Croyde Ocean Triathlon showcases stamina and sustainability in first event under new owners Plastic Free North Devon

A triumphant tri competitor celebrates at the finish line

The ninth “stunning and savage” Croyde Ocean Triathlon took place today (Sunday 2 July) with 419 competitors battling it out on the beautiful North Devon coastline.

The Croyde Ocean Triathlon is recognised as one of the UK’s most challenging and scenic events. It was one of 220 Triathlon’s “Top 23 must-do” triathlon challenges for 2019, and shortlisted for best triathlon in the UK for 2020.

The course involves a 1.5km ocean swim at Putsborough Sands, followed by a 38km road bike course and a 12km off-road run over hilly coastal terrain, taking in the sights of the North Devon UNESCO Biosphere, North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the newly designated North Devon World Surfing Reserve. Unfortunately, due to the unfavorable sea conditions, the RNLI took the difficult decision to cancel the swim, so instead the athletes did a 2km beach run before taking on ‘The Hero of the Hill’ challenge up the steep ascent out of Putsborough Beach before hopping on their bikes.

This was the ninth year the event has taken place, and the first under the new ownership of local environmental charity Plastic Free North Devon, with 100% of profits from both the Croyde Ocean Triathlon and sister event the Exmoor Swim now going to charity. 

Many of the competitors taking part today were raising sponsorship for Plastic Free North Devon, as well as local charities Children’s Hospice South West and Family Compass. 

The overall winner in this year’s event was Hamish James who finished the course in 2h 09m 32s. 

The youngest competitor was 17 and the oldest was 70.

Full results are available here.

Around 140 volunteers joined in on the day to help ensure the event ran smoothly and our local RNLI team who ended up cheering the beach runners on!

Race director Jo Hibberd said:  “At 4am this morning I looked out at the Atlantic Ocean with a huge sense of pride and privilege at being at the helm of this event. The local support we receive is incredible, our community simply rocks! There is an enormous team effort that makes this special triathlon take place every year. A big thanks to the competitors for supporting us and the volunteers for starting at 5am this morning!”

The Plastic Free North Devon team has been closely involved with the event since its inception in 2015, and in 2018 the event was awarded the accolade of being the first plastic-free sports event of its kind by Surfers Against Sewage. The charity has created a robust sustainability plan that is being implemented over the next few years to make this event the leading light in sustainable sports events nationwide. Features of the plan include: onsite vendor stipulations, sports merchandise purchasing guidelines, single-use plastics ban on site, reusable coffee cup return scheme and athlete event guidance, to name but a few. 

Plastic Free North Devon CEO Claire Moodie commented: “I’m so proud to see this event unfold today knowing that it is now a Plastic Free North Devon event raising vital funds for our charity. It was strange to be on the other side of the finish line but just as amazing. I’m always blown away at how many people give up their spare time to come and help us make this event happen, I love the energy they bring. I love sport, I love our community, I love looking after the planet and this event does it all in one and I can’t wait to see what next year brings.” 

The main corporate sponsor for both events is North Devon based dryrobe®, a company on a mission to inspire, enable, and improve the experience of an active outdoor lifestyle for everyone, and whose recent B Corporation™ certification reflects their ongoing commitment to building a sustainable business with environmental protection at its core. Other tri sponsors include Ninety One,  79 Group, BornBound, solicitors Brewer, Harding and Rowe, and Putsborough Sands.

Next year’s event will take place on 14 July 2024 and for the first time a “Still Stunning but Less Savage” Mini Tri is on offer, featuring a 1k swim, 22k bike ride and 5k run. Early bird tickets go on sale from 22 July 2023 at croydeocean.co.uk