'Granite Man' title at stake

THE island is to host a half-ironman-distance triathlon in the summer. The Granite Man Triathlon is to be the Guernsey Triathlon Club's flagship event of 2008 and sees a return to long-distance triathlon and to an 'international' format event here.

The Pembroke-based event comprises a 1,900m swim, 80km cycle and 21km run and will take place on Sunday 31 August.

Advertising has already started in specialist UK Triathlon magazine 220 Triathlon and entries and enquiries are coming in.

'This is an exciting time for the Guernsey Triathlon Club,' said club president Mark Naftel.

'We are all looking forward to a large-scale triathlon on the island.

'The longer-distance events are becoming more and more popular around the world, with Ironman events selling out within days of entries opening. We hope to attract a large number of visitors to the Island.'

There will undoubtedly be a good level of competition at the front end of the race, with the winning time likely to be around four-and-a-half hours, but the organisers hope that the event will also appeal to the 'lifestyle' triathlete, aiming to test only themselves and complete the longer-distance event.

Among the local entrants, top Island Games cyclist and bike shop manager Paul Brehaut is expected to be competitive in the event.

He has taken part in a few shorter events and was expected to compete in the triathlon at the Rhodes Island Games, before deciding to return to competitive cycling last season.

However, he has now switched his focus back to triathlon training.

'I think it's great to see the club putting on these events in the island.

'I've wanted to do a long-distance triathlon for some time, but can't get the time to travel off the island,' said Brehaut, who has also secured sponsorship for the event from his employer, Ian Brown's Cycle Shop, and from Powerbar.

The club are keen to increase participation in triathlon in the island and the event is also open to corporate relay teams, with one member swimming, one cycling and one running.

The event would be suitable for teams or individuals wishing to raise funds for charity, the chosen one for the event will be the 'Daisy Chain' Pre-school Trust, which is also supported by the club's principal sponsors De Putron Fund management (Guernsey) Ltd.

A sprint distance event (750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run) will be run at the same time as the longer one, with entrants as young as 14 permitted to enter the shorter event.

Further details and entry forms are available from the GTC website www.gsytriclub.org.gg or by email from mark.naftel@cwgsy.net.