A GROUP of budding triathletes went the distance after successfully completing a 10 week course.

Under the guidance of JBR Run & Tri Club coaches, more than 20 people learnt the basics of the sport before taking part in a testing triathlon event at the weekend.

And lead coach Jon Brown was pleased to see the event - held at David Lloyd Southend - go so well.

“We always really enjoy running the course and this has been another great few months,” said Brown.

“When everyone starts they are all a bit nervous and tentative about different aspects of doing a triathlon and it’s brilliant to see everyone overcome those.

“The improvement we see in all the people on the course is the most rewarding thing and to see them all reach the finish line is a great feeling.”

The triathletes completed their course in a triathlon held at David Lloyd Southend on Sunday.

Those taking part swam 300 metres before cycling 10 miles and finishing off with a 5k run.

But Brown was keen to point out it had not been a race.

“Everyone had their own goals and we didn’t treat the final event as a race,” said Brown.

“People started at different times in the pool and we treated it as their graduation to put into practice everything they had learned during the 10 weeks.

“It was a great day and I would also like to say a massive thank you to all the coaches who gave up their time to help out and everyone at David Lloyd for the use of their facilities.”

>For more details on taking up triathlon, visit www.runandtriclub.com