#castletriathlonseries

[thewannabeironman]

20k trail run in stunning Swinley Forest, Bracknell. Wearing my loved castletri 70.3 t-shirt (Chantilly). . Title 1/6, check Instagram profile for whole picture. . @welovebracknell #running #castletriathlonseries #suunto #triathlon #triathlete #training (at Bracknell)

[thewannabeironman]

20k trail run in stunning Swinley Forest, Bracknell. Wearing my loved castletri 70.3 t-shirt (Chantilly). . Title 2/6, check Instagram profile for whole picture. . @welovebracknell #running #castletriathlonseries #suunto #triathlon #triathlete #training (at Bracknell)

[jamesmitchell5]

Blissfully unaware . . . Two of the local residents at the Hever Castle lake blissfully unaware of the forthcoming proceedings as triathletes await the rise of the 6am mist to start The Bastion long distance triathlon - part of the Endurance Festival hosted by @castletriathlonseries at Hever Castle, Kent - July 9. . . . . . Shot on #Canonespaña #1dxmkii #sigmacanarias . . #swimbikerun #triathlon #triathlete #speedo #triathlon_in_the_world #triathlongram #trilife #trihood #tri365 #hevercastle #60daysofsummer #jamesmitchellphotography #sportphotography #womenintriathlon #tripics #castletriathlonseries #castletriathlon (at Hever Castle & Gardens)

[jamesmitchell5]

Champ. Lucy Biddlestone celebrates a her double win at the @castletriathlonseries 'Bastion' long distance triathlon held at Hever Castle, Kent - July 9. . . . . Shot on #Canonespaña #1dxmkii #sigmacanarias . . #swimbikerun #bikerchick #triathlon #triathlete #bikelife #girlpower #triathlon_in_the_world #triathlongram #trilife #trihood #tri365 #ironmantri #ironmantriathlon #jamesmitchellphotography #sportphotography #witsup #womeninsport #womenintriathlon #tripics #trichicks #trigirls #castletriathlonseries #castletri #castletriathlon #onrunning #airrelax (at Hever Castle & Gardens)

[love4lmnts]

Feeling like Marie-Antoinette... in a trisuit

Triathlons come in all formats, distances and… locations. For me personally, location tends to be the first thing I look at when choosing my next triathlon. Through all the triathlon blogs, I also have a bucketlist in my head of triathlons I want to participate in. The Castle Triathlon series had been on my list for a while, and here's the full report on the race. 

For those of you who haven’t heard of the concept. The Castle Triathlon Series is a series of 6 triathlons, hosted in various castles in the UK, Ireland and France. The swim lap is in the lake of the castle, the bike lap in the surroundings and the running lap is on the castle domain. Quite a unique experience if you ask me and one that 2 of the 4lmnts ladies decided to participate in. We chose the Triathlon du Château de Chantilly, hosted on the domain of a gorgeous castle north of Paris. Why did we choose the French castle? Simply because it was the nearest to where we live. I believe all the locations have something unique to offer.

The triathlon took place the last weekend of August. The Castle Triathlon Series does quite a lot of efforts to make triathlons accessible to all; young and old, amateur and professional alike. They have various race distances (depending on the castle), relay triathlons and also a specific kids triathlon. All the short distances took place on the Saturday and the Olympic distance and half triathlon took place on the Sunday. We took part in the Olympic triathlon on Sunday. We arrived late Saturday afternoon, just in time to get our race numbers. We could not yet put anything in the transition zone, which might have been helpful as we now had to stuff all gear (including our bikes) in our small hotel room. Apart from that, the organization was super well done and everything went super smooth.

On raceday itself, we got to the domain in the early morning and had enough time to get everything ready in the transition zone. The weather was splendid (maybe a bit too hot) and made the setting even more unique. The setting of the castle in a warm morning light could not have been a better way to mentally get ready for the race.

Before the race started we all got a very clear briefing on the route and the French triathlon rules (which are pretty strict). There was no female wave, which was a first for us. Main advantage: finally, a non-pink swimming cap to add our triathlon caps collection. Main disadvantage: it was pretty hard to find a good rhythm as the majority of the swimmers went pretty fast. The cycling route and the run were both great – fun routes, and gorgeous environments. When you finally approach the castle again and you know you’re almost at the finish line, you can only get a boost to make it to the end.

I wonder what Marie-Antoinette would think of it but we think it was great! So if you’re still looking for a triathlon next year, we would really recommend participating in one of the Castle Triathlon series triathlons. The organization is very well done, atmosphere is great and the setting is unbeatable.