event 4 times now and have really enjoyed the challenge, its great pre-race training and a good opportunity to support the Montgomery Canal Trust.

About 220 athletes/fundraisers start the journey to bike, run/walk and then kayak the 35miles following the tow path of the Montgomery Canal. The journey starts in Newtown and finished in Lower Frankton, 17miles M.T. BIKing, 11miles X.C. running, and 7 miles of kayaking/canoeing, with the majority using Canadian Canoes (in pairs). The more competitive ones amongst us start first at 8.30 (in groups of 6), leaving the ones taking it ‘a bit less competitive’ to start at a more steady pace! I must say if I’d of seen the Tea, Cakes and sandwiches at the transition areas I might of been persuaded to take my time! It really is worth saving the date! 

The format is the same as for the past 3 years, along 35 miles of the Canal, entrants can attempt any or all of the three sections, individuals pairs or teams are all welcome.
CYCLING 17 miles from Newtown to Pool Quay.
WALKING 11 miles from Pool Quay to Morton.
CANOEING 7 miles from Morton to Lower Frankton.

 

This is an endurance event, not a race and is a great day out for families with children as well as experienced triathletes. All entrants who complete a section will receive a commemorative medallion made from local slate.

Entry forms are available at  Montgomery Triathleaflet 2018 or Poster Montgomery TriathPoster 2018

The closing date for entries is 5th May 2018 and the email address is montcanaltriath@btinternet.com                             Maggie Ellis, Triathlon Entry Coordinator & Friends of the Montgomery Canal

 The Triathlon – is organised in support of the restoration of the canal – which has reached an exciting stage. The section currently under restoration to Crickheath in Shropshire is now fully funded following an award from the Heritage Lottery Fund and, whilst that project is still ongoing, new works have started on the section between Crickheath and Llanymynech in Powys: In July, volunteers cleared over 1,100 tons of material of a former railway embankment blocking the canal at Pant (making the towpath much easier for the Triathlon). The next major obstacle is Schoolhouse Bridge near Pant, the last ‘dropped’ bridge in Shropshire blocking the canal’s route to the Welsh border. Plans to rebuild this bridge are well progressed and a major fund-raising campaign was launched earlier this year. We were able to pledge £1,500 from the 2017 Triathlon towards it and are hoping to raise much more next year.

Many entrants raise funds for their chosen charities through taking part in the Triathlon. If you would like to raise funds for the restoration, you can download a ‘Restore The Montgomery Canal’ sponsorship form which will be available shortly at www.montgomerycanal.me.uk/fmcevents2018.html.

We hope you’ll be able to enter our Event and please contact me if you need any more information
Maggie Ellis
Triathlon Entry Coordinator montcanaltriath@btinternet.com   
Friends of the Montgomery Canal

BQA 2017 Annual Report

Jean Ashley

With the end of 2017 fast approaching you can look back at our Race Season and reflect on what a great one it has been! The BQA have had our AGM, and BQA members have had all the news and plans for moving forwards in 2018, our events have been finalized. We now have a new website, thanks to Nicola Perrins Ti-Visual Ltd, who is also a First Time Deva Divas Quadrathlete! We still have quite a bit of updating after a major crash, but its starting to look good!

Here is the Annual Report and BQA AGM Minutes

BQA-Annual-Report 2017

BQA-AGM 2017

If anyone has any suggestions to help move the BQA forwards in the future, please contact Jean. malpasashleys@btinternet.com

Kayak Triathlon Training

Jean Ashley

John Kavanagh will be running another series of Kayak Triathlons as training sessions over the winter. The dates planned are Nov 26th, Jan 14th, Feb 25th, Mar 25th, Apr 22 – all Sundays.
The plan is to start at 9:30 with a 5km paddle out and back (going North) followed by a 22km bike ride on the local roads and then a 6km run out and back along the Middlewood Way.
Anyone is welcome to join him on the understanding that this is not a club organised event, just a group going out together with everyone responsible for themselves and their kit.

Start and finish is the Canal at Grimshaw Lane, Bollington, parking at the Adelphi Mill. N.B. there are no toilets, changing facilities, or transition areas. I use my car to store my boat and bike while not being used.
I will aim to arrive at 9:00 and paddle up and down around the start area till 9:30. If you want to join in and do not know the cycle route (same as previous years), let me know. I can send a route map or will ride with anyone not familiar with the course. It is not intended to be a race simulation, just a hard training session of about 2hrs or so.

John will post an update on our BQA Facebook page a few days before each date to confirm go ahead or propose weather associated adjustments.

 

2017 National Trophy Champions

Admin

The Men’s National Trophy was wide open going into the last race of the season, Bude Awesome Foursome was going to be a very competitive race and places were fought right to the very end! The Overall Men’s winner and Vet 40 and 50 all depended on the Bude Results! The Ladies Champions had been decided at the Shrewsbury Quad along with the Male Vet 60. Well Done to all our BQA Quadrathletes that raced over this season, and we welcome many new members, especially all our first timers at the ‘Deva Divas’, and of course our ‘QuadKidz’ the athletes of the future!

Congratulations to our 2017 Winners, who showed commitment and raced well all season!

Full Trophy 2017 Results 17-b-trophy

MEN Overall Winner Perpetual Trophy Male Julian Brewer

Vet 40 Male Alan Cole 

Vet 50 Male Cliff Odgers (role down as Julian Brewer won Overall Trophy)

Vet 60 Male John Kavanagh

WOMEN Overall Winners Perpetual Trophy Female Helen Russell

U23 Female Louise Beedham

Vet 40 Female Sallie Joseph (role down as Helen Russell won Overall Trophy)

Vet 50 Female Jean Ashley

Vet 60 Female Mary White

No prizes were awarded to Seniors or U23 Male athletes as no one had completed 3 races this year.

Team Otto at World Champs!

The Eric Hatliff Memorial Trophy awarded each year ‘For Endeavor’. This year it was given to Gill Otto for her enthusiasm and commitment to the sport of Quadrathlon.  She has been a BQA member for many years representing GB at the World Quadrathlon Championships in the Czech Republic 2008 along with her son ‘Quintan’ and daughter ‘Lucy’. Once Gill finished competing in Quads she channeled her energy into instigating the brilliant Shrewsbury Quadrathlon along side the Shrewsbury Tri, this race goes from strength to strength each year with Gill encouraging many new members to take up our sport. She has has been an inspiration to many especially those newcomers to our sport, she continues to motivate many especially at her canoe club. I am certainly looking forward to seeing Gill race again next year in the ladies only Deva Divas, where once again she’ll be encouraging her friends to train in preparation! Well Deserved Gill!

This season 59 males and 38 female athletes took part in the series, 10 less men than last year but 10 extra females! It was good to see plenty of first timers and great to see commitment from our BQA members, plenty of top class racing from our age groupers and elite athletes too. We’ve had plenty more Women race this year, and hopefully the increase in competitors will continue next year. The BQA hope everyone enjoyed their quad season and will be back for more challenges and races next year, please tell your friends and help spread the word!

All of our Quad Races this year have been superbly organized by enthusiastic ‘Teams’ of like minded people and athletes, all enjoyed by the competitors ! A Huge thank-you for their commitment, affiliation fees and for providing us with great races with the Aim to Keep our Small Friendly Sport ALIVE! The BQA help to promote these races and supply the Race insurance so its vital we have YOUR support! A Big THANK-YOU to all our quadrathletes and especially the 2017 BQA members, we really appreciate your memberships and love to see you all racing at as many races you can fit into your diary!

Jean Ashley

Julian Brewer

Julian Brewer

Helen Russell

Helen Russell

Alan Cole

Alan Cole

Cliff Odgers

Cliff Odgers

Jean Ashley

Jean Ashley

Mary White

Mary White

2017 BUDE …. Fantastic Racing to the Very End!

Admin

As ever Bude lived up to its reputation, another brilliant Awesome foursome! The turnout was great with over 100 athletes racing individually, in pairs and teams, though the build up was slightly harrowing  for race organizer Simon Hammond, the early part of the week the beach was closed due to the invasion of the Portuguese Man O War Jelly fish, and then there were high winds, huge swell and waves and torrential rain, which would of made the course lethal. The night before we were still being battered by the weather, but miraculously Saturday morning the weather Gods were on our side and we were blessed with sunshine, light winds, it was cool but it was 100% better than the forecast!

It was a 2.30pm start due to the tide and as ever Simon kept us all entertained at the race briefing with his banter, it always helps with the race nerves as everyone goes into the water with a smile! The swim is always starts fast as the Bude surfers speed off not giving a thought to the size of the waves, its always difficult to workout who is in the lead in the individual race as the local boys and girls make up relay teams. Alan Cole was 1st out 17:.46 with a good lead from all the other individuals, he needed to move fast as he needed maximum points to win the overall Trophy Series.

However local athlete Chris Hammond was very familiar with the bike course along with past winner Nigel Unwin, both having very strong bike legs with Nigel’s split being the fastest of the day 51:39. Nigel worked hard in the kayak with Simon Hammond (pair) to move into the lead, meanwhile Ian Smith, (great to see him back in action after injury problems) was flying in his kayak producing the fastest split 47:09. So onto the run, Nigel  held onto his lead coming 1st 2:45:45 with Ian chasing him down coming 2nd 2:46:48, Chris Hammond came 3rd 2:50:15 with Alan Cole in 4th 2:51:13, this gave Alan enough points to take the Vet 40 2017 BQA Trophy Prize.

Meanwhile there was a battle going on for Trophy Points between Vet 50’s Julian Brewer, Nicholas Farnell and Cliff Odgers, Julian and Cliff have been consistent all season, and had extra points in the bag. For Nicholas his Bude points had to count, he finished 9th overall which gave him the same points as Cliff, so with the 4th race taken into account Cliff took the Vet 50 2017 BQA Trophy Prize. Julian after some strong races this season had enough points for him to take the Overall BQA Trophy, a well deserved winner as he has been a keen Quadrathlete and BQA member for many years now!

BQA Mens Bude Results

1st Nigel Unwin 2:45:45 (1st Vet 50)

2nd Ian Smith 2:46:48 (2nd Vet 50)

4th Alan Cole 2:51:13 (2nd Vet 40)

9th Nicholas Farnell 3:01:34 (3rd Vet 50)

10th Julian Brewer 3:03:01

17th Russell Breyer 3:13:50

18th Michael Toomey 3:19:00 (1st Vet60)

19th Cliff Odgers 3:21:48

20th Peter Chappill 3:32:30

In the Ladies Race, once again it was a battle to the end between Allison Parritt and Jean Ashley. Jacqueline Davies had a strong swim and was 1st out of the water, with just over a minuet’s lead going onto the bike. Jean caught her up at the bottom of the first big climb and had pulled away by the top of Millook. Allison however was also having a strong bike leg and she then caught Jean up on the way to Wainhouse Corner, they swapped positions a couple of times, but Allison had the edge and arrived back to transition 1st. Jean quickly moved into the lead on the kayak, but Allison paddled strongly and kept Jean in her sights. Jacqueline was also paddling her new kayak well, so it was looking like it was all down to the run! Jean pushed hard and stayed in the lead for the first half of the run, but Alison wasn’t going to give in, she overtook Jean on the well-known ‘ploughed field’ and went on to win in 3:15:19, with Jean in 2nd 3:16:53. Jacqueline stayed comfortably in 3rd 3:35:22. Emma Whitehouse came in with a big smile in 4th 3:45:41.

Bude Results Bude Quadrathlon Results 2017

Every single person that finished the race deserves a mention, it’s always challenging, you never quite know what the Cornish Coast will throw at you, at least the Jelly fish didn’t come back, the weather was kind, but those hills never change and it always lives up to its Name …. AWESOME!

A Huge Big Thank-you To Simon and his Wonderful Team for Hosting the Race.  A massive thank-you to all the marshals, the Bude Surf lifeguards for looking after us and showing us the way! It was great to see plenty BQA members racing, plus all the other athletes and first-timers! Plus all the Teams and Pairs Entries … an excellent turnout. I hope you all enjoyed it and will be back to support Shoreline Extreme Sports for more fun next Year … and to top it off Bude will be the BQA National Championships 2018!

See you next year … Jean

Alan Cole’s Bude Race Report https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2017/bude-awesome-foursome-quadrathlon-race-report/

 

 

 

 

Trophy Points going into the last Sunset of the Season .. BUDE 2017!!!

Admin

Its been a great season for British and World Quadrathlon this year, our races have been buzzing and we’ve see plenty of athletes joining the ‘flock’! So lets hope there will be plenty of you at Bude for the last race of the season, where the overall Men’s Trophy and age group prizes will be decided!

The ladies have been racing hard this year and the numbers have been high, so the National trophy results were finalized at Shrewsbury … so come on chaps its your turn to get those valuable points at the Awesome Foursome in Bude 16th September, entries are still open!     The great thing about this race is its on a Saturday so plenty of time for sun, sand and surf too! Simon from Shoreline Activities, along with his family and friends from Bude, have been running this race for many years, they turn out year in year out always with big smiles and open arms to meet us all. Its great to support them, so make sure you get your entry in (Individual or Team) and lets keep this Great Race ALIVE… See you in Bude!

Applications on-line or by post. Postal application form attached.

2017 Awesome Foursome      shorelineactivities.co.uk/foursome.quadrathlo

 

 

Another Successful Shrewsbury Sprint Quad 2017

Admin

Once again we had a great day’s racing at the 6th Shrewsbury Quadrathon, a true testament to the Event organizers Gill Otto and SYTri. The Event goes from strength to strength and this year sold out at the end of July with 25 males and 25 females entered! The weather this year was showery, windy and a tad chilly, but it didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits, as ever the Quadrathletes were giving it there all and enjoying this great sprint event!

The river was calm with little current this year, so great for the kayak leg. The wind was all over the place on the undulating bike course, which made it feel quite tough this year. The run was fast flat run with the occasional muddy patch, so we expected times to be slightly down on last years. We had good strong field of Quadrathletes, our top athletes and age groupers, plus plenty of newcomers who all gave it their best and finished with happy faces and podium places!

Congratulations to Winner Steve King who took the lead from the start, his closest rival being Bryce Dyer, good to see him back racing a quadrathlon again (he’s been concentrating on Tri’s and Time Trials for the past few years). Steve put in the fastest splits across 3 disciplines (swim/kayak/run) to win comfortably (1.26.23). First timer James Block was 2nd going on to the bike after a strong swim and kayak, but Bryce put in an awesome Bike split, (the fastest of the day including the athletes in the Triathlon), which moved him into 2nd place (1.31.’31). James had a strong run and finished in 3rd just 6 seconds behind Bryce (1.31.37). Alan Cole new also to quads this year had a good strong race and came home in 4th (1.32.07)

There was a real battle going on for the next few places, with BQA members all looking for valuable Trophy Points as the Mens Overall Trophy and Vet 40 & 50 are still up for grabs!
Vet 40 Phil Holden came 6th with Nigel Leeson in 11th. The Vet 50 category is very competitive this year with Julian Brewer 7th, Nicholas Farnell 8th, Cliff Odgers 11th, Russel Brayer 12th, Peter Chappill 13th so this could get very close at the last race in Bude! John Kavanagh Vet 60 came home in 14th and secured his BQA National Trophy Age group title, a great season for him as he was also awarded with the WQF Glass Globe for winning his Age Group in the World Series too.

There were lots of solid performances from our 11 BQA Male Members, and so good to see them flying the flag for us … Thank-you we really appreciate your support and valuable membership!

4th Alan Cole (1.32.07)
6th Phil Holden (1.37.09)
7th Julian Brewer (1.38.13)                                                                                                                                                   8th Nicholas Farnell ( 1.40.12)
9th Nigel Leeson (1.41.03)
11th Cliff Odgers (1.43.01)
12th Russel Breyer (1.43.54)
13th Peter Chappill (1.45.37)
14th John Kavanagh(1.47.03) – Vet 60 BQA Trophy Winner
10th Lance Ball (1.52.07)
17th Jeff Chappill (1.58.03) great to see him back racing again!
21st Alistair Bates (2.09.05) another great BQA supporter, good to see you competing again!

There was a fantastic turn out from the Ladies, with more first timers performing well and great to see 4 new Diva Divas Quadrathletes racing again … well done Lisa Grantham, Nicola Perrins, Sandy Cornfield Bebbington and Mandy Lewis! Helen Russell was first out of the swim with Jacqueline Davies hot on her heals, Jacq paddled strongly to take the lead in the kayak with Jean Ashley moving into 2nd place. Helen’s strong biking moved her into 1st place which she held onto to win the ladies race in (1.39.28). Jacq went into the run in 2nd but Jean pushed hard and moved into 2nd place (1.45.17) at the end of the first lap. Mean while newcomer Natalie Abbott was having a great race and moved up to take 3rd, (1.46.45) with Jacq finishing just 30 seconds behind in 4th place (1.47.16).

We had 9 ‘BQA Girls’ racing very well and earning vital Trophy Points, which concluded the 2017 series, once again the BQA appreciate their support.

1st Helen Russell (1.39.28) – Overall BQA Trophy Winner
2nd Jean Ashley (1.45.17) – Vet 50 BQA Trophy Winner
4th Jacqueline Davis (1.47.16)
7th Mary White (1.55.24) – Vet 60 BQA Trophy Winner                                                                                                  11th Victoria Price (1.59.34)
13th Mandy Greenaway (2.01.59) in her first EVER Quad Season .. great result!
14th Margaret Huyton (2.02.53) this included sacrificing time to rescue a capsized competitor … in true Margaret style! .. Thank-you Margaret she also got a prize for the “most elegant exit from a kayak”
17th Donna Chappill (2.05.21) Well done completed 3 quads in the trophy Series, 3rd Vet 50
22nd Louise Beedham (2.18.26) U23 BQA Trophy Winner

Sallie Joseph (wasn’t racing) but has done 3 races and takes the – Vet 40 BQA Trophy Winner

Full Results here 2017 Quad race-results

A great effort from all the other athletes too, good to see plenty of smiles and here so many complementary positive comments about the event. A big thanks again to all the competitors for taking part and also to the ‘Race Organizers’ all the marshals, family and friends that made this yet another successful Shrewsbury Quadrathlon! See you nest Season!

I had great pleasure in presenting Gill Otto with the ‘The Eric Hatliff Memorial Trophy’ 2017 For Endeavor. Gill has shown Enthusiasm & Commitment to Our Sport for many years.
She has been dedicated to Organizing the ‘Shrewsbury Quadrathlon’ for the past 6 years producing a brilliant race for us all to enjoy! She has encouraged so many to take part and is a true ambassador for our sport … We Really Appreciate Your Efforts Gill THANK-YOU from BQA.

World Championships 2017 Sprint Quadrathlon, Komarno, Slovakia.

Admin

The World Championship – Sprint distance Quadrathlon, were held in Komarno, Slovakia on 12th August. Flying the Flag for GB was John Kavanagh and his sister Margaret Huyton. This is Margaret’s race Report, as you will read … as all wasn’t easy as their races unfolded!

After several days of very high temperatures, the day of the race saw cooler weather which was a relief to the British pair. strong winds did make the lake choppy and  conditions were very challenging, particularly on the down-wind turn where the wind whipped up the waves.

The start was on a beach, no wetsuits allowed. A swift run into the water and away everyone went. John was keen to beat his nearest age group rival Klaus, in order to score maximum points for the World Cup Series. John made 3 minutes on the swim, but Klaus clawed it back on the bike. The bike was 20km fast and flat flat 2, 10km loops with the closeness of the riders it was not always easy for the athletes to avoid drafting, the middle part of the field were troubled by this difficulty and several time penalties were given out, including John who had no recollection of drafting, but was given a 15 second time penalty!

John did extremely well in his borrowed kayak and pulled back the lead, despite the footplate breaking, John went onto the run 2 minutes up. On the flat, grassy course Klaus was catching John, but John dug deep and held on and beat Klaus by 36 seconds. His time was 01.46.35.3, giving him the Gold Medal and securing his ‘Vet 60 WQF Championship Title’.

Meanwhile, Margaret was enjoying her first overseas quadrathlon. All went well until she arrived at the kayak transition …. her boat was not there! She saw an Italian paddling away in it. Fortunately there were kayaks which faster paddlers had already used so she had to take one of those. After an unsettling few minutes, racing resumed. The run was uneventful and Margaret finished with a time of 02.06.30.4. taking the Ladies Vet 60 Gold medal! Margaret did ask why the Italian took the boat …. his answer was ‘I am an inexperienced paddler and could not stay upright in the boat he had borrowed’! Margaret your a Star #thisgirlcan

A huge well done to them both for staying composed during racing, thank goodness its not every day your faced with a drafting penalty, a broken footplate and having to paddle a kayak you’ve never been in before! Thank-you for bringing home 2 championship medals for GB!

First man overall was Enrique Garcia from Spain 01.19.34.5, and first lady and 14th overall was Lisa Teichert from Germany 01.31.58.3.

After a junior Tri, and then an open Tri, a relay race was held, swim, paddle and run. John made up a team with 2 German over 60s, Heinz Grohmann and Klaus Charlet called ‘The Seniors’. Whilst Margaret joined up with 2 young girls from Hungary and Czechoslovakia Bodolai Lili, Magdaléna Kolenová, called ‘Ladies International’ This was a fun event but taken seriously. Margaret’s younger team beat the seniors, coming 9th with John’s team coming 11th. Under Armour CZ won with the Spanish in 2nd place.

Both John and Margaret had brilliant day and wish to send ‘Many Thanks’ to the organisers Sport Club Slovakia, for 2 races in one day!

I must say the ‘Team race’ sounds a great idea … ‘Swim, Kayak. Run’ maybe that’s something the BQA should think about, especially at Sprint races?

See link for Komarno full report, results and photos

 

Shrewsbury & Bude Final 2 Races in BQA Series!

Admin

I hope you all enjoying the summer, getting some good training in and enjoying being out in the elements, open water swimming, paddling nice rivers, and biking and running around the lanes and even hitting the trails! We have just 2 races left in the series this season, Shrewsbury and Bude. Hopefully your a lucky one who has one of the 50 places at Shrewsbury, which sold out in July. However there is one last race that is still open for entries –   Last but not least its our Awesome Foursome Quadrathlon in Bude, 16th September!  

This is one of our longest running established Quadrathlons in the country, in the lovely Cornish Town of Bude! This race draws me back each year and it never ceases to amaze me, I have raced it in all weathers but mainly blue bird skies …. it is always fun, exciting and challenging, such a great way to end the season! Starting in the sea, we swim along side the breakwater to a buoy where we turn and swim back, (sometimes body surfing) to the beach, where we run back towards the sea lock and jump in for a 2nd lap.

The bike leg is next and there’s plenty of hills on the way out, a scenic challenging ride on small lanes, with 3 tough hills followed by a very fast speedy downhill back to the town. The third discipline is the kayak paddling in the historic canal, several laps with lots of encouragement from spectators and also the ducks! Finally the run is back down the canal tow path, and then up and over the hill to run back along the coastal path, and if you’ve got time make sure you take in the amazing coastal views!

The great thing about this race is its on a Saturday so plenty of time for sun, sand and surf too! Simon from Shoreline Activities, along with his family and friends from Bude, have been running this race for many years, they turn out year in year out always with big smiles and open arms to meet us all. Its great to support them, so make sure you get your entry in (Individual or Team) and lets keep this Great Race ALIVE!

The National Trophy Prizes will be awarded to BQA Members at the Prize Giving also.

Applications on-line or by post. Postal application form attached.

2017 Awesome Foursome