The Middle Distance consists of a 1.9km swim, 80km bike ride, and a 21km run.
The Olympic route consists of a 1500m swim, 40km bike, and a 10km run.
The Sprint route consists of a 750m swim, 20km bike ride, and a 5km run.
The Super Sprint route consists of a 400m swim, 10km bike ride, and a 2.5km run.
If you are not comfortable completing a full triathlon you can compete in a sprint relay which consist of three people completing a single 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.
The minimum age for competitors is 16, as long as you are 17 on or before 31st December 2023.
Your entry fee covers the staging of the event and third party insurance.
The BTF day license is a license 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 license.
Day Membership includes:
i) British Triathlon membership on race day
ii) Race license to compete in the sport on the day of the race
iii) 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) during the registration process. Closer to the event date you will be given the option to join the same Tri-Squad. We’ll try our best to ensure you and your Tri-Squad are in the same wave, but this is not guaranteed.
You will need to collect your race pack on race day at the Race Pack Collection area in the event village. You will be sent a QR code the week of the event which you will need to use to collect your race pack.
This will contain all the essential items for your race, including a security wristband, 2x bike numbers, your race number and your timing chip. Team relay captains will need to pick up the race pack for their whole team.
For event specific accommodation information please visit the ExCeL Centre website https://www.excel.london/visitor/hotels
The ExCeL Centre is located in East London in the heart of the Docklands. You can get to the event by car or public transport, the nearest tube station is Custom House on the DLR line.
However, the first scheduled trains for the DLR on a Sunday are around 07.00hrs unless special arrangements are in place. DLR timetable: https://tfl.gov.uk/dlr/timetable/dlr/
Please note that road closures will mean some local bus services will be diverted or terminate earlier than usual. Tube and rail will be the best way to get around Eastern London on the day.
The Jubilee line operates Night Tube overnight from Saturday into the Sunday (around six trains an hour if a good service).
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 it 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 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.
A wetsuit is compulsory and it is your responsibility to ensure you have one on race day. The wetsuit will not only keep you warm, but will also help you swim faster as it provides you with extra buoyancy.
Wetsuits must be worn up to 25°C. Should the water temperature exceed 25°C wetsuits are not permitted and changes to the event may be made at the organisers discretion.
Surf and shortie wetsuits are allowed, but these are totally different to a triathlon specific wetsuit, which is designed for swimming and fits like a second skin.
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.
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.
Water will be handed out on the run course and at the finish line.
There will be no water stations on the bike course – it is your responsibility to ensure that you have enough fluid to keep yourself hydrated on the bike leg.
Start times and wave allocations will be sent out to you via email and posted on the website around 2 weeks prior to the event.
We do not change wave start time unless it is in an extreme situation. We manage each request on a case-by-case situation, please email info@challenge-london.com for assistance.
On August 6th, spectators will be able to track participants’ live progress by downloading our official LSC app called ‘LimeLight Sports Club’. This app is available for both iOS and Android devices. Simply click on the heart symbol for the Challenge London Takeover.
You can also use our online live tracker here.
As our triathletes reach various timing checkpoints, their estimated finishing time and location on our event map will update.
PLEASE NOTE: Full start lists will not be available on the tracker until the morning of the race, so not to worry if you can’t find yourself there in the lead-up to the event, it will upload on the day!
LimeLight Sports Club events aim to be inclusive, offering people of all abilities the opportunity to take part.
Please read the information below about taking part if you have a disability and/or require assistance on event day.
If you are a visually impaired triathlete or your disability and/or medical conditions means that you require a guide assistant, then please contact us at info@challenge-london.com detailing your request.
Please contact our Customer Service Team, info@challenge-london.com with a description of your disability. We will assess this and establish if it is possible to compete and what we require to make this feasible.
We strongly advise that each participant and their guide should be appropriately identified and linked together in a safe way on event day. Guide dogs are permitted on the event site, however they are not permitted on the London Triathlon race route.
LimeLight Sports Club has partnered with ‘Let’s Do This’ to take on Challenge London entries for 2023.
When you enter Challenge London, your entry information and payment is processed by ‘Let’s Do This’ and passed securely to LimeLight Sports Club. Your bank statement will show ‘Let’s Do This’ against your event entry and you will receive a booking confirmation email from ‘Let’s Do This’. Once you are entered, all event communication will come from LimeLight Sports Club and the Challenge London team.
You can check you’ve registered for any of our 7 Original events through our Limelight Sports Club website after being redirected to our booking partner Let’s Do This. Our 7 Original events are; Challenge London, Blenheim Palace Triathlon, London Duathlon, Etape Caledonia, Hackney Half, ASICS London 10K and Oxford Half.
When you completed your registration and purchased your entry you should have received a confirmation email from us containing all the details of your event booking including your booking reference.
Editing your registration details, including predicted finish time, and address is easy, for now please just reach out to Let’s Do This at support@letsdothis.com and they will be able to update your information.
Each race category has a specific number of places and if this is full it will display ‘Sold Out’. Alternatively, if you cannot find the desired race category on the entry form please contact our customer service team who will be able to assist you: info@challenge-london.com.
Yes, you are able to do this. Please email info@challenge-london.com with your request and we will assist you further. Please note: you will only be able to transfer into challenges with available places.
The entry fee to Challenge London is non-refundable and cannot be deferred to a future year or transferred to another person.
If you are unable to participate in the event for any reason, you will not receive a refund of the event fee, any booking fee, and/or any other costs you have incurred in connection with your entry into the Event.
Low-cost insurance policies are available that protect event participants in the event that they have to withdraw from the event due to injury, illness or other reasons depending upon the insurance policy in question. Where possible we will provide a link to an insurance option of this type during the registration process, but we do not do so as any form of recommendation of the specific policy, other than to recommend that participants provide themselves with adequate insurance.
For further information on this please read the full entry Terms & Conditions here.
If you can’t make the date, please get in touch with our Customer Experience team via members@limelightsports.club.
Please note you must let us know you are unable to attend you must let us know a minimum of 1 month before the event date if you would like a refund and 1 week before the event if you would like to defer your place or transfer it to another LSC Member.
Yes, you’re free to raise funds for whichever charity you like. If you don’t have a charity in mind, you can find our supporting charities on our Challenge London page here.
You can find all Challenge London charity partners section on our charities page of the website. Contact the charity of your choice and let them know you’d like to participate for them!
To register your Charity to buy places in Challenge London 2023, please click here. You will need to register a new account for 2023. To start, please specify if you would like to pay for your places by credit/debit card or invoice.
If you opt to pay for your places via invoice: you will be issued an invoice within 4 working days. Following payment, your event places will be reserved immediately.
Once your places have been confirmed as paid, you will be sent a link to access your event dashboard to invite your fundraisers to register for the event.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email at charities@limelightsports.club
If you’d like to volunteer and be #partofthecrew please contact: volunteers@limelightsports.com
We couldn’t do our events without our incredible volunteers. Working at Challenge London is an incredible opportunity and an amazing weekend of sport.
See your GP if you have a problem or worry that might make it a risk for you to take part in the event. If you have any known medical conditions (such as diabetes, asthma, allergy to penicillin, etc) inform us prior to the event by entering it in the box provided on the online application.
In addition, please write all medical details on the back of your event number. Whether you have a medical condition or not, if you feel unwell on the event day – don’t take part. If you have flu, a feverish cold or a tummy bug, do not train until you have fully recovered. Then start gently and build up gradually. Do not attempt to catch up on lost mileage after illness or injury – this may cause further damage or illness.
Please contact the event organisers via email, info@challenge-london.com, with a full description of the missing item and we will do our best to reunite you with the item.
Marathon Photos are our official photographer for the event. Post-event, you will be able to look up your pictures on their website here.
MarathonPhotos.Live is giving you the opportunity to buy your Photo Pack for only £29.99! The offer is valid up to 7 days after the event and the pack includes all your Hi-Res original images.
Provisional results will be available via the tracking link on our website and if you have inputted a British mobile number, they will be texted to you. They will also be emailed to you post event.
This year, all timing chips are reusable and must be returned. Any unreturned chips will be charged to the participant at £25 per chip. If you have accidentally taken yours home, please email info@challenge-london.com for details on how to return it.
Your age group is based upon the date of birth that you entered. Note that your age group is determined by your age at 31 December of the race year and not your age on race day (in accordance with BTF rules).
Please note that we don’t operate a reserve/cancellation list as we already take into account the usual drop-out rate prior to the event.
There may be several reasons for this. Firstly, please ensure that you are entered correctly into the event by following the instructions outlined above. Secondly, emails can often get directed straight into junk/spam folders or get rejected by email servers altogether. Please ensure that you check those filters and additionally add ‘info@challenge-london.com’ to your safe senders list.
If you have unsubscribed from our mailing list and would like to resubscribe, please click here.