See below from Nuala Moore. Every year a couple from Kenmare have attended the Castlegregory Triathlon and every year the reports are top notch. There may be some swims or events listed below which may be of interest. See update in the comments below.
These are my plans for the summer…I have included open water swims, the distances are good and if you have some Triathletes looking for good open water bursts for training maybe Olympic, half Ironman or Ironman.. Ballydavid and Ventry Bay are ideal for challenge, open and very sheltered at the same time.
The Sprint Triathlon in Ballydavid is very much a great event for novices. Fab location to race.
The swim is out and back around a pier taking in two beaches and the run will be 2.5km on road and 2.5km on Muirioch beach.
With a pub on the top of the pier the swim can be seen very comfortably for friends and family.
There will be a website in the next few weeks and in the mean time please feel free to email me as usual with any questions or queries..
The main objective this year is to try and entice those who would like to experience open water in its pure form to come down and swim with us.
Ballydavid Village is 10km west of Dingle town over looking The Three Sisters..
Ventry Village is 6km west of Dingle Town,
Plans… numbers and app forms will be available soon.
Wet suits are welcome…
June
Ballydavid to Beal Ban Open Water Swim
Sunday June 7th
This a 2.5 km swim. Casual swim… The swim will start from the Beach just in front of Tigh T.P.’s (pub) and swim directly across the bay to Beal Ban beach and turn at a marker buoy and swim back the same route. This location is excellent for friends to watch the full swim and also have the pub there allows people to wait in comfort.
Cuan to Ventry Open Water Swim
Sunday June 21st
Cuan pier to on the far end of Ventry beach and the swim takes you directly across Ventry beach to Ventry pier at the village. The direction of the swim will depend on the wind if we have on day, we have always managed Cuan to Ventry.
A distance of approx 2.5km. Conditions can vary on this swim but experience in open water would be advantage.
1 pm start to swim
July
Ballydavid to Smerwick (Return) Open Water Swim DISTANCE Approx 3.5km Saturday July 4th
This is a very comfortable open water swim, leaving Ballydavid beach and swimming a route over to the Smerwick side and round a buoy swimming back. The distance is 2 nautical miles.
The option is open if a swimmer would like to swim from Smerwick and swim half the distance swimming into the beach. Still experiencing the open water without the full distance.
This Saturday also hosts our Ballydavid 10km run leaving from the pub at the top of the pier. Last year the village had 300 runners and a wonderful marquis of food afterwards to celebrate.
I will confirm this in the next week, a few tweaks to sort out. The plan is for the swimmers to join the runners to celebrate afterwards.
Three Sisters Sprint Triathlon, Ballydavid Sunday July 12th
750m Swim/20km Bike/5km Run
Ballydavid is 10km west of Dingle town over looking The Three Sisters..
This is an excellent venue and a wonderful event for first timers or casual triathletes, the triathlon will be organised to support and promote the enjoyment of the sport of triathlon.
Ballydavid is a rural area and the scenery will certainly distract from the pain you may feel while peddling or running your way across the beach.
The swim will take out from the pier and swim around a buoy and swim back into the beach on the opposite side of the pier. The water is shallow and is sheltered from open winds.
August
The Massacre Swim Ballydavid to Dun An Oir, Ballyferriter
Bank Holiday Monday 3rd August Distance 6 km
Ballydavid harbour is quite protected, the challenge of this swim is that the swim will take you out towards the mouth of the bay and lends itself to be a lot more open in its conditions.
The site of the massacre at Dun an Oir is where the swim will turn and swim back to Ballydavid beach.
We hope to have some food afterwards to help the weary bodies refuel.
If the distance is too long would you like to be involved?
Some swimmers might like to experience the distance by just swimming the return leg than we are looking at facilitating that as well.
September
Seven Frogs Triathlon Castlegregory Sept 26th Saturday
The atmosphere over the last two years has been wonderful so we decided to try and have a BBQ or the like to enjoy the evening. The plan this season is to have the triathlons on Saturday evening for those who can travel. More soon on this.
Sprint and Olympic distance triathlons
Sprint Distance 750metre Swim – 20km Bike – 5km Run
Olympic Distance 1.5km Swim – 40km Bike – 10km Run
First timers and casual competitive athletes a speciality…
This season will focus at fundraising for “Our lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin”
Fundraising has been a wonderful benefit of running the events. Thank you all who have contributed.
2006-2008 We raised over €20,000 for RNLI (Valentia and Fenit Lifeboats)
Monies raised from the Seven Frogs Triathlons 2007/2008 and my personal challenges of the Round Ireland Swim and last years Double Crossing of the England Channel.
Spring has sprung and we are heading into May and it is time to get into the water. From this Thursday, 30th April, we will be swimming twice a week in the open water. The currently scheduled times are Tuesdays and Thursdays at 18:15 going from the pier at Star Sailing. The intention is to try and get out in pretty much most conditions so Star Sailing will be a little sheltered. All are welcome, beginners and experienced swimmers so hope to see you there. (Thanks to Robert for promoting the idea.)
Although the competitive element of the Jack and Jill was only one small part of what turned out to be an amazing day for all competitors the final results for the first 300 finishers are now available for download in here in either Excel format or in PDF format. Congratulations to Sean and Maureen as the first man and woman home respectively.
Far more importantly however was the huge turnout from all competitors walking and running, young and old. To all of you who supported the event and equally to all of the huge number of volunteers and other contributors we would like to extend a large “thank you”. Further details on the final amounts raised will be posted here when it is all tallied.
Coaching Ireland in association with Lucozade have produced five new factsheets on various areas related to training such as hydration, nutrition and weight management.
The factsheets are available to download in PDF format from http://www.coachingireland.com/lucozade_factsheets