Triathlon

Cambridge University currently has no triathlon club but CUCC has links with the town club - Cambridge Triathlon Club (CTC) and some people run with the university cross country club - CU Hare and Hounds.



Swim

There is no university pool and a lot of pressure on pool time in Cambridge. Only boaties and drunks swim in the Cam as it is probably poisonous. Because of this, the University Swimming Club squad is small and made up exclusively of competitive swimmers. So if you want to swim in Cambridge, and you are not likely to get a blue, there are several options.

1. Cambridge Triathlon Club (CTC) has two sessions a week, one on Monday, 21:00-22:00, at the Frank Lee Centre at Addenbrookes (£2 per session) and the other on Saturday, 08:00-09:15, (£2.50 for members, £3.50 for non-members), and 09:15 - 10:00 tecnhique session (£1.50 for non-members) at Impington Village Centre (£4.00 for members and , £5 for non-members for both sessions, i.e. 8-10). Both have set sessions, are sometimes coached, and cater for a fairly wide range of abilities. If those times are no good you might find something more convenient at

2. The City of Cambridge Swimming Club who have several sessions a week that non-competitive swimmers can go to.

3. If you want something that is less organised, then public lane sessions might be the answer. The most convenient pool for most people will be Parkside (just next to Parker's piece). If you decide on this option then get yourself a City Leisure Card ('A' card), with which you can buy a monthly swimming pass for £20 and a single swim for £2.00. (You can get one of these at Parkside - take along your student card and a letter to you at your Cambridge address to prove residency.) There are two main problems with public lane sessions: you will usually have to overtake lots of slower swimmers and exercising on your own is less fun.

4. And, mainly applicable to post grads, in the summer (May to September I think) the outdoor 100 yard pool on Jesus Green is good for wetsuit practice. A few members of CTC sometimes organise unofficial evening or lunchtime sessions here. Again, use of City Leisure Card will reduce entry fees.

Bike

The CUCC rides are fairly frequent. Cambridge Tri Club has a club ride on Saturday mornings leaving from Impington Village Centre at 10.30 after the swim. This is a year round ride and might interest you if you are around out of term time/ don't want to go in the afternoon. There are some very good riders in the club, and there tends to be a slower (about 16-18 mph) and faster (20 + mph) ride. Several of the triathlon club members also join in the town club rides and summer time trials (Cambridge CC and Team Cambridge). In the winter, CTC also organise turbo sessions, usually held in Girton or Impington, for people who want a bit of coaching and motivation.

Run

CU Hare and Hounds are happy for people to come along to their runs. You might even want to join them. CTC also has a Thursday evening run, usually an interval session. They meet at the University Track, and run on the road during the winter months, and move to the playing fields at Impington Village College during the summer (see training details ).

Contact James Palmer for more information


If you want more information about triathlon in Cambridge or just triathlon in general, the following societies and associations may be useful :

Total Immersion http://www.totalimmersion.net/
Cambridge University Hare and Hounds http://www.cam.ac.uk/societies/cuhh
Cambridge Triathlon Club (CTC) http://www.cambridgetriathlonclub.co.uk/home.html
British Triathlon Association http://www.britishtriathlon.org/
The Triathletes homepage http://www.triathletes-uk.org/