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

About us

Who are we?

We are Mat Dowle and Dale Anderton, both experienced triathletes living in Eastbourne. We have set up "TriBourne Multisport Events Limited” to facilitate the delivery of the 2019 Eastbourne Triathlon; doing so with a longer-term vision to deliver several other multisport events to the Eastbourne area.

Between us we have many hundreds of hours of racing experience at all levels and over all distances. We have experienced everything that is both good and bad about racing triathlon, and this experience puts us in a great position to deliver the best possible, athlete focussed race experience.

Mat Dowle

Mat Dowle came to triathlon relatively late in life, completing his first triathlon in 2006 at the age of 29. Since then he has completed over 15 Ironman distance races and countless shorter distance events.

"I started running in my 20's and completed many marathons and ultra-distance running events, including 24-hour races and the 145-mile Grand Union Canal Race. After 10 years of running I needed a new challenge and entered my first triathlon (Ironman France). At that time, I had never learned to swim, so the build up to that first Ironman was a steep learning curve. I conquered the swim, mountains and the heat of the run, ending up with a decent result… I loved the experience and there was no going back!

"Over the past 12 years I've completed many triathlons over all distances from sprint to Ironman. I've picked up some good results over the years and I've been on the GB Age Group Team at several World and European Championship events. At age 42 I'm still getting quicker, smashing my Ironman PB with a 9:39 last year, and this year I'm planning to have a go at qualifying for Kona 2020.

"I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I hope my commitment and attention to detail will result in an outstanding race experience for everyone involved in the Eastbourne Triathlon."

Dale Anderton

Local athlete Dale Anderton has been involved in triathlon and endurance sports for 40 years.

"I fell in love with triathlon and the endurance sport way of life in the 1980's whilst serving as a Royal Marine and doing my first sprint distance event. Since then l have competed in 100's of races across the globe at all distances including the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii; an experience l will never forget and one I hope to repeat once again in 2020 as l attempt to qualify this September at the infamous Ironman Wales!

"I moved to Eastbourne to study a Sports Science Degree in 1994 and now I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I train with many great local clubs such Meads Runners, Team Bodyworks and Tri Tempo and see this event as a way of giving something back to the community and sport that has given me so much over the years.

"Our aim is to provide everyone the best experience possible at Eastbourne Triathlon, whether you're an international professional athlete or if this is your first triathlon."