For one year only Ironman will host both Ironman UK/Bolton (Jul. 4) and Ironman 70.3 Bolton (Sep. 26) in 2021. The latter is newly added to the race calendar and will only happen this year to create a local alternative for British triathletes who’d rather not travel internationally.
The event will offer most of the highlights from the Ironman Bolton course. It starts with a 1,900 m swim in Pennington Flash Country Park. After that, athletes hop on the bike for 90 km of cycling through Lancashire’s countryside. The run takes place over a two-loop, 21.2 km course through Queens Park.
“Following a dearth of racing over the last year and a half, the new event will be a welcome addition to the UK triathlon calendar in 2021,” Ironman states in a press release. “The race will appeal to both seasoned triathletes looking to extend their season as well as those with the ambition of earning the coveted title of Ironman by getting a feel for racing in and around Bolton before taking on the full distance triathlon in 2022.”
“With all the uncertainty around international travel, we wanted to give athletes another chance to race at an Ironman event at home this year,” Declan Byrne, Ironman Managing Director of the UK and Ireland, adds.
