Hundreds turn out for Shrewsbury's annual triathlon

More than 300 people took part in the events, including competitors who travelled from Scotland.

The triathlon is a swim, followed by a cycle race and a run, and the quadrathlon is a swim, followed by a kayak race, a cycle race and a run.

Shrewsbury's mayor Jane Mackenzie started off the first wave of competitors with an air horn.

She said: "It's my first triathlon, the turn-out is great considering the weather.

"This is something that Shrewsbury is really great at, it's a real community effort.

"It's such a beautiful location with the river and the countryside, it's a wonderful route."

One of the organisers, Ed Beech, said that the event raises money for Hope House, but competitors can fundraise for charities of their choice too.

He said: "All of the car park money goes to Hope House, people are asked to donate £2 to park, and people can raise money for charities of their choice.

"We've had 375 people sign up for the events, but they might not have all turned up because of the weather.

"The event is well supported, we've got competitors who have come down from Scotland. Shrewsbury is a very nice town for a triathlon, it's very picturesque.

"We have a real variety of people take part, some teenagers in the youth category right up to Dougie who is 75, he's our oldest member of Shrewsbury Triathlon Club.

"We've been sponsored by JT Hughes this year too which is great.

"It's one of the biggest quadrathlons in the country, they're getting more popular.".

Douglas Davies has been a member of Shrewsbury Triathlon Club (SYTri) for 12 years after starting when he retired.

The former estate agent from Shrewsbury said his son Neil Davies was also competing in the triathlon.

He added: "Neil might well beat me, he's in his 50s unlike me.

"I just do it for fun. In the past I've competed for Great Britain in London in the over 70s, there were 80 competitors and I came 15th. That was really good."

The grandfather-of-four said that one year three generations competed in Shrewsbury Triathlon, himself, his son and his grandson.

Mr Davies said: "I'm not very good at the swimming but I catch up on the bike and the running."

Another, competitor, and more than 50 years younger than Mr Davies, was trainee teacher Joe Ridge, from Shrewsbury, said he has been running since 2014, but after a knee injury he switched his focus onto triathlons.

The 23-year-old said: "Last year was my first triathlon, then I did Salford and now I'm doing this again.

"I started running to raise money for Alder Hey Children's Hospital, as I was treated there when I was younger, but now I just do it for fun."

For more information visit sytri.org/2017-shrewsbury-triathlon/