Yesterday over 100 beginner triathletes enjoyed the end of summer sun in Roundhay Park, at the GO TRI + festival. Following on from the success of the Brownlee’s in Leeds and in Rio, the park was buzzing with new triathletes and supporters.

Leeds locals took on one of three unique start waves, including GO TRI + Open and GO TRI + This Girl Can waves covering a 400m swim, 10km cycle and 2.5km run. There was also a splash and dash wave (200m swim and 2.5km walk/run) and peddle and plod wave (10km cycle and 2.5km walk/run) for those that didn’t fancy taking on all three disciplines.

So far this summer, 764 people from across Leeds have participated in triathlon for the first time through the Tri Something New programme. Launched by Leeds City Council and British Triathlon and supported by Sport England, these sessions give you fantastic opportunities to try one of the three components of triathlon at venues across Leeds. Find out more and sign up to free sessions here.

Michelle Scott, Leeds Legacy Programme Manager and British Triathlon Regional Manager for the North East, says; “It is fantastic to see the profile of triathlon in Leeds grow each year, and with that so many new people come into the sport. GO TRI and the Tri Something New sessions make triathlon truly accessible for anybody.”

Paul Hollings, a first time triathlete, says; “Massive thank you to everyone at GO TRI for making yesterday possible. It was amazing and I took so much away from it. I’m now looking to enter a sprint event early next year and then hopefully the standard distance at next year’s Leeds Triathlon."

Paul added; “The event was a really well run and welcoming event, not at all scary like I thought it would be. Having been to one of the open water swimming sessions, I felt really comfortable as I entered the water. I’ll definitely be looking out for more GO TRI events and have been recommending them to my all friends and people at my running club.”

For those who are nervous about taking part in a triathlon event or activity session, British Triathlon has launched its #YourGOTRI campaign allowing you to simply create your own triathlon, to complete in your own time. At www.gotri.org/yourgotri people can select a swim, cycle and run from options including a “trip to the pool”, “pedal in the park”, and “jog round the block”. There’s even an option to “row in the gym” instead of swim. Participants will then be supported with tips and training plans from the experts at British Triathlon.