11/01/2023 - Important information.
It is with great regret that we must tell you the 255 Triathlon Festival of Endurance will no longer take place in 2023. We appreciate this will be very disappointing news for you.

Firstly, let us reassure you that all competitors will receive a full refund within 7 days.

We want to provide you with a clear explanation as to why we have been forced to cancel the event. To put it simply, the number of people entering the event is nowhere near enough to make the event financially viable.

In 2021 we had 96 solo athletes and 71 teams take part. In 2022, despite having been voted South East Event of the Year, we only had 28 solo athletes, with the number of relay teams increasing only slightly. Despite introducing additional race options and offering significant early-bird discounts, we have so far only had 10 solo entries and 9 teams for 2023. These numbers are significantly lower than we had at this time in previous years, and predict final numbers up to 50% lower than last year.

The event made a financial loss in both 2021 and 2022 which is to be expected with any new event, but in 2023 the losses are projected to be significantly higher (in the tens of thousands). The costs associated with delivering high-quality triathlon events are increasing and hiring a motor racing circuit makes them even higher.

The truth is we just don't know why numbers at the 255 Triathlon have declined so significantly. Although many events across the country, including free events such as Park Run, have also seen a decline in recent years, our other TriBourne events at Eastbourne, IronBourne and Brighton & Hove are very healthy and continue to grow. To put this into perspective, in the last 2 weeks we have seen over 350 athletes enter TriBourne events, but only one of those entries was for the 255 Triathlon.

This has been a very difficult decision for us. We are both athletes and passionate about the sport and the concept of the 255 Triathlon Festival of Endurance. Our ethos has always been to deliver high-quality events whilst always putting the athlete first, but we simply can't sustain an event with a loss of tens of thousands of pounds and no sign of long-term growth.

Once again, we are very sorry to disappoint you with this news. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely
Mat and Dale

The Long Distance Triathlon

The full 'iron' distance Triathlon consists of a 3.8km swim followed by a 180km cycle and a 42.2km run at the historic Goodwood Motor Circuit.

The swim will take place at Chichester Watersports at Westhampnett Lake, starting at 6am. The swim route will consist of one lap of 1,300m followed by two laps of 1,250m. After each lap, you will exit the water, providing a great spectator experience and an opportunity to take on nutrition.



The bike route consists of 47 traffic-free laps of the historic Goodwood Motor Racing Circuit. This multi-lap format will provide you with access to your own "special needs" nutrition box at your designated place in the pit lane. Once again a great experience for both spectators and competitors.



The run will be 11 laps of 3.85km on smooth tarmac around Goodwood Motor Circuit. After each 3.85km lap, you will have acccess to your pit lane box, with an additional aid stations every 1.9km.



All finishers will revceive a finishers medal and a Festival of Endurance t-shirt, and awards will be presented to the top 3 men and top 3 women.