RENAMED as the Kendal ‘Castle’ triathlon nearly 200 athletes turned up to compete in the annual spring challenge.

With better weather conditions than when the previous triathlon was held in September the course saw competitors do a 400m swim in the pool followed by a new 20km bike route which went into the hills above Kendal before coming back through the town centre.

The final stage was a 5km off-road run using the route of the old canal for a short distance then into woodland trails and the grassy slopes up to the Castle ruins before coming back down to the finish.

Unattached MV40 Jules Hatcher won the triathlon in an incredible time of 1 hour 2 minutes and 44 seconds.

Benjamin Hodgson, from Kendal Tri Club, came second overall with also an impressive time of 1 hour 4 minutes and 58 seconds, nearly five minutes quicker than his previous time in September.

Chris Hewson, unattached, came third with a time of 1 hour 5 minutes and 33 seconds.

Unattached V40 Nicola King was the first female back with a time of 1 hour 11 minutes and 35 seconds followed by V50 Karen Bridge with a time of 1 hour 15 minutes and 29 seconds and Ulverston tri-athleteV50 Suzanne Toppin in a time of 1 hour 17 minutes and 27 seconds.

Race organisers said they wanted to make it their “mission” to make the day “a really relaxed, friendly event”.

Kendal athlete Kath Finn said that for several club members it was their first triathlon. She added that they had all “done brilliantly”.