Triathlon fever will hit Galway this weekend with the annual triathlon and multisport festival taking place at Lough Cutra Castle on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th May. Now in its eleventh year, the Castle in Gort with its privately owned lake will play host to a very busy weekend of swim, bike and run.
Part of the Castle Race Series, Lough Cutra Castle provides the perfect backdrop for a fun festival of triathlon and multisport racing. Swimming in Europe’s largest privately owned lake, cycling through the breath-taking scenery of South Galway and The Burren on the Wild Atlantic Way, before running on the tracks, trails and wonderful woodland of the castle estate to the finish line at the foot of one of Ireland’s only privately owned castles, it’s no surprise the event is popular with athletes and spectators alike.
Attracting participants from across the country and indeed from the UK, there will be no shortage of inspiration in sport to be witnessed across the weekend with some of Ireland’s top triathletes making the trip West to embrace and enjoy the racing on offer.
Of course, it’s not just the elite athletes who will be racing, there will be athletes of all levels of ability and aspiration taking the plunge for the first time, others will return to the castle to better their time from a previous race, some will simply dust off the racing cobwebs after a long winter of training to see where their fitness stands as they head into a busy season of racing.
It's shaping up to be a super weekend of endurance sport in South Galway, with triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and aquabike races to choose from, multisport athletes are spoiled for choice in terms of racing options. For swimmers and runners there are plenty of races for them to enjoy and excel in too.
Without a doubt the highlights of this year’s racing at the Castle will feature the young athletes who will race as part of the first round of Triathlon Ireland Youth Series supported by Costcutter. With a huge interest in the junior events this year, these races will be hugely exciting and hotly contested.
The National Sprint Aquathlon Championship will take place on Saturday morning and the much anticipated National Mixed Team Relay Championship will take place on Saturday afternoon. Both of these races have attracted some super interest and the racing will be exciting and exhilarating in equal measures as the 2023 National Champions across both events are crowned.
To find out more about the individual races and schedule for the weekend go to www.castleraceseries.com.