BUCS Sprint Triathlon, 3 May 2026

BUCS Sprint Tri marked my first triathlon of the season, so I went into it with one simple goal: enjoy it. As someone who doesn’t come from a swimming background, the opening leg was all about staying calm and controlled. Well, it set the tone for a high heart rate dash into T1! With its 600m run, I now understand people describing this race as a ‘wet duathlon’.

The rolling roads in South Gloucestershire made for a really nice ride, and even though I know I need more time doing efforts on the TT bike to build confidence, I still enjoyed it. I averaged 30kph over the 23km, had a minor calf cramp at a foot-down junction, but nothing that stopped me getting back into it and heading into T2.

I somehow ended up having a little sit down to get my shoes sorted. But once I got out onto the run with a gel in one hand and my sunglasses in the other, something just clicked. I ran my fastest 5k in a sprint tri and that was a huge win. The sweetspot sessions at this pace really paid off, not just physically but mentally, as I knew I could hold on even with fatigue in the legs.

Crossing the line feeling strong and genuinely happy with the run was the perfect way to finish. There’s so much I can take forward from this race, and the best part about sprints are you can race them more often than the longer events. I’m already excited to train for the next one!

Shianne Beckett