Hampstead Triathlon Club has celebrated its first birthday after a hugely successful debut year in which 30 enthusiasts have signed up and taken their first steps in the sport.
Daniel Bingham, a fully qualified triathlon coach who also teaches swimming at Virgin Active in Mill Hill East and Paul Dillon Swimming Club at University College School, established the club in September last year.
His aim was to introduce Londoners to an increasingly popular sport which really captured the imagination of the British public when the Brownlee brothers claimed the gold and bronze medals at the 2012 Olympics in Hyde Park.
Bingham, 38, who competed in the triathlon for Great Britain himself at the World Championships in Madeira in 2004, was also keen to make the most of the sporting facilities in north London.
One year on, Hampstead Triathlon Club hosts eight coached sessions a week and has become a beacon of the growing profile of the sport in the area.
“Our members have been racing all over the country this season, getting some great results and podium finishes,” said Bingham, who lives in Agincourt Road, Hampstead.
“Many of our members have completed their first triathlons this year under the guidance of our expert triathlon coaches.
“As a club, we work together in training to bring the best out of each other, with members achieving personal bests in training and racing.
“We have had a number of social events over the year which have been very successful and have helped to build a great team spirit and bond, with the next one being the club Christmas party.”
The club’s location certainly lends itself to its surroundings, as the area boasts an enviable array of parks and ponds that are easily accessible to its members.
“This summer, we did open water swim sessions at Hampstead Lido, giving members a chance to improve their wetsuit swimming,” said Bingham.
“We use Hampstead Heath running track and Hampstead Heath for our running sessions, and we do our cycling sessions in Regent’s Park and Richmond Park, with longer rides into Hertfordshire. We also do spinning sessions at Kentish Town Sports Centre on a Monday evening.”
Bingham has moved to include greater diversity to the already impressive number of training regimes – including a popular initiative whereby members practise transferring to and from their bikes.
“We use Regent’s Park for our transition sessions, which involve a 1k run, a 3k bike ride and a 1k run, repeated for 45 minutes,” he said.
“This session gives members a chance to practice changing from cycling to running and getting their legs used to running after cycling.”
Further plans are afoot, and the club will commence coached swimming sessions at the Oasis sports centre in Covent Garden in January. They will take place on Friday evenings from 7pm to 8pm, focusing on front crawl technique and fitness development.
Meanwhile, 22 members have already confirmed their attendance at a training camp in Lanzarote in March.
Others are welcome to get involved by emailing Bingham at danielbingham@live.co.uk, and you can follow the club’s progress and news by visiting the website www.hampsteadtriathlonclub.co.uk or following them on Twitter @HampsteadTri.
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