Man Tri

Jennifer Lopez, Matt Damon, Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Love-Hewitt are just a few stars taking fitness to iron man levels. The new trend is triathlon. J-Lo swam a mile, cycled 18 miles and ran four miles in just two hours, 23 minutes at the event at Zuma Beach, Malibu, raising £70,000 for the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles in the process.

Lopez said on completion of the triathlon last month: "The triathlon was actually amazing. I loved it. The hardest part was swimming in the Pacific. I had these huge waves crashing around me and I felt incredibly emotional. Part of me felt really in danger and part of me just felt so strong.”

Triathlon is reportedly one of today's fastest-growing sports. The first triathlon event was held in the US in 1974. Then in 2000 it became an official Olympic sport at the Sydney games. Today, thousands of people take part in triathlons all over the world. And Manchester is no exception.

Manchester Triathlon Club provide all-inclusive top quality training for those who are interested in multi-sports. The club caters for all levels of ability and all shapes and sizes of people.

Chairperson of Manchester Triathlon Club, Kat Copsey said: “Triathlon has traditionally been quite male dominated but there has been a huge increase in the number of women taking part recently and our male:female ratio is currently about 60:40.

The one thing that makes triathlon clubs special is that not only can you keep fit, but it’s challenging enough to compete for charity or even to take to a higher level. Man-tri have triathletes representing at the World and European championships, although anyone, any age, any level can have a go.

Copsey said: “At our training sessions we have elite athletes training alongside complete beginners who have never really had any involvement in sport before and just want to enjoy getting fit or do an event for charity.

Some of our members are only interested in one of the three disciplines that make up a triathlon (swimming, running and cycling) but wish to take advantage of our top quality coaching; others just join the club to get fit and meet new friends; others compete regularly in triathlons, duathlons (run-bike-run), aquathlons (swim-run), and even quadrathlons (canoe-swim-cycle-run). We do have members who have never done a triathlon but the majority do give one a go at some point and most find that they get hooked.”

Typical training sessions last between an hour and an hour and a half. New members can build up their fitness and stamina levels slowly and safely.

Copsey went on to say: “Our members get discounts at many local triathlon, running and bike shops, and we have lots of social functions as well which are fantastic for building a sense of community. We also run novice training days, bike handling skills sessions, bike maintenance classes and group riding skills days to equip members with all the skills they need to be a successful triathlete, in addition to fitness training.”

Man Tri membership costs £200 per year and all training sessions are included. In theory you could go to 15 training sessions every week for your fees, although that would be slightly insane. The value for money is astounding for such a level of personal training. Coaching is by qualified British Triathlon or ASA coaches and the training is all very specific as well, so whilst you can train at a gym and get fitter, the coaches at Man Tri will give you specific, structured training that will improve your technique and performance in triathlon rather than just improve your general fitness levels.

For more information about the club and triathlon training please visit www.man-tri-club.org.uk