THE organisers of a charity triathlon hope to attract more competitors than ever by moving the route into the centre of a North-East town.

Hundreds of athletes from across the North-East are expected to take part in the Darlington Rotary Triathlon on Sunday, May 5, an annual event which raises funds for the town’s St Teresa’s Hospice.

The event includes a 400m swim in the main pool at the Dolphin Centre, before a 21km cycle around the town and a 5km run, ending in the Darlington Horsemarket.

The event was previously held at Darlington School of Maths and Science, on the outskirts of the town, but Rotary Club organisers hope that by moving the competition into the heart of Darlington more people will come out to support the athletes.

Jane Bradshaw, a Rotary member who is also managing director of St Teresa’s, said: “We wanted to bring the event into the town where there are better facilities for parking but also to give people the chance to come and enjoy the event.

“Triathlon has become much more popular thanks to the efforts of the Brownlee brothers and we’re hoping to get about 300 people to take part.”

The event will be timed and monitored by triathlon experts from Trihard and roads will be closed by Darlington Borough Council.

To sign up for the Triathlon visit trihard.co.uk and click on ‘enter now’ to find the Darlington Rotary Triathlon. There will also be a shorter sprint triathlon held on the same day.

PHOTOGRAPH: Jeff Dawson, events manager of Darlington Borough Council; Chris Lloyd, deputy editor of The Northern Echo; Jane Bradshaw; Dave King, of the Rotary Club; and Deputy Mayor Charles Johnson and his wife, Carol