21/04/2026
Wollongong Running and Triathlon Festival 2026
Reflecting on the many Elite Energy race reports written over the years they always seem to begin with “what wonderful weather we had”…. But the same has to be said again for last weekend’s Wollongong Running and Triathlon Festival 😁
With the running events scheduled for Saturday, all triathlon distances along with the increasingly popular Aquabike took place on Sunday. The Standard distance was an Australian Championship so brought many of the strongest triathletes together from around the country to compete, including a number of our own KTC members who competed strongly, with many landing a podium position.
It was fantastic to have the club gazebo up, providing members, and supporters a place to gather, chat, rest, recover and a safe spot to leave transition bags. Thankfully we were also only a few steps away from the various food stalls of which the gluten free donut van and burger van proved most popular for after race refuelling.
The swim was fairly flat, set up in the ‘M’ shape course that we’ve come to know so well when competing in Wollongong. The air temperature was a bit chilly for the start of the first race, women’s Standard distance, but thankfully the air warmed up a little once they exited their two laps in the water .
Once on the bike there was a ‘gentle’ headwind on the way out towards Fairy Meadow, perhaps requiring a few to drop back a gear or two, though the tailwind back into town made up for it and was lots of fun 🤩
The undulating run course with its turns here and there made it a little tricky to get into a rhythm at times but all our triathletes looked very strong on course especially Harry Nicolson as he wizzed past almost missing a photo opportunity 🙂 Maybe some had a little too much energy left in the tank… Emma Nelson 😂 (refer to photo attached below 👌) Love it 😂
KTC athletes competed across the Standard, Sprint and Super Sprint so it was a really busy, exciting and adrenaline filled day of competing and supporting each other.
Altogether we had 15 KTC athletes compete, 10 being rewarded with podium positions, including Ellie Linsley who has only recently dipped her toes into triathlon after years of successful competitive swimming. Some age divisions had over 60 competitors which makes these results even more impressive !! There were also a few local legends and friends of Kiama that blitzed their divisions. Congratulations to Luke Jones, Trudi Barnes and Kerry Dowling on your exceptional wins 🙌
While finishing on the podium always brings with it an extra thrill, a reward for consistency, hard training and commitment, competing is, for all of us, about working towards a healthier, happier version of ourselves and setting positive examples to our young families. This common goal brings us together with a sense of connection and belonging that makes me very proud to be a part of The KTC Crew 🙌
Standard Distance (Australian Championship) we had:
Keelan Green
Scott Krauss
Kye Simpson
James Pepper
Carolyn Dews
Tanya Fraser
Karina Frangos
Yafu Ji
Standard Aquabike:
Matthew Charnock
Cheryl Freeman
Sprint:
Emma Nelson
Harry Nicholson
Cameron Hesford
Super Sprint:
Harry Fraser
Ellie Linsley
Enjoy the photos which help capture the day 🤩 Detailed results can be found
at Multisport Australia
In the Elite Energy 2025-26 triathlon season we have Port Stephens on the 23rd May if anyone is thinking of heading north to warmer waters and a fun weekend away.
Until then train hard, be safe and as always have fun 🤩 🫶
