Hi everyone

It is with a great deal of regret from all involved that we are going to have to cancel the swim element of the Top Barn Triathlons and make the race a Duathlon. We have posted on the website and also emailed all competitors to let them know. Please keep checking here for updates.

The cancellation of the swim is due to a parasitic infection in the water which has caused some swimmers to suffer discomfort afterwards. We have sought advice from the Environment Agency, who have confirmed that this it is not serious and does not infect humans but there are some uncomfortable side effects. These can affect everyone to varying degrees or some not at all and there are measures that can be taken to mitigate the affects straight after you train. However, we as the organising club of these races are responsible for the safety and welfare of those racing and we are simply not prepared to take risks of this nature and it is neither safe nor practical to insist on these in the confines of a race. This unfortunately is the nature of swimming in open water and this is the first time we are aware that this has happened.

We are therefore going to hold a run around the edge of the lake to spread out the field prior to the usual bike and run course in the following formats:

Sprint – 2 laps ran around the lake (total approx 1 mile), then the races will then continue as normal

Double – 1 lap of the 5km run course, then the races will then continue as normal

Triple – 2 laps of the lake, 1 lap of the 5km run course (totalling 4.2 miles), then the races will then continue as normal

Final confirmation will from part of the Pre-Race Briefing, so please make sure you are there and understand the revised course.

We appreciate that many people will be disappointed in this and rest assured it is our biggest race of the season and we share your feelings. However, safety is our paramount concern.

In order to answer inevitable questions some may have about refunds we would remind you that the terms and conditions of the race were included on Entry Central and in the confirmation email you received once you had entered. We endeavour to put on the best race possible but sometimes circumstances are out of our control, in this case, the quality of water at the venue we hire. We are offering a suitably challenging alternative race, as indeed happens at all levels including international and age group racing around the world. We will not be refunding any race fees for athletes not wanting to race this year and who do not want to swop to another Worcester Tri Club race.

Should be of the mind not to compete, we will withdraw you from the race and roll your place over  into next year’s race at Top Barn. If you want to do this, please let us know by 7pm on Saturday evening by sending an email to [email protected]. It will take us a while to work through these so please bear with us, it will take a good few days to make all the changes but rest assured you will not lose your entry fee or a chance to enter next years race.

If you want to enter another Worcester Tri Club race such as Droitwich, this will be subject to availability on a first-come, first-served basis. Again, please drop us an email and we will work through these. Swops between different races take even longer so it will take us 1-2 weeks to sort this out. Again, we ask that you bear with us and we will get there and again, you will not lose your race fee.

We have reviewed the timings of the race and the provisional race lists are available here for downloading – click for the right one – sprint – doubletriple.

The prize categories are stated here, along with the likely prizes to go with them.

We will also be very flexible with the registration opening times, so that if you are racing later you will not have to register by 8am. If you have raced with us before you will know that we are very accommodating with swopping and changing over and we will keep registration open as long as it needs to be but you will have to bear with us as we have been inundated with requests.

See you Sunday for the inaugural Top Barn Duathlons.

Worcester Tri Club