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A WARM WELCOME
Triathlon history is rather short. It began in southern California around about 1974. There were a few friends that were training together from different disciplines. Somehow they decided it might be a good idea to combine swimming and running together for a training programme, then to add cycling seemed a natural progression. You can tell they didn't live in Britain.
This created what we know today as a triathlon, in some circles 'quad' would be an acceptable description because transition although not a sport, is considered the fourth discipline, where races at the highest levels could be won or lost.
The sport has developed at a phenomenal rate in the last 26 or so years, to its debut at the Millennium Olympics, which was a great success. There are now over 300 events this year and approximately 15,000 members in triathlon clubs, of which we are one, all over Britain.
The distance and competitor ability vary greatly and there are four recognised distances to reflect this: Sprint 075km/20km/5km Olympic/Triathlon 1.5/40km/10km Middle 2.5km/80km/20km Ironman 3.8km/180km/42km. Clubs have also established a 'come and tri' event to allow would-be triathletes to test the water so to speak.
As a club we have now successfully organised The Haddington Sprint Triathlon for eight years and the North Berwick Short Triathlon twice. We are hoping to help develop triathlons in the East Lothian area, by adding a junior event next year, all being well.
The club has now swollen to a massive 36 members, an increase of almost a third this year. Hello to all our new members, Ronan Cormack, Jo Gordon, Steven Hoggan, Moira Jent, Grant Noble, Nicola Preston, Ian Sills, Finlay Smith, Amanda Thornton-Smith, Jane Timms and Pete Younger. As a club we hope we have made you feel welcome, and hope to see you develop your skills as triathletes for many seasons to come.
