Harwich Triathlon

Sea swim along the beach, undulating bike ride through local villages, flat promenade 2-loop run.

If a sea swim is too risky on the day due to bad weather, we will revert to a duathlon (5K Run: https://www.strava.com/routes/3299740660501589256). No refunds will be possible.

10:00 14:00
Dovercourt Swimming Pool (map)
Saturday 7th June 2025
Registration 8am - Specific registration details will be provided in your pre-race information packs, which will include the exact location of registration for your event.

For the first time since 2014, we are bringing back the Harwich Olympic distance triathlon.

Race HQ and transition will be on the grass along Lower Marine Parade, next to the oval shelter, in front of the Lighthouse Sports and Social Hub.

Starting with a 1500m sea swim along the Blue Flag beach of Dovercourt Bay, swimming out from Earlhams and along the bay, before going around the iconic lighthouse and heading back to shore. Followed by a 40km bike around the villages surrounding Harwich. Finishing with a fast and flat 10km (made up of two laps) along Harwich promenade.

We are also offering a 2 or 3-person relay option, so you can take part with friends or family, each person doing a different leg and coming together to cross the finish line.

The first wave will be set off at 10:00, with different waves for men and women.

Please note - If a sea swim is too risky on the day due to bad weather, we will revert to a duathlon. No refunds will be possible.

Total Spaces: 120 Individual + 30 Relay Teams

• On Sunday, access to the welfare facilities inside the Dovercourt Bay Lifestyles is available to all competitors. Toilets, changing rooms and lockers are available, and communal showers (please note they are not cubicle showers, and therefore a swimming costume or shorts is required if using the showers).

Please don't jinx it!

Let's all keep our fingers crossed that the Weather Gods are on our side. They have been for the past few years, so we hope that the sun will be shining, the sea will be calm and the winds low. However, we have bigged up this beautiful town of Harwich because of its coastline and countryside, being on the peninsula... But with this, does bring ever-changing, slightly unpredictable and, at times, pretty wild weather! We will ALWAYS put the safety of all of our athletes first, and provide updates on any changes to the race as a result of the weather, as and when this is necessary. The biggest impact will more than likely be to the sea swim. We will have safety boats out in the water, along with buoys, and have a team of people to make an informed and safety-led decision on the day if weather means the sea conditions become unsafe for swimming. If this happens, the swim will be cancelled and swapped with a 5km run instead, forming a duathlon. However, this would be the very last resort and we would love the sea swim to happen as much as you would!

Please note, in the case of this happening, no refunds would be issued.

If a sea swim is too risky on the day due to bad weather, we will revert to a duathlon. No refunds will be possible.

The sea swim starts at West End beach.

Yes - to get from Race HQ to the swim start, it is a 750m walk along the prom. Please bring a pair of sandals or flipflops with you. At the swim start, we will have some bags for you to pop your footwear into, and these will be safely taken back to transition and laid out for you to collect after your race has finished.

Your predicted swim time is used for working out the best start time for you.

For the Olympic race - the predicted swim time will help to allocate you into a start wave of swimmers with a similar ability to you. The more accurate your swim time, the more likely you will be swimming with people of a similar pace, which will make for less over taking, less lonely swimming and a much more enjoyable swim for everyone!

For the pool swims (sprint and junior) - the predicted swim time will also be used for your start time. We will be setting off female athletes first, followed by male athletes. The order of females and then males will then be worked out based on the predicted swim times, with slowest going first. If your swim times are accurate, you should be setting off 30 seconds either side of other swimmers of a similar ability. As the swim is a snake style in the pool, if you are swimming near people of a similar pace to you, it will reduce the need for overtaking. Please provide the most accurate swim time possible. It will benefit yourself as well as all the other competitors taking part. 🙂

As your training progresses, we fully appreciate swim times will change. So do not hesitate to contact us to update it, anytime between now and a week before the race.

This is a non-draft legal event for all of the races. Please see the BTF race rules and guidelines (BTF Drafting Rules) for more specifics on the rules of drafting. As this is a draft illegal race, athletes should keep a minimum of 10 metres between them and the cyclist in front of them.

All of the events happen on open roads. Please bare this in mind when racing - rules of the road do apply.

There are no aid stations on the bike course, so please make sure you have enough water and nutrition with you on the bike. We recommend everyone taking water out on the bike with them, especially if the weather is as kind to us as it has been in previous years, as it can get warm in June!

The bike course is fully marshalled. Marshals are located on any junctions where you make a turning, and the route will be well signed.

ARE THERE AID STATIONS ON THE RUN ROUTE?
Yes - for both Sprint and Olympic there will be water stations on the route. For Sprint, there is one water station. For Olympic, the 10k route will pass the aid station three times.

CAN I RUN WITH MY TRISUIT TOP UNDONE?
No - Trisuits must be fully done up at all times after you have come out of T1.