Helvellyn Triathlon Relay, 6 Sep 2026

I refused to take part in Helvellyn Triathlon as someone who tries to mainly run on the track, but once I got offered a spot in a relay team with my friend and her boyfriend, it didn't seem as daunting.

The bike was my challenge for the relay, and it was a 60km ride (which doesn't sound too bad) until you realise it involves 'The Struggle', which is 4.5km long with 385m of vertical ascent. If you know me, you know I'm not a climber, but this was a challenge I was excited to prove I could do.

The first part of the ride up to this point was really enjoyable, fast downhill sections down the A66 was the most confident I've felt on the bike in a while. Due to being in a relay team, instead of being at the back after the swim I was actually mixed in with really fast cyclists! Although I was being overtaken a lot, it was nice to see people constantly on the course. Then The Struggle came, and I just wanted to get up it. I ended up walking the final 800m after seeing people in front of me fall from just moving too slowly with too low a cadence, and this scared me a bit! Once I got to the top though, the descent to the finish was so fun, very fast and a bit technical so it was great fun!

Then I got to pass over to the runner of the team, and have a bit of a relax and recovery before the finish line! It was a good experience and I'd recommend a relay to anyone who doesn't have the skills or fitness for a full race with beautiful views and crazy experiences like Helvellyn Tri.

Shianne Beckett