Lough Cutra Castle Triathlon celebrates its 10 year anniversary this month on May 28th and 29th. Over the years the event has gone from strength to strength as one of the most popular endurance sport festival weekends in Ireland. Participants travel from four corners of the country to experience the joy of swimming in the privately owned lake at the foot of the Castle, enjoying the breathtaking scenery of the Burren and South Galway on the bike course before weaving their way through the woodland, track and trail of the castle estate on the run course. With races for all ages and abilities it’s a favourite for many to kickstart their racing season each year. In this article Race Director Brian Adcock shares some insight into the event and why he keeps coming back to the Castle and what he is most looking forward to this year.

On the day that we arrived it was about 20C and all three of my kids (5, 8 and 9 at the time) were desperate to go for a swim in the lake. Keen wild swimmers, we had never swum in such a clean, calm and iridescent lake and from that point on we were sold. Add to that a one thousand acre estate and some of the best cycling routes Ireland has to offer, it was a no brainer.

Event format is the same as in previous years with shorter adult races (sprints) on the Saturday morning and the longer ones (1/2 iron and Olympic) on the Sunday morning. Swim only events take place on Saturday afternoon and then the Run only events and kids races on Sunday afternoon. St Colman’s Camogie club are organising all the run and cycle marshals this year so expect an extremely well marshalled and well signed cycle route. We drove round the other day and put red markings on the tarmac where there are potholes, not too many,  a lot of the road has been upgraded so cycle routes are in pristine condition thanks to the local county councils in Galway and Clare. 

The run routes on the estate have also be upgraded, they get better and better each year. The Swim Series 5K and 2.5K routes have been changed so that swimmers will swim an out and back course that circles two islands (Apple and Cormorant) which should be a welcome change for our swimmers in these two events and for the spectators watching from the water’s edge. 

It’s difficult to pick one or two highlights, there have been so many over the past 10 years, but for me these are some of the standout highlights;  The first 1/2 iron distance race that we put on at Lough Cutra in 2015, hosting the Irish Mixed Relay Championships for 3 years in succession, hosting the National Youth Series events and seeing the young athletes racing and progressing year on year has been super! On a personal note seeing my kids competing in all of the events over the years and now physically helping me to put them on that’s definitely a highlight. I could list off another 10 highlights but these are the best in my opinion.

Come and have some fun, enjoy the atmosphere, the camaraderie with fellow athletes and embrace the opportunity to race at this stunning location normally closed to the public. It’s going to be a fantastic race weekend and I can’t wait to see you there.