Bolton is celebrating after another hugely successful IRONMAN weekend brought thousands of athletes and spectators to town.
More than six thousand people of all ages and abilities took part in three exciting events over three days. Thousands more were in the town centre and along the route to cheer them on.
On Friday, even the rain couldn’t dampen the turn out for Bolton’s biggest ever NightRun. The addition of official timings and a 10k route alongside the 5k helped boost the number of people who signed up to over 1,200.
For lots of families, Saturday’s IRONKIDS event is the real heart of the weekend. There were smiles all round as over 4,000 children and young people signed up to take part in the biggest IRONKIDS in the world.
Sunday brought the amazing IRONMAN competitors to town. Starting at 6.00 in the morning at Pennington Flash they swam, cycled and ran their way through a staggering 140.6 miles (226.3km).
Winner Tom Rigby crossed the finish line in just nine hours and thirty-eight minutes. Erica Booth was the first female finisher, in a superb time of 11 hours and seven minutes.
Councillor Nick Peel, leader of Bolton Council, said: “Ironman is always such a fantastic weekend for Bolton and I’d like to congratulate everyone who took part.
“From children as young as three doing their first Ironkids to the experienced athletes amazing us all with their performances in Ironman, everyone should feel a huge sense of achievement.
“Our long-standing partnership with Ironman is a huge boost for the town and we should all be proud.”
Councillor Nadeem Ayub, Bolton Council's Executive Member for Culture, said: "I'd like to thank everyone who came out to support the people taking part in all three events. You do such a fantastic job and help make the weekend special.
“Thanks also to the many volunteers who do such sterling work and without whom the weekend would be impossible.
“Lastly, thanks to our residents and visitors. The council recognises that the weekend causes some traffic disruption and we really do appreciate people’s patience in helping the events to go ahead safely.”
IRONMAN weekend is estimated to bring over £3.9m of economic benefit to Bolton and the surrounding area.
The council says it will shortly issue an update on next year’s IRONMAN, including the goal of building on the success of IRONKIDS and NightRun by making them bigger and better.