blenheim palace triathlon faqs

The Blenheim Palace Triathlon has 4 distance options:

• The Super Sprint race consists of a 400m swim, 13.2km bike ride, and a 2.9km run. 

• The Sprint race consists of a 750m swim, 19.8km bike ride, and a 5.4km run. 

• The Sprint Relay consists of two or three people completing the sprint distance course. If you are not comfortable competing in a full triathlon, this is a good option as each participant will complete one leg of the race to make up an entire triathlon; for example, one person carries out the swim, another the cycle, and finally the third person completes the run.  In the case of a team of two, one participant will do two legs.

• Weekend Warrior, race as many triathlons back to back as you can over this 2-day festival. The course & distance will be the same as the Sprint competition.

The minimum age for competitors is 16, as long as you are 17 on or before 31st December 2025. 

The premium sprint will allow you to compete in the first wave of the day. 

Your entry fee covers the staging of the event and third-party insurance. 

The BTF day license is a licence for racing and covers your public liability insurance for the day. 

If you’re not already a British Triathlon member you need a day membership to comply with British Triathlon Competition Rules which require all competitors be a member of the sport for the day. There will be an option during registration for you to input your BTF membership details or purchase a day licence.

Day Membership includes: 

• British Triathlon membership on race day 

• Race license to compete in the sport on the day of the race 

• Individual public liability insurance cover up to £15 million on the day of the race

For further information on race licenses please contact the BTF directly at: www.britishtriathlon.org. 

To ensure you race with friends, family, and work colleagues you need to choose the same race category. You will also need to request the same gender race (male, female or mixed) and enter a Tri-Squad name during the registration process (this must be typed in the same exact way for everyone). We’ll try our best to ensure you and your Tri-Squad are in the same wave, but this is not guaranteed. 

Start times and waves will be published in the Race Day Guide. Wave allocations will be emailed to each participant up to two weeks prior to the event. 

Once wave allocations have been made it is not possible to change your start time. Please email us at ‘hello@blenheimtriathlon.com’

For event-specific accommodation information please visit the Blenheim Palace website. 

You cannot camp or park overnight in the Palace ground and will be asked to leave by security should you attempt to do so. 

Address: Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1UL 

Blenheim Palace is situated in Woodstock, 8 miles north-west of Oxford on the A44 Evesham Road and approximately a one-hour drive from the outskirts of both London and Birmingham. 

BY CAR:

Blenheim Palace is located eight miles north-west of Oxford, on the A44 Evesham Road. The Palace is signposted from junction nine of the M40. If you are using satellite navigation, please use the postcode OX20 1UL. There are car parking facilities and car parking is free for participants.

BY TRAIN:

The nearest British Rail Mainline station is Oxford Parkway. The S7 runs every 30 minutes from Oxford Parkway Station to Blenheim.

BY BUS:

Stagecoach Bus S3 and S7 run from Oxford City Centre to Woodstock, four times an hour, 7 days a week. Both start from Oxford Railway Station and pick up in Magdalen Street. Buses stop outside the main entrance, from there, it's a 10-minute stroll through the park to Blenheim Palace. For bus times and journey planner visit: https://www.stagecoachbus.com/

BY BICYCLE: If you live close enough and are able to, please consider travelling by bike. Plan your cycle journey with CycleStreets.net.

In order to set up in transition and be ready for your race we recommend that you arrive 90 minutes before the start of your wave. You then need to be at Swim Assembly point 20 minutes before your wave is due to take place, this is to ensure you have partaken in our safety briefing and have received your swim cap.

The bib number is used for the cycle and run elements of your challenge. The number goes on your back for the cycle and on the front for the run. This can be attached with safety pins, however, it is recommended to use a race belt. You simply attach your number to the race belt and then put the clip around your midriff. It can then be moved to show the number on your back for the bike and on the front for the run. 

The bike number stickers are placed on the front of the bike and the top of your helmet which serves two purposes. 

- To ensure you are taking the correct bike out of transition 

- You can be identified on our official photos which you may wish to purchase 

Your wristband needs to be worn to get you in and out of transition. Without this you cannot gain access to this area .

You will also be given a reusable timing chip that must be worn on your left ankle. These must be returned post-event in the buckets at the finish line, there will be staff on hand to assist you in removing your timing chip. Any unreturned chips will be charged to the participant at £25 per chip. For team relay participants, the timing chip acts as a baton and must be passed between relay members throughout the race.

Wetsuits are compulsory for this triathlon for the safety of our participants. Your wetsuit will keep you warm and improve your swimming speed; a wetsuit provides you with extra buoyancy and the higher you are the faster you swim. 

Your wetsuit must be a neoprene and we recommend a full body wetsuit, it can be a short or surf wetsuit, however these are less useful for open water swimming.

Nudity is not allowed in the transition area therefore, you should ensure you wear whatever you feel comfortable in for the run and the cycle.  We recommend that you wear a tri-suit, but it is not compulsory. A regular sports kit is fine over a swimsuit.

Unfortunately, we do not allow participants to race with headphones in. The safety of our participants is paramount and through wearing headphones you will be less likely to hear other competitors or marshals, which could become a hazard on route. By not wearing headphones you will also be able to enjoy the experience more and soak up the encouragement from spectators. If you are seen to be wearing headphones on race day you will be kindly asked to remove them and if caught with them during the race you will be disqualified. Furthermore, no mobile phones or MP3 players are allowed to be used in transition or while you are racing.

We conduct numerous tests right up to the race day itself to ensure that the water is safe to swim in. 

Backstroke is not allowed, as this can be confused with our distress signal. We recommend that you try to swim front crawl but breaststroke is also permitted. 

Tri bars (and handlebars) must be plugged and they must be secure. There is no requirement for them to be shorter than the brake levers unlike in the elite races. 

Your helmet will pass the safety inspection as long as it has no cracks in it, has no damage to it and bears a CE & EU safety mark inside it. The strap must also be in good working order.

Drafting is against the rules for all but the Elite Competitors. You must not take shelter cycling behind or cycle beside another competitor during the race. You can be disqualified from the race for drafting. The draft zone is a rectangle measuring ten (10) metres long by two (2) metres wide. The centre of the leading 2 metre edge is measured from the back edge of the back wheel. 

For more detailed triathlon rules and regulations please click here or contact the British Triathlon Federation www.britishtriathlon.org

There will be no water stations offered on the route.  Water will be available once you cross the finish line. 

Spectator tickets are now available at this link.

You can use discount Code BPTRI20 to get 20% off tickets. Please note this is valid until 17th May. Discount only applies to Park and Gardens tickets.

All spectators coming to watch the Blenheim Palace Triathlon will need to purchase a spectator ticket through the Palace in advance of the event. Spectator tickets are now available at this link.

You can use discount Code BPTRI20 to get 20% off tickets. Please note this is valid until 17th May. Discount only applies to Park and Gardens tickets.