IT was another great weekend for the Dursley Running Club’s Triathlon team which saw Chris Sweet and Damian Lai both completing their second Ironman 70.3 event of the year in the beautiful seaside town of Weymouth.

The swim course is a 1.2 mile clockwise lap of Weymouth Bay followed by a 56 mile bike ride around the rolling Dorset Country side then finishing off with a 13.1 mile run around Weymouth’s esplanade.

The competition was expected to bring over 2,500 athletes onto the start line which made it the largest UK Ironman event of the year.

Both Chris and Damian found the swim tough with Chris describing it as ‘brutal’ and Damian saying it was one of the hardest things he had done.

Visibility was poor and it was difficult to see the buoys when swimming into direct sunlight.

Chris completed the swim in 40.11 minutes and Damian in one hour 05.35mins.

Damian said he was very lucky to finish under the cut off time and, at one point, this was looking unlikely to do it with disqualification from the competition loomed in front of him.

After the difficult swim, both did well on the bike.

Chris completed the course in two hours 46.40mins and Damian in three hours 23.10mins.

The bike course started from the seafront included some stunning views of the Jurassic Coast and National Park.

Next the run, a 3.5 lap course around Weymouth’s harbour and Georgian seafront.

Chris completed it in one hour 47.16mins and Damian in a respectable two hours 11.49mins.

Results: Chris Sweet 48th M40-44, 354th overall, time 05.26.03. Damian Lai 241st M40-44, 1531st overall, time 06.57.32 This weekend sees many of the DRC Tri Team competing in their last race of the season at Warwickshire Sprint Triathlon.