SOUTHEND will be staging its first triathlon in more than 30 years this weekend.

Three hundred athletes will be swimming, cycling and running close to the sea-front on Sunday.

And Jess Tonking, one of the event’s organisers, is delighted to be bringing triathlon back to the town.

“We couldn’t believe that such a sporting town with its own half marathon and popular 10k didn’t already have a triathlon so we decided to change that,” said Tonking.

“We want to bring the sport of triathlon more into the mainstream and this event is part of those plans.

“There used to be a triathlon held annually in Southend in the 1980s which was a very popular event.

“However, it was quite different to the one we have organised as the swim was in a pool rather than being outside like the one this weekend.

“It promises to be a good day and hopefully lots of people will come down to watch and support those taking part as well.”

Sunday’s sprint length triathlon will get underway with a 500metre swim out into the Estuary before a 20km bike ride which goes through Great Wakering and Barling.

The race then ends with a 5km run along the sea-front and Tonking has been overwhelmed by the level of interest in the race.

“We’ve been blown away by how popular the triathlon has been,” said Tonking.

“We had more than 700 applications but we set a competitor limit of 300 for this year’s event as it’s the first one.

“Next year we’ll be increasing the competitor limit to 600 people and we hope to make the event bigger and better from there.”

As a result, Tonking is also keen for the Southend Triathlon to become a regular event in the town.

“We definitely want to make this an annual event,” said Tonking.

“After receiving such fantastic support, we are really excited about how we can grow this into a really great local spectacle for the town of Southend.

“We have lots of exciting ideas up our sleeve for next year and want as many people as possible to get involved.

“We hope it will evolve year by year.

“Our aim is to make it a big event which brings together local businesses and residents and we hope this year’s race will be the start of something really good.”

Sunday’s race gets underway at 12 noon and has been organised by Sundried, a premium active-wear brand which is based in Southend.