Eastbourne Triathlon and Multisport Festival

Triathlon

Eastbourne · 12.07.2026

At a Glance

Event	Eastbourne Triathlon and Multisport Festival
Distance	70.3 (Middle Distance)
Date	12.07.2026
Location	Eastbourne, England
Conditions	Warm and sunny, building to hot on the run (mid-20s°C). Sea choppy enough that some events were brought forward.
Kit Highlights	Scott RC Ultimate, Huckson trisuit, Ekoi TT helmet, Aerogain front hydration

Distances

Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run
1.9km sea	–	90km	–	21.1km

Goals

Goal	Target	Result
Finish time	Just get it done	✅

No splits target this time. I went in with low expectations and a single job: cross the line.

Results

Finish Time	Age Group	Gender	Overall
05:47:18	2nd	14th	14th

Pre-Race

Travel & Logistics

I am grateful for the club WhatsApp group. For some reason I had convinced myself I could drive over on race morning, which would have meant a three in the morning start, if not earlier. Then a club mate put a message out asking about sharing accommodation, and that idea quietly saved me from myself. We did not end up sharing an Airbnb in the end, because I found a lovely spot right next to the start line. The Ravilious B&B, if you are ever in the area. The only downside was an early checkout, so no shower after the race.

I drove down the day before, late afternoon. After registration I met a club mate on the beach and had a beer. Then more club mates arrived, so I had another beer. Then we found a lovely Italian restaurant, where I had another beer, and off to bed. I slept like a baby.

The Night Before / Morning Of

Breakfast landed at five in the morning, prepared by my host. Overnight porridge with fruit and chia seeds. Lovely. An instant coffee to go with it, and I was ready.

Race Narrative

Swim

The sea was choppy. So choppy that they brought some of the other events forward. I am not entirely sure why, but I loved it. A proper rolling swim, with the odd wave slapping you across the face just to keep you honest. I must be a bit weird. One of my club mates made it in, got a feel for it, and turned around. Full credit to her, she did not DNF. She skipped the rest of the 1.9km and went straight on to ride and run instead, which takes more nerve than finishing the swim would have. My split was rubbish, as usual, but the moment I am out of the water I am back in my element.

T1

Out of the water and a run across to T1. Cycling shoes on, helmet on, grabbed the TT bike, and away.

Bike

I had a nutrition plan and was running the Aerogain front hydration for only the second time. From early on I could tell the big numbers were not there. I held a tidy TT position, which I was pleased with, and the climbing came surprisingly easily, but I simply was not as fast as I know I can be.

The course was a loop, which gave me a handy reference point. Jordan, a seriously quick club mate, kept appearing, and I was matching her lap speed rather than pulling away. I had quietly expected to be a touch faster than that. Not by much, but a touch. The road surface was good and the scenery was stunning, though there were a few bumps, and somewhere along the way my front bottle cage gave up entirely.

I pulled in at the aid station next to transition, removed the whole bottle and cage, and handed it to a volunteer, more or less begging them to drop it by my box. Those carbon cages are not cheap. The bike was genuinely challenging with a lot of elevation, but it flew by, and before long I was rolling into T2.

T2

Racing shoes on, my now inseparable Quantum Metric hat, and the SunGod sunglasses. And it was starting to get hot. Very hot.

Run

I set off at a conservative pace, aiming for a negative split that never turned up. I struggled from fairly early and spent most of the half marathon just trying to stay on top of my hydration. Crossing the line was a relief more than anything. The split held up better than it felt, which is the only reason the day worked out the way it did.

The Finish Line

The relief of finishing turned into a genuine surprise when I found out I had come second in my age group. For once there was an actual podium ceremony, and a photographer to go with it. I still owe the blog a post about my podium luck, or rather my podium unluck, but that is a story for another day.

Time Chip

Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run	Finish
00:43:05	00:05:24	03:10:22	00:03:59	01:44:27	05:47:18

Post-Race

Recovery & Celebrations

It took me a while to fancy any food, and by the time I did the fish and chips truck had run out of fish. I was not that hungry anyway. I hung around cheering my club mates in, went up on the podium to collect my prize, which turned out to be the wrong one, and was told I would get the right one in the post. I am still waiting. Then I gathered my kit at a leisurely pace and drove home.

What Went Well

– Smooth organisation. The whole event ran cleanly from registration to finish, and the choppy-water rescheduling was handled without fuss.

– A solid swim for the conditions. The sea was rough, and I came out of it in reasonable shape and happy to have raced it rather than dreaded it.

– Second in age group. Not the plan on a low-expectations day, but a podium is a podium.

What To Improve

– No power on the bike. The legs would not produce the numbers I wanted. Worth digging into whether that was fatigue, pacing, or just an off day.

– The bottle cage that did a runner. Losing a front cage mid-race cost time and a decent bit of kit. A setup and mounting check before the next hilly, bumpy course.

Race Ratings

Organisation	10/10
Course	8/10
Atmosphere / Crowd	7/10
Post-Race Experience	6/10
Value for Money	12/10
Overall	8/10

Final Thoughts

Road closures, a proper middle-distance course, all for less than £150. This one is a must do. If the organiser is reading, one small ask: you run three events across the festival, so add an overall classification for anyone daft enough to take on all three. That would be a lovely thing to race for.

Eastbourne Middle Distance Triathlon 2026Race Report