A new sporting festival on the water and land takes place in Salthill this weekend.
The inaugural Aquathon Festival, hosted by the Galway Triathlon Club, will see swimmers take to the water at Blackrock on Saturday for three races, involving both junior and senior competitors.
Spectators can have a bird’s eye view of the action when the first race of the day takes place at Grattan beach at 10.15am for youth athletes. It is followed by the sprint race of 750m swim/5km run at 10.30am at Grattan Beach. The featured event, the long race, starts at 12 noon with athletes swimming 2km from Blackrock to Grattan beach before completing a 10km run around the Claddagh, South Park and Grattan Rd.
The festival kicks off with a sports nutrition talk in the Salthill Hotel at 7pm this evening with renowned sports nutritionist Barry Murray who will be provide information on race nutrition for ironman athletes, marathon and ultramarathon runners, and endurance athletes.
On Friday evening Daniel Bullock, the head coach with Swim for Tri in Britain, will host an open water swim clinic at Blackrock from 7.30pm, giving tips and information for long course navigation and correct wetsuit fittings. Bullock will also participate in the featured long course race on Saturday afternoon.
For further information log onto www.galwayaquathon.ie