Race Report | 2024 Scottish National Cross Triathlon Championships

The penultimate Scottish National Championship race took place on Sunday, 15 September, in the Cairngorms National Park with athletes looking to be crowned 2024 Scottish National Cross Triathlon Champion.

With over 100 competitors toeing the start line of the ‘Aviemore Long Hard Durty Triathlon’, hosted by Durty Events, the racing got underway in the beautiful waters of Loch Morlich with a deep water start.

The race began with a 1km swim, in a cool 14 degrees. The Loch was very calm compared to the day before and the competitors completed two laps of the course before exiting the water to transition one (T1) on a small section of beach. The 18km mountain bike section took the competitors into Glenmore Forest on a mix of green, blue, red and black trails, and the 9km trail run saw a mix of forest trails, and open hill running.

In the Open race, Rory Strachan took a dominant lead, exiting their 11:21 swim almost three minutes ahead of second place Ewan Brown, and over three minutes ahead of third place Lewis Dickson.

On the bike leg, Strachan pushed hard along the technically challenging course. However, Brown had Strachan and the National title in his sights, and recorded the fastest bike leg of the day, 48:06, closing the gap to just over two minutes.

Taking the competitors back through the picturesque forest, and with the sun trying its best to breakthrough, it took in some breath taking views. There was no stopping to admire the view from Strachan, Brown and Dickson as they raced on.

It was a sprint to the line with only five seconds between the two, but Brown’s fastest run leg, 30:17, just wasn’t quite enough to catch Strachan. Strachan took the win, claiming their second title this year, with Brown in second place, and Dickson easing into third over two minutes ahead of fourth place.

In the Female race, Eleanor Williams, exited the swim in a time of 15:27, with Libby Smith hot on her heels. Anne Ewing was close behind, followed by Megan Mowbray.

A quick T1 for the women, and they were out onto the technical bike leg. Smith had an incredible ride, confidently taking the lead of Mowbray and Ewing, and securing themselves a lead of over three minutes on Mowbray and seven minutes on Ewing.

Smith stretched their legs along the forest paths, and extended their lead, recording the fastest run leg of the day, 37:37, and taking the win comfortably in a time of 2:00:10. Mowbray and Ewing also put in great performances on the day taking the second and third spots on the podium, respectively.

Triathlon Scotland would like to extend their thanks to Durty Events for another successful event and to the marshals and volunteers who help make the day happen.

Congratulations to all competitors of the 2024 Scottish National Cross Triathlon Championships. Full results can be found here.